<p>" If I’m not happy where ever I end up, I can always transfer. Plus Appalachian IS a good school, as is UNC wilmington. "</p>
<p>“I CAN do better, I think I just really wanted to go there because It’s huge, and is greek oriented, which are superficial and not really valid reasons. NC does have really good schools. I just need to get over the fact that I’m not going to go somewhere like all my friends are, and make the best of it, because I can still go to a decent school in state”</p>
<p>There’s no evidence that due to overly controlling parents, the OP’s thoughtful dreams are being brutally shattered. </p>
<p>East Carolina probably was her safety school. It’s not as if her parents are saying that she’ll have to stay home and go to community college.</p>
<p>Seems that her parents are giving her wings while also not supporting her selecting a school because it’s big and has great parties. She can go to an equivalently or even better ranked school in state and not have as much temptation to party. </p>
<p>We also don’t know how she got low grades early in high school and how her grades turned around.</p>
<p>Anyway, I notice that Emily seems more accepting of her options than do some parents here. Emily, too, knows the whole story about her grades and her attraction to certain colleges. While she was hoping that we could help her parents let her go to Alabama, she doesn’t seem to be complaining in the way that students do when they have parents who really are overly controlling. In fact, her communications on this thread remind me of younger S who so very gently tried to get H and I to pay for his first year of college instead of having S take out big loans. S knew, however, that his awful grades were why we wouldn’t invest in him, so he never ranted about having to prove himself before we’d invest in his college education.</p>
<p>Since this is what my daughter received it actually makes UA CHEAPER than even a CSU college in California. And definitely less than a UC. The only school that would be a lot less is Stanford because of their generous need-based aid for middle class families. If money was our ONLY criteria then it would make sense for our daughter to attend University of Alabama. But, this is only one school of 10 she applied to, so we’ll have to weigh the pros and cons when she hears back from all of them. </p>
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<p>Mom2CollegeKids wrote:</p>
<p>Too bad you didn’t apply to Alabama earlier, you would have gotten a 2/3 scholarship ($60k total). It would have cost the same or less than your in-state school. Your tuition would have been dropped to about $6500.</p>
<p>But, you might still get such a scholarship since you’re OOS and Alabama wants more OOS students.</p>
<p>I think this is my husband’s mindset. When he found out our D applied and was accepted to UA and even received the generous scholarship…he basically rolled his eyes. “Alabama??” Heck, it would even cost us LESS money to send her there from CA. But, he can’t wrap his head around her going to Alabama. It has nothing to do with prejudice (racial). Maybe it’s the old song, “Old Susannah?” Who knows! I do know that the main reason Alabama is trying to recruit bright kids from OOS is to boost their stats and ranking. Apparently, the education system within the state doesn’t always produce students with these stats. Am I wrong? I just thought I read this somewhere. I realize, of course, they aren’t the only school who does this.</p>
<p>Northstar said:</p>
<p>Alabama is a state that in general people don’t think well of. U of Ala is using merit aid to try to attract students to boost its image in hopes that some day people will revere the state and the university the way they revere North Carolina.</p>
<p>I know someone who was head of a corporation in Alabama and had a hard time recruiting people there because people didn’t want to move to Alabama even though he was in a very nice city there, Huntsville</p>
<p>My daughter is in love with Indiana University-Bloomington mostly because it represents everything UN-California. She got accepted with a decent scholarship…but we’re still not convinced she needs to go OOS. A lot of it depends on what she hears back from CA schools. But, she really wants to experience something different. No colleges on or near the beach. She just doesn’t want to go where the majority of her class is going. And, yes, there may be a better chance of getting her education in four years OOS. On the other hand, if she stays on track and takes the right classes, I imagine she could do that in CA, too. A lot of kids change their majors or goof around, hence adding months or years onto their college stay.</p>
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<p>lilmom wrote:</p>
<p>DD’s uncle lives in NC and wants her to come out this spring to visit schools! Things DO look better out of this state (CA) where we live!</p>
<p>Alabama isn’t valued by lots of people because it’s one of the country’s poorest states (46th out of 50 according to Wikipedia). It also is one of the states with the least proportion of college grads (44 of 50 according to the Census). </p>
<p>When the average person thinks of Alabama, they think of not too bright people chewing tobacco and living on farms. Alabama actually has a beautiful coastline and some lovely cities and cultural amenities like the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, but most people don’t think of those things when they think of that state.</p>
<p>And then there are those who think California is all about Hollywood celebrities, warm weather and miles of sandy beaches. LOL Trust me, that is a very SMALL portion of CA. I’m just fortunate to live a mile from the beach in a mild climate. It’s my hometown so I just take it for granted. But, drive several miles inland and one might THINK they’re in another state…especially if they’re expecting something totally different when they come to California. And the worst of it, people are paying waaaay too much for a house they can purchase in their own state with the same surroundings and extreme weather.</p>
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<p>Northstarmom wrote:</p>
<p>Alabama isn’t valued by lots of people because it’s one of the country’s poorest states (46th out of 50 according to Wikipedia). It also is one of the states with the least proportion of college grads (44 of 50 according to the Census). </p>
<p>When the average person thinks of Alabama, they think of not too bright people chewing tobacco and living on farms. Alabama actually has a beautiful coastline and some lovely cities and cultural amenities like the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, but most people don’t think of those things when they think of that state.</p>
<p>I have to admit that Alabama in my mind has been pretty much tainted by George Wallace. I spent some time there back in the late 70s. It was pretty.</p>
She got accepted with a decent scholarship…but we’re still not convinced she needs to go OOS. A lot of it depends on what she hears back from CA schools. But, she really wants to experience something different. No colleges on or near the beach. She just doesn’t want to go where the majority of her class is going. And, yes, there may be a better chance of getting her education in four years OOS. On the other hand, if she stays on track and takes the right classes, I imagine she could do that in CA, too. A lot of kids change their majors or goof around, hence adding months or years onto their college stay.</p>