Riverbirch, UA accepted only slightly more than half of all applications last Fall. That is pretty selective.
USC used to be known as the “University of Spoiled Children” and had a 70+% admit rate in the 1980’s.
http://dailytrojan.com/2014/08/15/freshman-admission-rate-the-lowest-in-usc-history/
Just give bama a bit more time…
Atlanta most students aren’t holding their breath that they are going to make it in to Bama. I don’t consider them very selective but that’s just my opinion. I’m fearing the ones who get rejected score in the teens on the ACT, and if I remember correctly scoring in the teens does not prohibit you from getting in Alabama. Not trying to slam the school, but come on it does not have the prestige factor going for it yet. Maybe it will some day, but my fear is if you take away the OOS scholarships the school would have empty seats galore to try and fill.
Alabama does have a prestigious football program and perhaps, given time it will have that as a school. It’s a very solid school and no one (OP) should hang their head if they go there.
Riverbirch
Yes, people here on CC are impressed by UMich and similar. However, we’re not the majority of people. Seriously, before I was on CC, I (and much of the rest of the country), simply think of flagships as “big state schools” that we’ve heard of…same ole, same ole. Many in the country have no idea of where a school like UMich is ranked. (Besides, rankings have more to do with what goes on OUTSIDE the classroom, than inside…which is a shock to many.)
I’m from Calif. Very few people would raise an eyebrow over hearing that someone went to UMich, or UVA, or UNC…seriously. Californians (and many other states’ residents) just aren’t impressed. If we hear an ivy name or MIT, then yes, that sounds prestigious.
And, yes, to many…one big state school is not much different from another big state school.
You get beyond the prestige issue by considering your objective. Those goals transcend the name of the institutions and rely on the opportunities you gain and the effort you commit them. You will encounter the prestige issue throughout your life and each time you should consider your overall goal.
Would Riverbirch prefer UA to raise admission standards such that it would be inaccessible to many lower scoring Black and White students, who often come from deprived backgrounds? The same people who knock UA for not being prestigious enough, are usually the ones complaining about lack of diversity.
<<
Would Riverbirch prefer UA to raise admission standards such that it would be inaccessible to many lower scoring Black and White students,
<<
Exactly! Bama is committed to still be accessible to its residents who have “good GPAs” but have modest ACTs because they’re from either rural areas or inner-city areas, where K-12 education is weaker.
It’s also more difficult for lower population states to have highly selective univs.
<<<
The same people who knock UA for not being prestigious enough, are usually the ones complaining about lack of diversity.
<<<
Exactly! The flagships that are more selective and “prestigious” usually have smaller numbers of URMs, particularly smaller numbers of MALE URMs.
After about 25 year in my professional career, I’m trying to count how many co-workers I’ve had that I’ve known where they received their undergrad degree. There have been very few. I can probably count them on my fingers. And those were generally because they were sports enthusiasts who made a big deal about rooting for their team. If someone came up to me and told me they’d got there undergrad from an Ivy League school, since I’m in rural, southern Indiana, my first thought would be ‘How did you wind up here???’, but then I’d wonder why they felt the need to brag or just assume they were generally obnoxious. There is really little cause in the professional world to ever tell people where your degree came from. It may help for an instant when obtaining a job if the person reviewing the resume is impressed, but it can matter just as much being from a large school with a strong alumni network where you can find that someone reviewing a resume will be just as biased about a lesser known school to which they have connections. So, I’m not really sure what the value of ‘prestige’ is in the real world.
And as far as some large state schools being more prestigious than others, sure there are names that are nationally recognized, but for those evaluating resumes, the strength of any school is really in the specific degree programs. For example, 2 of my degrees from Indiana U: saying I have an MBA from Kelley School of Business might look impressive on a resume, but saying I have a BS in Psychology from Indiana University, not as much. The same holds for other large state schools. Getting a degree in engineering from Purdue may have value, but graduating from Purdue with a liberal arts degree has no greater value than getting that degree from most other schools.
Some students and parents consider the student attending the most selective school the student can get into, and consider scholarship/COA secondary. Others do look at specific programs (and the student may or may not complete a degree in that program). How much UG education is going to cost, and what fits best for student considering cost/benefit?
UA is a very good safety, financial and academic for OP. With Presidential and Engineering Scholarships, very generous merit for OOS. The big pool of honors students and the programs offered (as I previously stated) makes it very attractive for students to gain many things in UG program that cannot be attained at other schools - like the Emerging Scholars Honors Program where students get involved in research as UG freshman; STEM MBA program, etc.- these two identified programs have hundreds of students in them, not a very select few. Being in Honors give class priority. DD’s schedule builder input for second semester freshman year (after advisor input and sign-off), as soon as she was able to electronically submit, got her #1 schedule choice - all the preferred classes and schedule.
As others have stated, UA has a commitment to be accessible to its residents. For those that choose to go to UA, they either rise to the level of achievement or transfer to somewhere they can commute to, keeping COA down. AL has educational opportunities dispersed through the state, and several schools that would perhaps be a ‘flagship’ in another state - like AU, and to a lesser extent, USA, UAB, UAH. I have met some students at UA who have such strong character and drive - working several jobs in addition to the FASFA grants and loans.
Certainly there are historically strong state flagship schools - UMich, UWisc, UT, etc. Pay OOS tuition to attend? Many do. Not wise to do taking large student loans for UG, IMHO.
<<<
If someone came up to me and told me they’d got there undergrad from an Ivy League school, since I’m in rural, southern Indiana, my first thought would be ‘How did you wind up here???’, but then I’d wonder why they felt the need to brag or just assume they were generally obnoxious.
[QUOTE=""]
[/QUOTE]
lol
When I worked in aerospace in Calif, I had a colleague who had graduated from Cornell. Most everyone else had gone to a UC or CSU, with a few from MIT or elsewhere. This guy would literally, purposely mention that he had gone to Cornell anytime he was introduced to anyone. lol…
…yes, he was obnoxious!
Sounds like someone at Dunder Mifflin!
I appreciate all of you taking the time to share your thought. It has given me much to think about.
May announcement of UA grad Vicki Hollub (1981) to become CEO of Occidental Petroleum, and the first woman to run a big oil company. She graduated from public HS McCalla AL (located geographically between B’ham and Tuscaloosa). She has worked at Occidental since 1982. She began in 1981 with Cities Service which was acquired by Occidental in 1982.She is also promoted to senior executive VP of Occidental and President of Oxy Oil and Gas, making her responsible for operations in the US, the Middle East, and Latin America.
People rise to the top career wise due to a number of factors, but the ‘cream rises to the top’ wherever they begin, and from the opportunities along the way.
More ‘food for thought’.
I also have seen people who brag about which colleges they went when I was in Korea…the difference is, almost EVERYONE brags about their colleges. Man, good thing I am in the U.S. I don’t have to see those them 
Yeah, but your football team can kick their football team’s butt 
I’ve always been more concerned about value than prestige. Value does not necessarily mean cheap. It means considering various aspects of a purchase and determining which option works best for ones budget. Just because one could get into Harvard doesn’t mean that it’s the best school for them.
@GnocchiB that would by Andy from the Office, who constantly bragged that he had gone to Cornell!
Some writer from The Office must have had it in for Cornell…
Like @SEA_tide I also agree for undergrad that value>>>prestige.
People who go into ruinous debt for a blingy name undergraduate degree are like people who max out their credit cards to buy designer label clothes. It feels good when you wear that shirt w the designer name on it, but eventually that designer label shirt ends up in the back of the closet along w the clothes u paid a lot less for.
It’s funny (to me) that Cornell is the school that the someone would trumpet on and on about. I’ve seen, on TV, talking heads go at it with each other as to which college in Cornell they went to- because 3 of the colleges are state-funded, and the attendees in the other colleges seemingly don’t consider those alums to be “Ivy League.”
Prestige, for the most part, only matters to those who think it matters. Change your mindset and it’s no longer that much of an issue.
“Prestige” only matters to those who lack confidence in themselves.