<p>Do any students who are from the Northeast think there is a big adjustment going to college at Auburn University? Are you treated differently if you are not from the south?</p>
<p>well, we’re not from the northeast, but rather the midwest. (michigan) we’ve been her for 14 years and have so rarely found anyone who has a problem about southerners versus northerners. my observation is that this may exist in older people/generations, as my parents moved down here, too. my son is at auburn and loves it and he’s very involved in activities. we’re very happy in the south and our kids, too! welcome down here if you decide on auburn. :)</p>
<p>Also from midwest, but my D has reported no real problems with the culture, attitudes, etc. She loves the town (a lot smaller than where we live, but she thinks it’s tremendously friendly and accessible) Her only notable observation is that if there’s no home football game, the in-staters tend to take off on the weekends and go home. It doesn’t necessarily bother her – she has other OOS roommates and lives in a residence hall where there are a number of OOS students, so they find stuff to do (movies, both on-campus and off, eating out, dorm activities, etc.) My D, however, is also the kind of kid who doesn’t mind having a quiet campus on the weekends – she says it makes for better study time. If you like a ton of on-going social events all the time (not just football game weekends), and you aren’t in a greek org, you may find you have to plan more with other OOS kids.</p>
<p>I’m wondering since football is only in the fall do the students tend to go home most weekends after football season? I’m surprised with such a large undergraduate population that it is noticeable that students go home. Can anyone add their experiences with weekends at Auburn?</p>
<p>I guess I made it sound like it’s a mass exodus – that characterization would be an exaggeration. I don’t think that upperclassmen, for example, flee the campus. Since my D is a freshman, she has noticed that a number of freshman in-state kids whose hometowns are reasonably close (like Birmingham or Montgomery) who have cars and live in the Village, have gone home with some frequency. Keep in mind that almost half the student population is comprised of OOS kids, so I don’t think the campus becomes a ghost town – it’s just not a roaring hotbed of activity like it is during football weekends (and it is pretty nutty on game days – FULL of tailgating students and alums). One of D’s roommates goes home a lot so she can get her mom do her laundry and eat home cooking, another has a job at home on the weekends. Her other roommate NEVER leaves because she lives in south Florida. I’m sorry if I made Auburn out to be a commuter campus, because it really isn’t.</p>
<p>audellmom is right. My D was looking for a “midwest” flavor to a college (we live in FL now but are from Chicago). She thinks she has found that at AU. She has not found a we/they attitude at all. One southern thing she says she likes is that the boys are very polite and kind. Recognize though that on some level, there is a bit of “camo”–you’ll find this on any campus except very urban ones (and there they are camos who are posers!) My D relates AU to many of the more upscale, private colleges we visited.</p>
<p>D finds plenty of things to do on weekends (one suitemate lives 45 mins away in GA and goes home a lot but I think that’s because she is homesick–this isn’t unique to AU. My friends kids are doing the same and they go to a variety of schools. If your student likes the outdoors, my D has been hiking and canoeing in Chewacla (10 minutes away) or some of the friends’ families have lake houses at Lake Martin.</p>
<p>Plus, if your student is interested in Greek life, there is always something to do. My D’s sorority is very down to earth and not at all the stereotypical “southern belle” thing. But many students do dress up for football games (dresses, shirts and ties)</p>