Differences between UA and UA-B?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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<p>If I am reading it correctly, UA-B offers slightly better merit scholarships for students with ACT 28-30 than UA (Tuscaloosa). My daughter’s already earned a 27 on her first attempt at the ACT - and I am confident she can bring that up into the 28-30 range. She is currently a junior.</p>

<p>She really wants to attend college OOS and there are few options for us financially. We would need merit scholarships to bring the OOS costs down close to the cost of our in-state public universities.</p>

<p>She is outgoing and would likely enjoy a larger, urban college experience. At this point in time, she is planning on studying journalism. </p>

<p>What are some of the main differences between the two campuses both in academics and environment?</p>

2

<p>UAB is mostly a commuter/suitcase school. Only about 10% of students are from OOS. That could be a concern for an OOS student. If I were to guess, those OOS students are likely athletes and health-related majors.</p>

<p>I’m not sure that programs such as journalism would be very strong there. UAB is essentially a med school with a university attached, so it’s stronger programs are mostly health related. </p>

<p>I’m not saying that it’s not a good school. It is. I just wouldn’t recommend it for an OOS student, especially one who isn’t in health related/pre-med kind of field. </p>

<p>My son’s GF goes there and if it weren’t for her sorority, she’d come home every weekend. She also spends a number of weekends in Tuscaloosa with my son…going to games, etc. She has a car, of course.</p>

<p>Unless a student doesn’t have any affordable options (instate or OOS), I’m always hesitant to recommend a school that is mostly instate and where many kids commute or will go home on weekends. </p>

<p>The University of Alabama offers more of a full-campus experience…a beautiful campus, strong academics across many, many fields, 50% of the students are from OOS, it’s a residential campus, much to do on weekends, big sports to watch and cheer for, etc. Very good journalism program.</p>

<p>Have your D take the SAT as well. </p>

<p>BTW…if your D can get an ACT 29 (or SAT equivalent), Bama has been known to award a half tuition scholarship which makes the cost closer to instate. </p>

<p>Has your D visited either campus? I suggest she do.</p>

3

<p>We toured both campus about a week ago. I agree that Tuscaloosa has more of the traditional campus feel. A big campus with a large green areas and activities. S didn’t like the feel of UAB. It is in the middle of downtown Birmingham and is criss-crossed by busy streets.</p>

4

<p>I think UAB looks much better than it did in the past, but they really should have built the campus in a different part of the city, say the area near Highland Avenue. The area right under Red mountain is gorgeous.</p>

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<p>well, i totally disagree with what m2ck posted EXCEPT her statement that its a good school :)</p>

<p>at 10% oos students that is still 1100 students (bigger population than some LAC’s) Currently the dorms at uab are at 100% capacity(2500 on campus… again bigger than some lac’s) with plans to build a new dorm. Many upperclassmen live just off campus in the southside area as there are many apartments and houses that rent to students, many upperclassmen at ua move off campus (UA is approx 30000 students with it think 7500 on campus) pretty close percentage wise</p>

<p>i would also think the students in the various 49 different majors offered at uab would disagree that it is a med school with a university attached.</p>

<p>atlanta68 is correct there have been changes to the campus with the addition of the green that make it seem a bit more cohesive. in fact you could actually go to your dorm, rec ceneter, places to eat, classrooms, honors college etc without ever crossing one of those busy streets. Unless of course you want a starbucks coffee, then you have to cross a street. But many students like urban campuses… my son liked te feel of uab campus much more than ua or auburn… all students are different, all campuses are different… the big football school isnt for everyone either</p>

<p>not sure why m2ck’s son’s gf would not find things to do on the wkd…perhaps same kind of reasons people post on here that a student hasnt fit in yet, or found their crowd. but i can say that my son who has both instate and oos friends, finds that the vast majority do not go home on weekends and find lots of things to do… admittedly not all on campus but there are plenty of things to do in the city also. has one friend that does go home every weekend because his gf is back home,. </p>

<p>so to each their own… if anyone wants info on uab, feel free to pm</p>

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<p>should add, that rankings seem to support that the students who attend do like it :</p>

<p>princeton review ranks it third in race/class interaction and 11th for happiest students,</p>

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<p>at 10% oos students that is still 1100 students (bigger population than some LAC’s</p>

<p>The problem is that if those students are mostly in athletics or in health-related fields, then the OP’s D would not have much/any interaction with them. Frequently, an athletes social circle consists mostly of others from their teams…they live together…and eat, practice, travel to games, together. If they have games/meets on weekends, then they aren’t really available for interactions with their non-teammate friends. </p>

<p>And, when you figure that 1100 are divided into four school years, that’s only about 275 per frosh, soph, jr, and sr classes. </p>

<p>I didn’t say that son’s GF couldn’t find anything to do. She did…a sorority. Her first year she didn’t pledge, but just didn’t find enough to do (and she’s a very social girl who makes friends VERY easily…very pretty, very friendly, very considerate.). And, of course, she did have her friends from HS that were also attending. She insists that if she hadn’t decided to pledge soph year, she would have transferred to Bama.</p>

<p>I live in this state…about 75 minutes from UAB. My kids’ high school sends a number of kids to Alabama, Auburn, UAH, and UAB. When I go to church on Sunday, there’s a whole bunch of UAB kids there…I don’t see the Auburn and Alabama kids there because they’re on their campuses. So, yes, a good number of UAB kids do go home on weekends…EVEN if they are living in dorms during the school week. The definition of a “suitcase student” is one who lives in the dorms during the week, and then goes home on most/many weekends. </p>

<p>The vast majority of the 11,000 undergrads are not on campus on weekends. The purpose of UAB’s existance is to provide a university for the B’ham metropolitan area…so many are commuters.</p>

<p>Yes, if a student is in a medically-related field, can immerse him/herself in the research opps, then the student could become very busy with all of that…and have a social life/friends who are doing the same/similar things. </p>

<p>However, to be in another area of study, from OOS, not join a Greek house or the school band, the student is at a greater risk of becoming lonely on nights and weekends. </p>

<p>Like I said in my first post…visit both schools…and make your own decision.</p>

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<p>well we will have to disagree… i find your perception of uab quite different from that experienced by my son and is friends, both instate and oos. I also live in this state</p>

<p>what difference does it make what year the oos student is in… son as friends in all years.</p>

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<p>I agree that a student can have friends in other school years. That said, an incoming frosh is more likely going to making friends with those in lower-division courses.</p>

<p>My real point is that many of those OOS kids are athletes, so their social circle, living circumstances, & schedule are not that conducive to socializing with others… The balance of these OOS students are in health-related fields (which the OP’s D is not). Those who are in STEM majors are often devoting loads of time in labs, research, etc, which can become nearly all-day opps for friendships, etc. </p>

<p>That said, the OP’s D needs to visit. The OP has a son currently at Bama, and it appears that her D wants a similar “big sprited school” experience, but just doesn’t currently have the SAT scores for the needed scholarship. If the goal is a Bama/ASU type of school, then the fit won’t be right at a school that doesn’t fit that vibe.</p>

<p>The good news is that since the OP’s D is only a junior, she has time to get her ACT or SAT up to the point of earning a better merit scholarship from Bama. She should take the SAT and study just the Math and CR sections.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the comments. My D will be visiting UA for the first time this weekend for Family Weekend. We won’t have a chance to visit UAB on this trip, but we’ll see if she likes the UA atmosphere and go from there. I do think she should visit UAB. She is more of a ‘big city’ girl than my son…so she may really like the setting.</p>

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<p>I live in Bham- UAb seems very spread out and you have to cross many streets to get to a class… However I do not know anyone that attends there…I do know it is a great school and has a great basketball team-seems the athletics are well attended… it seems like a different type of school than Ttown-just my opinion- I have no idea where all the students park if they live off campus… I assume there are plenty of activities on the weekends and they are so close to Southside for eating out and bar hopping…</p>

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<p>RTRmom…</p>

<p>Are you coming in thru B’ham? If so, it’s not out of the way to at least do a drive-by UAB. Are you driving or flying in?</p>

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<p>hless, there are multiple parking ramps and lots all around the campus…the dorms have their own parking lots too. but all lots are close to campus. as i mentioned above, since they put in the green area, much less crossing of streets, just cut across the green.</p>

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<p>We drove by UAB during one of our Ttown visits because I thought it might be a good fit for my son. I think my D thought I was crazy to even consider it, but even she was impressed with it. I don’t think many urban campuses would be a good fit for my son, but I think he would be comfortable here. We have a few more years, but it will definitely be on our list to check out since the oos tuition is comparable to our in-state. Scholarships would make it even more attractive.</p>

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<p>RTRMom2~</p>

<p>Definitely visit UAB! We had to go down 3 times for my daughter to view UA, then UAB, then 3rd trip UA and UAB again!
My daughter is currently a freshman at UAB. She LOVED UA, but ultimately chose UAB as she is a health-related major (Neuroscience). She wanted to be near the medical school for research, etc. (which she will do in later years). And she also felt that she would be more successful academically at UAB.</p>

<p>We are from out of state (Ohio).
I have to honestly tell you that she is having the time of her life! She is a VERY social and outgoing girl and has no problem making friends wherever she goes.</p>

<p>She has no problem finding things to do on weekends and has plenty of friends on campus that are NOT health-related majors. She meets people all over campus (NOT just in classes).
Also, it is nice for an out of state student to have Alabama friends. She did go home with one girl on a Saturday afternoon for a home cooked meal! And then they came right back to campus.
She has never complained of loneliness or boredom.
They also can get tickets (through people they know or craigslist) and go to UA football games! There are always people going to UA Football games from UAB.</p>

<p>My D does NOT have a car and has no problem getting wherever she needs to go (Tuscaloosa, WalMart, the mall, etc).</p>

<p>Also, she actually went to the Gulf Shores for Labor Day weekend with Alabama friend whose parents have a condo there! She would not have had that opportunity anywhere else.
She lovessssssssssss her UAB friends who are from Alabama.</p>

<p>She also has friends from all over the world that she has met there. And her roommate is from Texas. Athletes have invited her to hang out, go to parties, and to go out with them to do various things. So at UAB (since it is not known for its sports teams) the athletes don’t self-segregate as much as they would at UA.</p>

<p>Two important points: My daughter registered to rush a sorority, went to the functions, and then decided not to do it this year. She already had met so many people and didn’t feel that she “needed” a sorority. So you don’t HAVE to go Greek to find friends and things to do.</p>

<p>Secondly, there is a girl she met in her Chemistry class who went to UA for the first week this year and transferred to UAB. The girl explained a campus that had a loosey goosey atmosphere, where Greeks dominate campus life. She said the distractions were so intense and the dorms were wild. She told her she was scared she would flunk out there. I am NOT saying everyone would feel that way, but I was surprised to see a transfer from UA to UAB after the first week of class.</p>

<p>Also, you don’t have to cross all the “busy” streets to get to classes. My D’s classes are primarily condensed into one area and the one that is farther, she just walks across the Green. You aren’t walking from one end of campus to the other crossing busy city streets. That is a complete myth.</p>

<p>Not to mention, the Blazer Elite Scholarship ($15,000) for 28 ACT , basically covers full OOS tuition, so that is a very attractive option for students.</p>

<p>If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me or parent56.</p>

<p>parent56 has been an invaluable resource for me when my D was deciding where to attend, and since arriving on campus. Her son is also there and is a great campus resource.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision! :)</p>

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<p>And don’t forget the great rec center! I also loved the performing arts venue, where we attended our info session.</p>

<p>They do have a good engineering program, and my son worked with many UAB engineering students at his summer internship outside of Tuscaloosa.</p>

<p>My godchild attended grad school in microbiology at UAB and really enjoyed it there. I work with a few local people whose kids are attending grad school in physical therapy. They even live on campus as grad students!</p>

<p>As for football, I wouldn’t dismiss attending a UAB game in favor of a Bama game. UAB is in Conference USA, and they have some great opponents, even if their own team is not doing so well. I honestly don’t know anything about their football team, but I wouldn’t mind watching Rice, Tulane and other Conference USA teams, not only in basketball, but baseball as well. I do remember the students at the info session we attended saying how it was so nice to not have to worry about gaining admission to see your own school play a game, something that Bama kids even with tickets know far too well about.</p>

<p>When we visited three years ago, they were just planting some trees on the green, so I imagine there’s more landscaping going on nowadays. While it will never have the beauty of the Bama campus, it is not the concrete jungle that it was in years past.</p>

<p>I highly recommend visiting both schools and see which one has not only the social but academic fit for you.</p>

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<p>Yes! The Rec center is awesome! The rock climbing wall is great and the pool/lazy river/whirlpool is huge and amazing!</p>

<p>And the basketball program is really being amped up! The new head coach is the former assistant coach from UNC Chapel Hill, and you know how serious UNC Chapel Hill is about basketball. The baseball team was Conference Champs in 2012. Also, UAB Football plays Ohio State this weekend, so UAB will be on the big stage and will get a lot of exposure!</p>

<p>The Green is completely landscaped now! Everything is beautiful! And there are a lot of trees. It is done. No more landscaping “in progress”, so it isn’t a mess. My daughter’s balcony in Camp Hall overlooks the Green and she loves it. On move-in weekend, they watched the fireworks from their balcony.</p>

<p>Also, the dorm rooms in Camp Hall are amazing! All just got brand new furniture too. They are huge and have a bedroom, living room with dining area, 2 huge closets, full kitchen with full size stove and fridge, balcony (with big sliding glass doors and sitting area), bathroom with walk in shower and glass sliding doors. It is nicer than the apartment I lived in when I was first married! And also Camp Hall has wireless internet now as well.</p>

<p>So, for kids who like the comforts of home (as my D does), Camp Hall is fantastic (and you can live there as a Freshman)! :)</p>

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<p>lol ohiomom, that one closet in the camp rooms could be a second bedroom its so big. </p>

<p>another difference for ua vs uab… ua uses plus minus grading uab does not. at uab an 80-89 is 3.0 , 90-100 is 4.0, that can work for you or against you. my son personally likes not having plus minus.</p>

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<p>Yes most definitely! We feel that the grading system is a HUGE benefit. Here it is for people who are not familiar.
UAB Grading System:
90-100 = A (4.00)
80 - 90 = B (3.00)
70 - 80 = C (2.00)
60 - 70 = D (1.00)
59 and lower = F (0.00)</p>

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<p>^
I’m not sure if in the long run the difference in the plus minus system vs the other system makes a difference in GPA. Over 8 semesters of 3-5 classes per semester, the end result is probably about the same. </p>

<p>Surely if one system was significantly better, schools using the inferior system would adopt the other. </p>

<p>BTW…of the 66 member institutions of the Association of American Universities, only a small number do not use the plus/minus system. These 66 univs are the top research univs. </p>

<p>Ohiomom…can you refresh my memory? Is your D the one who got the good scholarship from Bama, but had a good friend who also wanted to enroll, but the friend didn’t have the scores for very-needed merit at Bama, but was able to get the needed merit at UAB?</p>