How Urban is UA

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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Our son has Temple as his first choice, and is almost certain to enroll there if he gets the top scholarship. It has the urban setting he wants, and he enjoyed his visit. Getting that scholarship isn’t a given, though. Temple weights the GPA, but they don’t necessarily use the same formula as his HS. He has a 3.35 unweighted, 4.0 weighted. Hopefully he’ll be able to meet the 3.8 threshold for the top scholarship at Temple, but it’ll be close. I’m wondering if UA may be an alternative if he doesn’t get the top Temple scholarship. I’ve read that Bama just accepts the weighted GPA from the transcript. If that’s true, he’s eligible for full tuition. He is a NMSF with a 1460 M+CR on the SAT. D’s in English for Sophomore and Junior years will almost certainly keep him from advancing to NMF.

We visited Ole Miss last summer (should have gone over to Tuscaloosa, but didn’t know at the time about the weighted gpa) and he liked the campus and programs. However, he’s lived all his life in an urban environment. He’s uncertain about living four years in a small college town. As a NMSF, he’d get enough scholarship money that everything would be paid for by his college fund and then some. I’m not sure that the difference in urban feel between Oxford and Tuscaloosa, while probably significant, would be worth an extra 30K or so. Any opinions?

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Yes, Bama accepts the highest GPA…weighted.

When you say urban…do you mean like schools that sit squished into a big city and hardly look like a school? Bama isn’t like that. Bama looks like a school. It is in a good-sized city, but it has a true campus.

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I was just there. Coming from relatively urban south Florida, the feel of Tuscaloosa was refreshing. It’s big enough to have something for everyone, but still retains that college town feel. It really is special. And, he will have an “exotic” edge to him that will probably be appealing to other students!

Not to mention, I heard lots of Chicago accents when I was there, and we met people from just about everywhere. Our Honors ambassador told us that UA has become more popular with students from the northeast.

It is well worth the visit. My New Jersey born and bred husband loved it so much that I’m going to have trouble getting him to visit anywhere else. Our son listens to him more than me. :stuck_out_tongue:

I think the only way to “get it” is to visit.

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Thanks, @mom2collegekids. He’s looking for urban amenities like a theater that shows movies that don’t make it to the local multiplex (he wants to major in film). A downtown area that covers more that a few blocks would be a big plus (we both liked The Square in Oxford, but it’s pretty small when you’ve lived in NY and the DC area). I don’t think he really cares how the campus is configured, but if he can walk to the closest artsy-fartsy theater that would be a plus.

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Realistically you cannot expect Tuscaloosa to compare to NYC or DC for urban feel. If that is you biggest criteria then he will be disappointed. That being said, Tuscaloosa will bring to the table a feel that NYC and DC will not be able to manage.
Don’t underestimate the beauty of the campus, it is simply stunning.
The weather will be a plus if your son is tired of the cold cold winters of the north.
The OOS population being over 50% will help your son feel comfortable. There are people at UA from your area.
Then he will have the opportunity to take part in the southern culture, keeping close what he enjoys while ignoring things he doesn’t.
Is UA for everyone, of course not. But the student who cannot find it to be a second home was probably misplaced.
Roll Tide!

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Ole Miss & Oxford are like a mini UA & Tuscaloosa.

Tuscaloosa has a lot more to do and the downtown area is a lot closer to campus than The Square in Oxford is to the Ole Miss campus. Did you notice no sidewalks on the road from campus to The Square? That seemed odd to me.
In addition to downtown in Tuscaloosa with a lot of restaurants, new loft apartments, the amphitheatre, there is the Bama Theatre that is the venue for several local plays.

UA also has The Strip that is on the edge of campus, technically, some of it is the UA campus as UA owns most of the buildings. The Strip has restaurants, bars, shops and a Publix. UA has a lot more on the edge of campus for student needs than Ole Miss. UA has a Rite Aid pharmacy, Publix, other shops like a hair salon, phone repair, etc. All easy to walk to give more of that “urban” feel in that you do not have to drive everywhere. Will def need to drive to places like Target, Walmart, the malls, etc.

Another thing I was not real hip on at Ole Miss, the off campus housing is further away. There are no apartments or houses that are right on the edge of campus. My UA daughter has friends at Ole Miss and that is the thing, to live off campus on the other side of the highway and then drive to campus. Even those apartments are not walking distance to The Square. That is what I love about UA, you can live further away if you want OR you can live right there and walk to everything.

I would take time to go visit.

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When my son was down to his final decision - between Alabama and Ole Miss - he preferred the academic program at Alabama but wished so much that Tuscaloosa had a Square. He almost chose Ole Miss just for the Square - its quirkiness, charm, bookstores, that unique artsy feel, some place cool and fun to go on the weekends. Tuscaloosa does not offer anything like that at all. Not even a great coffee house like High Point in the Square. Closest thing that Tuscaloosa has is a Starbucks and my son is not a fan of Starbucks.

The historic Bama Theatre offers some independent films, and maybe that will satisfy your son, and is within walking distance.

Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years, and taken advantage of all that area has to offer, as well as living in an urban city in the Northeast before coming to Florida, I think I understand what you are looking for and Tuscaloosa does not provide any of that. Tuscaloosa is not a bustling urban city. Birmingham is the closest to that in the state, but, of course, a good hour away (though an easy drive.)

I think the school has grown so fast that there has not been enough time to develop the kinds of amenities that one might expect would surround a school as large as Alabama. You don’t have to go too far away from the campus to discover that most of Tuscaloosa is still quite poor and many areas still in disarray due to tornadoes. There is a lot of new retail, even an Aldis (great news for a college student’s budget, and more freedom from the expensive Publix), and a Fresh Market, but nothing new to do around there. Other than a handful of good restaurants, the Strip, where so many students spend their Fridays, is just one bar after another. Booze is the entertainment of choice. If your student is not interested in drinking parties, as my son is not, then Fridays are open for heading away from campus to eat out and maybe going to see one of the plays or concerts offered via the university’s Theatre and Dance and Music departments. Of course, there is football.

That said, you should really visit. Tuscaloosa has a lot going for it. Definitely larger than Oxford, but with an equally beautiful, but larger, campus. Given the scholarship money available at both schools, I would highly recommend trying to get to Tuscaloosa for a visit so your son can see for himself.

And while you are there, make sure to eat at Los Tarascos down on Skyland (the best Mexican you will find, and I grew up eating the most authentic Mexican food in California, and Los Tarascos beats out many of my favorite hole-in-the-walls out West), GloryBound Gyros downtown (charming and delicious), and Dreamland BBQ (an authentic Tuscaloosa Southern experience) :slight_smile:

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Thanks for your input, everyone. If he gets a big enough scholarship at Temple the point is moot. If he doesn’t I’ll share what I learned here. My closest point of reference is probably Knoxville, where I went to grad school. I know Knoxville is a good bit bigger than Tuscaloosa, though. I’m not at all sure he’d find the difference between Ole Miss and UA to be worth the price difference. If he chose Ole Miss he’d have enough left for a nice study abroad experience.

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For Tuscaloosa coffee houses, I would suggest either Heritage House or Nehemiah’s…or even Edelweiss. I know that HH is very popular with students.

Bama Theater has off-beat showings.

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@mstomper, I live in suburban Philadelphia, went to college in the city, and am quite familiar with Temple. Fingers crossed for your son there.

My son had thought he wanted to go to school in an urban setting too (although he had no interest in Temple, much to my frustration!) and could have gone to school in a beautiful small city in the Upper Midwest, but he was completely underwhelmed when we visited. I would have loved for him to look at Ole Miss, too, but one southern school met his quota at the time. :slight_smile:

Thirty thousand bucks is a lot of money, but spread over four years, it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for our budget. What is your son planning to study and how large is the current city you’re all living in? Philly is a BIG city if you’re comparing it to Knoxville, but a small one if you’re used to Chicago or NYC.

Temple’s campus in North Philly is in the grittiest section of the city and is a huge contrast with, say, Penn’s in West Philly. If your son loves that scene, great, but that’s quite a range of environments you’re considering!

All I can tell you is that I’d LOVE to visit Ole Miss one of these days and that I absolutely fell in love with UA’s campus after visiting. To me, it has the best of both worlds with its traditional layout and small downtown nearby.

Good luck!

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DS was accepted to Temple w/ full tuition + scholarship as well, and would not even consider it.

He is also at UA w/ full tuition & engineering scholarships. I actually liked there was so much to do o campus, as a friend told me: " Philly might have a lot to do, but it often takes money to do it, and that can add up fast."

But, yeah, if your son wants that Philly vibe, you aren’t going to find that in Tuscaloosa. We were certainly OK with that.

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But nothing beats Tuscaloosa on a football gameday. It becomes the largest city in Alabama on those days.

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@LucieTheLakie, we live just outside DC, inside the Beltway. S is used to travelling to DC and Baltimore. He’s a native of Brooklyn, but we moved when he was a baby. He’s probably going to major in Film Studies and minor in math. If he ends up at Ole Miss he wants to do a film/journalism/math liberal studies degree. He’s visited both Temple and Ole Miss, and likes Temple more due to its location. I can see paying the extra money for him to attend Temple over Ole Miss, but I’m not sure I’m feeling it for Bama over Ole Miss. I’m certain it’s not because I went to grad school at UT and grew up in east TN. I’m not sure how carefully he’s considered not having as much money to enjoy the stuff in Philly, but he’s a kid who tends to do his research. If Temple isn’t affordable and he decides Oxford is just too small, I could see Bama coming into play. It should cost about the same as the best case scenario price for Temple. If he gets one of the big two scholarships at Temple there’s money for study abroad or internships, and there’s money in his college fund for that if he goes to Ole Miss. If the Temple scholarship isn’t big enough he may have to reevaluate what he wants to do, and I want him to have as many viable options as possible. And @NoVADad99, he could care less about football. Baseball is the only sport he cares about, and he’s a big fan.

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@mstomper, @NoVADad99 and y’all have a lot more in common than you may realize, but I’ll let him share that if he’s so inclined. :slight_smile:

For film studies, I totally understand the appeal of Temple, but UA is no slouch in that regard. @malanai’s son has had a remarkable experience studying film at UA. Perhaps he’ll share an update if he still reads here, but check this out: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/17389892/#Comment_17389892

This is a recruiting video his son is featured in as well: https://vimeo.com/uaadmissions/review/90721971/de9f5af37e

As for baseball vs. football (I happen to love both, BTW), let me just say that my son’s high school didn’t even field a football team and he had ZERO interest in football when he arrived at UA a year ago and some change. I’m happy to report we BOTH enjoy talking football these days.

UA has a terrific baseball team that sends players to the big leagues (including Phillies pitcher Adam Morgan!) and its ballpark is right on campus. Something else perhaps to consider!

http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/bama-in-the-pros.html

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OP, I have two sons who go to University of Alabama who love it and hopefully you and your son can tour the campus and form your own opinion. However, I would go with the idea that it really isn’t urban; to me it has more of a suburban feeling than a city feel.

I don’t want to discourage you to check UA out (it might be just what he wants) but I will suggest another option - the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. UMN is right between Minneapolis and St. Paul, has both a urban and a traditional feel depending where you are on campus. The light rail runs right through it connecting you to the cities. My oldest son was a NMF and he was given both the Gold Scholarship, President Scholarship and NMF scholarship which ended up being full tuition for him (although we had instate because of reciprocity.) My second NMF son, who chose UA, also got the Benton $5,000/$7,000 scholarship on top of the other ones. Even without these, out of state tuition is reasonable, as is food and board, so the cost might be in your budget. The campus is big (45,000 students) and the classes can be big (honors classes can be 100 students) but it has a good reputation, especially in engineering, and business. The average ACT in their College of Engineering is 32.

Oops, I just read that he might not end up as a NMF. I am not sure what UMN offers to NMSF. Check it out if interested. Whatever he decides, good luck and roll tide!

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It’s difficult for a non-southerner (especially a non-Alabamian) to understand how college football dominates life there. It is a religion, one whose convictions are every bit as strong as religion when it comes to your college football allegiance. If you have not, look up the ESPN film “Roll Tide, War Eagle” on Netflix. That describes pretty well the intensity of the passion for the game. I didn’t really care for college football until I visited Bama. Then I understood. While I’ve never been to an SEC game, I get a taste of the intensity from the Facebook parents page posts on gameday.

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I grew up in suburban Philly, and now live in suburban Chicago, and I will tell you that I do not consider Tuscaloosa to be urban at all. There is a compact downtown area with some stores and restaurants and there is “The Strip” near campus, with bars, restaurants and college town-type stores. There are cultural events on the campus itself, and Birmingham is less than an hour away. The University of Alabama campus is beautiful, and my daughter loves being at UA and in Tuscaloosa. I would not have a kid who is looking for an urban campus go there without visiting first, though. OTOH, I wouldn’t advise that anyone go to Temple without visiting first, either. That’s the type of urban I wouldn’t want, but then again, I’m not a city person.

Good luck to your son with the Temple scholarship.

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@kgpcphmom, I think he’d love UMN, but with his grades it wouldn’t be affordable.

@NoVaDad , I’ve been in a packed Neyland Stadium when UT played Alabama, Florida, and Auburn. I definitely know what it’s like. S16 and I were at Nats Park for J. Zimmermann’s no hitter and Jayson Werth’s Game 4 walk off. S18 is a huge football fan, though.

He’s visited Temple and loved it. The neighborhood isn’t a deterrent at all.

From what I’ve seen it’s hard to see him thinking UA is worth more than Ole Miss with enough left over for a semester or summer abroad.

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Temple’s a great school and their Presidential Scholarship is a tremendous opportunity. I know a couple kids there with the award. (And their football team is pretty good this year too if your son changes his mind about the sport. Everybody in Philly was very excited when ESPN came to the city two weeks ago for “College Gameday.”)

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My son and wife just missed them; they were there the weekend before for a tour and the Philadelphia Film Festival.
I think S went to 9 movies; only an aspiring film studies major.