Okay, so that makes Bama a no brainer! 
Congratulations!
note: “full ride” means “full tuition, room, and board” vs; “full tuition+ stipend” (which is what you have).
Yeah, you don’t have a full ride, but it’s still the best deal being offered to you. Definitely a “no brainer” since you’d have to take on debt to go to any of the others.
I guess the confusion is that since he got the full tuition + $2,500 stipend, he is effectively paying $0 for educational expenses, plus a little extra for personal expenses. Full ride is aid that pays all billable expenses related to college (tuition, fees, R&B, books, and sometimes personal as well). However, UA is so generous with engineers that it’s tempting to say you got a “full ride” to your friends when you don’t have to pay a dime for tuition, fees, and books 
Roll Tide!
^^ It may be tempting, but if your family doesn’t have the income to pay for R&B and travel, it could still be too expensive to attend.
Very true @LucieTheLakie that’s one of the reasons I took a gap year to work full-time to save some money for R&B. Still a better option than what I had in-state though. Misnomers beware!
The cool thing about the full tuition scholarship at UA is that it isn’t limited to fixed number of credit hours. If you take more than the standard maximum (18 hours, I believe), the scholarship just increases to cover the difference. Anybody else would have to pay extra for those additional credit hours.
And room and board will only be expensive the first year, when you’re required both to live on campus and to register for a full meal plan. After that, you can live off campus, and reduce your meal plan, or eliminate it altogether and just buy your own food.
^^^ @dodgersmom and that’s another thing too…life isn’t free anyways. Sure it would be nice to have an organization or college pay for everything so you can study, but that happens for so few. It’s already a huge blessing to not have to pay anything educational wise for college and only have to focus on living expenses. Life isn’t easy to afford but it beats having to pay tuition on top of it! This is as good as it gets for wanting to go to college without commuting from home to a local college. If I didn’t have UA, I would have surely gone to the commuting college in Denver.
One other thing, OP. Are you positive that you want to major in engineering? Based on the test scores I saw posted upthread (ACT 31), I’m guessing that your full tuition scholarship at Alabama is based on being in the College of Engineering, as the full tuition Presidential scholarship requires an ACT 32. If that’s the case and you switch your major out of the College of Engineering, you will lose the $2500 stipend and the 1/3 tuition supplement provided by the COE. If you can’t afford to lose those amounts, your ability to switch majors, should you decide engineering is not for you, is limited. Just another thing to keep in mind.
@beth’s mom, I thought he was eligible for the Presidential Scholarship as a NMSF, regardless of his SAT scores.
@mom2collegekids, can you clarify this?
@jaw653, please go back and verify what you’re expecting from Alabama. There are VERY few “full rides” and you want to be careful that you have some flexibility with your major in case you change your mind about what you want to study.
^^ Oh, didn’t notice he was NMF. Yes, I think NMFs get the Presidential.
Is he a NMF that didnt make NMF??
@jaw653 Are you NMSF that didn’t make NMF?
What scholarships have you received?
Isn’t NMF 10 terms instead of 8 for Presidential?
Yes it is…but I’m not sure why there’s a discussion about NMF. I don’t see where the student has mentioned being a NMF or NMSF. Did I miss that?
@mom2collegekids, he never said that, but everyone assumed that’s what he meant by “full ride.” What else could it be? That’s why many are concerned he may not realize the total cost to attend for him.
This is the sole clarification we’ve received:
What else would explain “full tuition and food and books” besides the NM scholarship?
Sorry to break up the party, but it’s not clear to me that Alabama is a better choice than in-state at Maryland. It might be, but it isn’t a slam dunk.
I don’t think it would be a terrible decision to choose Maryland over free-ride at Alabama. Some departments are stronger than others. OP, do your due diligence!
UCLA OOS? Fuhgeddaboudit! Dream about something else.
Just saying :-).
And that was clearly pointed out, @ClassicRockerDad, more than once, if you’d read the whole thread.
Sorry Lucie, just skimmed. I got swept away by the rolling force of the tide :-).
Haha, @ClassicRockerDad. Easy to do!
Full “tide” UA scholarship is by far the funniest typo that I have produced to date, lol:)
We are going through almost the exact scenario with our son. He earned scholarship to one of the top PrepSchools in the country and graduating at the top of his class. We were shocked that he did not receive a single penny of financial aid for his dream school. Same numbers as High School, but they just are not forthcoming at the college level with endowment spending. I’m feeling like a complete failure as a parent. Here he has done everything right, worked so hard, done everything expected of him. But now he can’t move forward because his Dad and I just can not take on $180,000 in ParentPlus loans. For a BACHELORS! It’s insanity! We have 2 in college, they’re combined tuition is pretty much our yearly income, and we did not receive a penny