<p>I have to admit. Alabama does offer more “lazy river pool” type of activites thanks to their football program bringing in the $$$$ as well as old southern money. If we were more interested in that, this would be a no brainer. I am curious how D is going to feel when she gets there and possibly gets one of the older dorms and her boyfriend dumps her. She may be seriously regretting the 180 degree flip. I just pray that if this ends up being the final decision, she makes the best out of whatever situation and gets a great education. At any rate. I guess I need to just keep my mouth shut when dealing with this situation with her and just sit back and let things happen as they will. No telling what the future may bring.</p>
<p>I was being flippant about the alabama vs auburn rivalry, but I am not entirely joking about that gut feeling. My kid was choosing between two universities for months (GF at one of them) and I had a moderate preference for one (not where GF was). We visited both schools 2 times…once in the fall and once in early spring and he still felt very torn by spring. He made his final decision on March 30. I asked him to make lists of pros and cons for each school…they came out evenly matched on paper so that didn’t help. And then, asked him to close his eyes and imagine himself going through a day at each school, what he imagined he would be studying after two years, where he would be after graduation and he said that “gut” instinct …where he was able to imagine himself was clearly XYZ university (surprisingly NOT where the GF was). I know he felt terrible telling GF that he had chosen the other school but I think she knew it was the best choice for him. I would layoff any more discussion for a few months but schedule some visits in the late fall or early spring to both universities…even better, can she do an overnight at Auburn and then one at Alabama? Attend classes? Then just let it percolate and know that she made the decision with as much information as possible and with plenty of time to consider so she will probably make a good decision.</p>
<p>Great advice Fineartsmom. The pro and con list is a great idea too! There will be much percolating in the house the next few months I am sure. I am just going to do the best I can to keep quiet and let her make the decision and live with it. With gut feelings usually come the right answers. :o)</p>
<p>This might be my favorite CC thread of all time on so many levels! CC seems to be so skewed toward the East Coast and academics and unbelievable scores–and now we have a discussion of the SEC/football rivalries/rush/normal kids and BOYFRIENDS! Real life stuff! </p>
<p>okgirly, I feel for you. Our son wouldn’t even look at any other Big 12 (minus two next year) schools because he has been born and bred a Missouri Tiger–even the two other campuses that have nuclear reactors. But in my travels as a staff member of a national sorority, I have learned that other Big 12 campuses are (gasp) really good educational institutions with nice campuses.</p>
<p>Take a deep breath and then just wait. As others have said, a lot can happen before May.</p>
<p>And then, encourage her to try sorority recruitment (rush) whether she is at Bama, Auburn or Mississippi State. She may like it and or she may not–and she doesn’t have to pledge. But she will definitely meet people.</p>
<p>The son of one of my closest friends is a freshman at Bama while 89% of his HS class went to Auburn. He wore red pants embroidered with elephants under his graduation gown. I hope that makes you laugh rather than cry!</p>
<p>I would encourage your daughter to let it go for now…not to make a choice. Make the visits (I think the overnights are a great idea!), have her sit in on classes in her major. The idea to do this in the fall and spring is good as a lot may change. Tell her by not pronouncing a decision it doesn’t take away the choice…she still has it…in the spring. That way even if she is still seeing the same guy, she may make what you feel is a more independent decision…even if that is Alabama. If she professes her loyalty to Alabama now…but decides in the spring to go to Auburn, that may cause problems with the boyfriend, which she does not want…she would be unlikely to tell him later she was changing her mind.
Did that make any sense? I guess, just tell her you’ll respect her decision, you’d just like her to keep an open mind and make the final decision in the spring. You’ve paid her deposits so she has the luxury to take her sweet time! :)</p>
<p>If Animal Science is her dream major, is she planning to go on to Vet school? Auburn has a good vet school, Alabama does not. Has she toured each schools facilities? </p>
<p>My daughter wants to be a Vet and determined this summer that she will major in Animal Science. She was also dead set against Rutgers (our state school), but when we toured 2 weeks ago she found out they had a 100% vet school acceptance rate last year. We also met the pre-vet advisor in one of the horse barns and she was sold. She is not even applying to Cornell, which was her #1 choice a month ago. </p>
<p>Give her space and she will make the right choice. This is a very stressful time for HS Seniors.</p>
<p>okgirly - you mentioned in several of your posts that your daughter says she’s not choosing Alabama because of the BF. So what has she said the reason is for choosing Alabama?</p>
<p>Thank you everyone. Catdaddy…she says after visiting the campus to visit him and some of her friends and getting to know it better, she says she loves it there. That is really the only reason she has given us other than she has friends there. njmom: Her dream was to work with horses not as a vet but as a trainer for a large farm in a specialized such as in breeding and genetics or nutrition. We had visited the several large farms in Kentucky and had breakfast with the jockeys at Keeneland as well as Churchill Downs for her to get a better feel as to what she might want to do with her degree. We even got up early one morning to watch them work the thoroughbreds and she was thrilled at the prospect of being part of one of the racehorse families. So as you see…just the whole change has been a little shocking. And no…Alabama does not have an equine program.</p>
<p>I know that this thread is months old now, but I’m really curious as to the state of the decision right now. I’m biased toward MSU, but PLEASE try to get that girl down to Starkville and let her see the campus for, if nothing else, two reasons: one, they have an Animal & Dairy Sciences major with a concentration in Equine Science and Production (fun, completely irrelevant fact: actor Morgan Freeman keeps his horses on the MSU campus whenever he’s in the area). And two, MSU is just over an hour from Bama, so if the boyfriend sticks around, she can have her cake and eat it, too: an equine degree and her boyfriend a short drive away.
I would also wager that MSU would be more affordable than Bama or Auburn; she would, with the stats you mentioned, receive AT LEAST an out-of-state tuition waiver.
Again, I’m definitely biased, and I will now step down from my soapbox. I wish you the best of luck and I hope this college-decision excursion turns out for the best.</p>