@wgunzueta, my twin daughters are freshmen at The University of Alabama and are both part of the Blount Scholars program and the Honors program. They absolutely love UA and the Blount program. We live in the Midwest and UA is about 9 hours away. There are many out of state students who choose UA. I would be happy to answer any questions you have or connect you to my daughters to get their perspective on life/studies at UA. Best of luck in your search!