<p>Do you know of any other public universities with a similar town/city environment as Tuscaloosa? My D absolutely loves UA, the strip and the surrounding city - but for other reasons, will likely not be attending UA.</p>
<p>We are from Michigan and she is considering Michigan State - but really doesn’t like the city of East Lansing (it’s very run down.) She would very much like to leave Michigan and attend a college within a city similar to Tuscaloosa - but cost is an issue for us.</p>
<p>Since we are in the Midwest Student Exchange Program, we qualify for instate tuition (or other discounts) in KS, MN, MO, NE, ND and WI - otherwise, we would need a significant scholarship offer to bring the cost down close to that of an instate public. </p>
<p>She is undecided on major but it will be something in the liberal arts, such as graphic design and humanities. </p>
<p>Any suggestions of schools we should take a look at?</p>
<p>My son and I loved Kansas and Kansas State. Lawrence is a vibrant town and it’s so charming. KU’s campus is beautiful. KSU has a cute little campus town and then a separate area, similar to UA, that is very nice. The campus is very pretty. All of the buildings are constructed of limestone and look like castles. Iowa City is also a vibrant, fun town with a lovely campus and huge school spirit. All three are worth a look.</p>
<p>I haven’t been to any of those states you mentioned. </p>
<p>You would get more feedback if you changed your title to include the states and posted in the Parent’s Forum. There are many folks there that will have information.</p>
<p>I would suggest Indiana U in Bloomington. Bloomington is very much a college town, a little smaller than Tuscaloosa, but with the same feel. IU has very good, guaranteed scholarships like Bama, which cover almost the full tutition for IS students, however they are not larger for OOS students, so there’s still a large gap that would need to be met.</p>
<p>Ditto the suggestion to post in the parent’s forum. Also, you may need to share a bit about her stats so that folks can help find any applicable sources of merit aid.</p>
<p>You might take a look at Mizzou. Columbia has grown significantly since I was a student there eons ago, but it is still very much a college town feel.</p>
<p>Iowa State…my older D is there right now…Love the campus and love the town of Ames, IA. They are generous w/ merit aid, although not as generous as 'Bama.
Ames has a great historical area and a very modern downtown w/Target, Walmart etc.
Huge quad, small classes and a very midwestern feel.
D is going to miss it…however, she is applying at 'Bama for grad school! lol</p>
<p>I’m from Kansas, and Lawrence (KU) is a great little town, very similar to Tuscaloosa. I’ve heard people call KU’s campus beautiful, but personally it doesn’t do much for me. Manhattan (K-State) is about half the size of either Lawrence or Tuscaloosa but still has a neat little area near campus called Aggieville full of shops and bars and restaurants. I’ve passed through Columbia (MU), and it too seems like a nice sized college town. That’s all I know from personal experience.</p>
<p>Buzy, ISU is generous with merit aid? With a 33 ACT and 4.0 GPA I only got $8000 a year from them.</p>
<p>My oldest son is a 4th generation K-Stater. It’s a great town and campus. I would highly recommend visiting. On behalf of my three kids: Go Cats, Wooo Pig Sooie, and Roll Tide!</p>
<p>I have to disagree w/ Iowa State - for us, the town felt completely run down and cut off from the campus by a major road. I did not feel that the town was part of the campus at all.</p>
<p>One thing I look for in a town is the off-campus housing available to students - the safety of it, the availability of it, the proximity of it to campus.</p>
<p>Aeromom…not sure when you went or exactly what part of town, but if it was right across the street from campus that is the Campus Town area and is in the process of being completely renovated and rebuilt. It is small, but has a Dunkin and Starbucks and the required Pita Pit along with some bars and shops. Kind of a dumpy area until it is finished.</p>
<p>The town area…much like the Midtown area of T-town is actually very similiar to T-Town, with Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc all in one long strip. It’s all pretty new and there is lots of new development going on with new eatery’s and shops opening, so I am not sure what area you were in that was run down.</p>
<p>That being said Ames is an older town and does have some old areas. However, off campus living is plentiful, inexpensive and very safe. D has lived in two very different complexes and had no issues with either. ISU also has campus housing apartments that are for students who prefer to live on campus all four year and are only open to juniors and seniors.</p>
<p>We drove around Iowa State on our way back from UN-L and I agree with aeromom. I wasn’t impressed.</p>
<p>My son really liked the University of Minnesota. Dinkytown is a little like the strip. The engineering school is hard to get into. The average ACT is nearly 32. Ultimately we felt UA had more to offer.</p>
<p>I really liked the honors dorm at UN-L. It was built in the 20s and had a lot of charm and character.</p>
<p>UNC -Chapel Hill – a great college town! Franklin Street runs right adjacent to the campus, and has lots of little shops and restaurants. The town is fairly small, but very close to larger cities like Raleigh and Durham (easy to fly in and out of in needed). But very little (almost no!) merit aid if you’re looking for that. My D would have been the
3rd generation of her family to attend, but there was no way for us to manage the out of state tuition.</p>
<p>Out of all the states you mention, the University of Wisconsin would be my first choice. Madison is a awesome town. Larger than Tuscaloosa for sure, but it does not feel like a big city. Beautiful campus, scenic surroundings. Oh, and it’s a very good school.</p>
<p>Kids seem to love Madison but my son didn’t care for it. It’s urban, the footprint is huge, it lacks a central campus feel, the weather is bad, and it’s far too liberal for our taste. It also doesn’t seem to be very student focused. I personally don’t think the campus is very nice.</p>
<p>As a parent, I was concerned that it’s a big party school (WI leads the nation in binge drinking) and it didn’t seem to be the best place for a younger student.</p>
<p>I really wanted to like Madison, but for us, UA was a better choice.</p>