But if you can take major initiative, there’s no better place for sports than Alabama.
@chuckleberry Hmmm… After these past years? Idk lol. Can’t forget Chris Davis and then their loss to Ohio St
@chuckleberry Okay so I’ve been thinking about Alabama a lot recently, free tuition will do that for you. Here are the couple hold ups that i have. Firstly, my current (senior) girlfriend is going there, in the honors college and the fellows program, and I’m not sure if I want to follow her a year later. I’m worried it’ll look like I’m just going to school for a girl to some people and that it might send the wrong message to her. Secondly, I don’t know how well I’d handle the “You’re going to ALABAMA?!?” shock from a lot of my friends and family. I know it’s not a good reason to base a major life decision on, but hey, I’m a teenager, we don’t always think rationally, but rather emotionally. And most importantly, I don’t know how well Alabama would fit me as a potential journalism/business major. All things that need to be considered going forward.
Full tuition has it’s allure, but Alabama isn’t really ideal for journalism. In order to really make it up the ranks to perhaps a high profile position, you have to know someone. The journalism network for Bama pales in comparison to other public schools even within their sports conference. I would put Georgia, Florida, and Mizzou above Bama for journalism.
@CaliCash hey, I’m no fan, but that program is a dynasty. Plus there’s plenty of players with questionable pasts you can investigate if you want to be that kind of person. And the past three years they have a national championship and four total losses. If that’s mediocre, well, then, I guess Oregon’s the epitome of awful. And I don’t say that meanly, just admiring the strength of that football program and ruing that it isn’t at Mizzou or ND.
Florida offers some pretty big out of state scholarships, but they are competitive. I got the $8,000 scholarship.
@CaliCash that’s the big issue really.
@WindyCityKid my take on the senior girlfriend thing is this: Who cares what those people think? It’s irrelevant. The school is free-- totally free. And it’s a nice change of scene from Chicago. Besides, if your family does that whole ALABAMA thing, just mention the ranking in USNWR. I know that a ranking is far from everything, but a full ride to a top 100 school is rare and if they can’t understand that then they’re just strange.
Do you plan on going to grad school? What are you gonna do with the $80K?
@chuckleberry Thank you! I know those reasons in my head, but my heart always worried about being judged and its one of the things I need to work on. No one likes to feel like they’re not worth it because of the choices they make, and I think I’d just be uneasy. Just something to think about. I don’t want to feel like I’m weak for succumbing to peer pressure 
@CaliCash I’d love to go to grad school, so again that money could go towards that. Or maybe I could give some of it back to my sister for undergrad, or invest it, or use it as a safety net in case I mess up the more there is the better.
Is your money in a normal savings account or a 529? Cuz if it’s in a 529 it can only go towards higher education spending.
@chuckleberry I think it’s general savings, because my parents have said I can keep it if I don’t spend it
I applied to Alabama and visited it (and got to talk with the department chair). I applied because of the scholarships, and while it’s a fine school, I personally didn’t like it when I visited it–just didn’t get the same feeling I got at other schools. To each their own, though, so don’t let that deter you.
Academically, however, while their journalism department is okay, it’s definitely not as good as other j-schools. I really appreciated that the department chair took time out of his day to sit down one-on-one with me and talk about their program, but I ended up just not feeling I would be as well off as I would at another school. Out of all the different types of journalism, their sports journalism program is probably the strongest. I felt other schools would prepare me better and have better networking opportunities. I would personally recommend not too strongly considering Alabama if the only reason you’re really considering it is because of the money.
@WindyCityKid for what to write next? Hmm…maybe a commentary on each school you’re considering?
@CE527M Well I would be able to visit Alabama on a Mizzou/WashU/Alabama/Tulane potential road trip, so I guess I could gauge my interest then. It could just be my notherner bias, but I can’t see myself at a southern school super easily.
@LBad96 I like that! I’ll see why I can whip up shortly 
stay tuned
Also start thinking about factors of a good school. You might think location doesn’t matter, but think about the weather at places where you’re looking. If you don’t like Chicago winters, you might want to move a few hours South. I personally can’t stand really cold weather so I’m not looking any further North than South Bend, and even that is pretty stinking cold if you ask me.
Alright, so for tonight I’ll start with a nice little commentary on…The University of Michigan!
My parents’ alma mater, I’ve grown up donning blue and yellow and cheering for the wolverines on gameday. When their teams play well, like a few years ago when they made it to the final four, they’re a treat to watch, but most of the time the experience is throwing things at the TV as you watch UMich lose to Appalachian State (Mich fans remember).
Sports aside though, I never really had any aspirations of going to UMich until one cold February President’s Day, when my mother dragged me on a 10 hour (round-trip) road trip to Ann Arbor. I was thoroughly impressed. The Ross School of Business was state of the art, and the students seemed to really like it there. It felt like a good fit for me, and even though the staggering OOS tuition would beg to disagree, I could picture myself going there. Sometimes, you can’t really explain why you think a college is good for you, other than you have that gut feeling that things would work out there.
I only hesitate with two factors (besides tuition) when thinking about going to UMich. The first is that I want to forge a different path from my parents. I know that’s probably the closeted rebellious side of me talking, but I want to explore different parts of the world than my parents before me, and I couldn’t get that at UMich. The second factor is that if I went to UMich I would be firmly giving up on my dream to be a journalist. UMich doesn’t offer a journalism major, and I don’t know if I’d be willing to go to a college where I knew I couldn’t follow my dream while still paying a premium.
Hope you enjoyed reading my two cents about UMich, and I’m interested to hear what any of you think about the things that I’ve said!
@chuckleberry Haha no I can hack a Chicago winter, I’ve been conditioned. I really don’t mind when it gets crazy cold, I think it’s a shared bonding experience with everyone around you.
Hey WCK,
I’m pretty new to this whole thing and don’t usually comment but… I run a mid size media company and hire lots of journalists, and I have a rising senior high stat son much like yourself, and best of all I’m a Michigan grad. So here goes:
I have dozens of journalists that work for me. I hire them on a regular basis and can tell you that less than 10% of them have actual journalism degrees. There are english majors, history majors, a couple of engineers believe it or not, and a lot of other varieties of liberal arts and business. If you can write well and speak well that’s all you need to get in the door. My best hires have usually been the people who worked on school papers, at school radio stations, or were involved in the blogosphere. You really don’t need a j-school degree.
Next, our business is changing at light speed. I’m fairly confident that by the time you graduate there won’t be any print newspapers left and there will be just a smattering on magazines, mostly on the trade side. No one is paying high dollars for journalists these days. The money is on the management and sales side of the business. So my next comment would be that you really really really don’t want to go into deep debt for a j-school degree. If you stay the journalism route you will make paupers wages for 5-10 years. Please don’t go into debt for this and don’t put your parents in debt either.
Lastly, the University of Michigan is just awesome on about every level. Check the UM thread on CC and read the post that says something like “Is there anything Michigan isn’t great at.” Ross is really tough to direct admit to but a lot of my friends did the junior transfer thing and everyone with a respectable GPA got in. And if you start as an English major, then decide Ross is a bad idea after all, there are 700 other things you can major in at UM. I started in molecular biology, thought about Ross, then decided on Poli Sci and Law School. It worked out great for me. The OOS tuition is scary but I told my kids the same thing your parents told you. Get into UM and we’ll pay without a complaint. A lifetime of shared memories sitting in the Big House together would be worth the extra 35k to me.
PS. I’ve spent decades hating Nick Saban and all things Bama related, but as soon as I saw the free school deal they had I started selling my son on the Tide. It looks like a great deal and the honors college gets great reviews. Miami and Tulane have some generous programs too. Save the money for grad school. Or you could buy yourself a nice Porsche when you graduate.