<p>So I’ve been looking into U of Alabama as a school that I might be able to get some good financial aid at, despite the fact that I’m OOS. My SAT isn’t a problem (2240) but my unweighted GPA is not at or above a 3.5 (I think it will end up around a 3.3). On the other hand, my weighted GPA, as my school calculates it, is definitely above a 3.5. </p>
<p>To make a long story short, do they require a 3.5 weighted or unweighted for scholarship eligibility? Thanks!</p>
<p>You have almost identical stats to my son and we were wondering the same thing. I emailed Alabama directly regarding this and they said they take what ever gpa is listed on the high school transcript. Unfortunately for us, our high school does not weight any classes and even though my son has taken AP and honors courses, he will not get any extra points and will probably have a 3.3 unweighted gpa listed on his transcript.</p>
<p>Hmm…well, although my school does class rank by weighted GPA, it lists both weighted and unweighted on the transcript. Thanks for the information, schoolmom - does anyone know whether they would take weighted in my case?</p>
<p>When we visited UA last summer, we were told that they accept the highest GPA reported by your high school. So if your high school reports both weighted & unweighted, they will use the weighted.</p>
<p>Do they use weighted for admissions, too?</p>
<p>Directly from the admissions website…
“For entering freshman, when GPA is reviewed for scholarships, will a weighted or unweighted GPA be considered?
If both are listed on the official high school transcript, the highest one will be reviewed.”</p>
<p>[FAQ</a> - Undergraduate Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/faq/]FAQ”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/faq/)</p>
<p>Thank you so much guys! Haha I feel a little dumb that it was on the website the whole time, but that’s okay. It’s very nice to know I have a good safety to fall back on.</p>
<p>Anonymityyy, make sure that you apply early and gain admission before Dec. 1 so you are eligible for scholarships at UA. Right now, you might consider UA a safety, but go visit. The place can quickly change one’s thinking. It did for my son, who will be in the honors programs and has a very nice National Merit scholarship. He is also an OOS.</p>
<p>anoynymityyy, definitely take a visit. I visited over Spring Break and was very impressed, even though I was not expecting much. The Honors College is a great perk, with the additional individualized attention and being in classes with high achieving peers. Plus, the Honors dorms were absolutely amazing. UA is now one of my top choices, even though it will probably be the easiest college admissions wise that I will apply to. Good luck.</p>
<p>I’ll definitely go visit if I get the chance - from what I’ve heard it’s an excellent school, and it’s encouraging to hear that people like it so much. I know this is a pretty silly, vague question, but are people at UA generally “nice” as in friendly, helpful etc.? Also, is there much to do in the surrounding area? One of the things I always look for in a college is a big city surrounding, which I realize UA doesn’t exactly have, but is the setting relatively interesting? </p>
<p>Thank you guys so much! You’re really making me feel pretty favorable toward UA!</p>
<p>Yes, if you come to Bama, you will be surrounded by state parks, Moundville -oldest Indian village in N.America, the Black Warrior River, Lake Tuscaloosa, and Bham is only an hour away. One of the 13 Haunted Mansions of Alabama is adjacent to campus. Snuck in with some friends years ago, and nearly scared ourselved to death. Plenty to enjoy in and around Tuscaloosa. </p>
<p>And check out the Northport ghost!</p>
<p>anonymityyy, When I visited Bama I definitely felt that the people there were very nice and friendly. Most people made eye contact with you when you walked past them and said hi, which was not the case at some other large state universities that I have visited. I can’t really say much about the surrounding area, as I really wasn’t able to explore it much, but Tuscaloosa did seem to have a good amount of shopping, etc. to do, but was definitely no big city. Good luck.</p>
<p>Road trips are also big, in Tuscaloosa, and almost all the in state kids will have a car. T-town is about mid way between NOLA and Atlanta, and those are both long weekend places. It is about 5 hours to the beach, and again there will be kids with family beach places, etc, so that’s another weekend trip. Lots of stuff to do on campus,too, and Tuscaloosa is all about cars and the University.</p>