<p>When ( In which year ) did UofA start make a conscious decision to start attracting NMFs with big scholarships? What are the tangible effects from doing so?</p>
<p>I’m not sure when the first year was that Bama first started offering big scholarships to NMFs and other students (like the Presidential), but I remember my hairdresser was talking about the Presidential for her son…and that was in the early 2000’s.</p>
<p>I also remember reading that Alabama was tired of top students going OOS, so it was offering big money for top students to stay here (and to attract OOS students.)</p>
<p>The results aren’t just from the NMF students (not enough of them), but also from the Presidential and UA Scholar kids. The 3 groups have pushed Bama’s top quartile numbers up. Right now, the top quartile has an ACT 30+…I think it will soon be a 31+ (based on newest numbers). </p>
<p>I wrote the following in another thread that asked a question about Bama’s scholarships, etc…</p>
<p>Yes, about 10 years ago, President Witt (now Chancellor Witt) came up with a multi-point plan to make Bama a target school for America’s best and brightest. He had come from the UTexas university system that is hog-tied with instate Top 10% rules and a tiny UT campus. At Bama, he knew he wouldn’t have such restrictions to put his plan into action. </p>
<p>He put a capital campaign into place, added over 40 new buildings, updated the existing buildings, added a mega-sized Science and Engineering Complex, grew the school, purchased more land, revamped the entire campus, got the city heavily involved to update the area and infrastructure, got Bama back into being a football powerhouse (another source of big money), and offered awesome scholarships. </p>
<p>Bama jumped over 20 spots in USNews in 2 years. What other school has done that?</p>
<p>When you improve a school then it’s not hard to attract top students and top profs. </p>
<p>It’s a domino effect…build, offer merit, attract students, attract profs, get more research dollars, make donors/alums happy, rankings rise.</p>
<p>The “make up” of the school has remarkably changed. It’s kept its southern hospitality, but it has become more cosmopolitan. I totally “get” that a Jewish family from the NE would think, “I can’t send my kid to the Bible Belt.” lol I totally understand that as a Catholic girl from Calif. My mom used to “warn” us about how Catholics would be treated in the South. While that may still be true in the rural parts of the south, it’s nothing to fear in the bigger cities or at Bama. Bama has a Catholic church and a Jewish Temple right on campus property. It’s had a Hillel since 1934. In a state that has about a 3% Catholic population (very low when compared to other states), the school’s Catholic population is over 10%.</p>
<p>My son will attend Bama because of the NMF scholarship. Would he have attended if he had only gotten the Presidential? Maybe. But I doubt he would have considered it if he had gotten anything less than that. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that it is certainly an enticement for NMF kids. As the number of schools giving big NMF scholarships continues to drop, Alabama and Oklahoma stand out. </p>
<p>As for the “tangible effects” of offering such generous scholarships… I will defer to smarter people as to what tangible effects they have on the university. As for me, the only tangible effect I care about is the one on my bank account.</p>
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<p>Very true, but for me, the main tangible effect is my son being able to enter the workforce debt free after college. That will open up many doors for him that others may not be able to consider. And will allow post-grad study to be an option that many others will have to wait for. </p>
<p>The value of the scholarships can be very dependent on the state that the student comes from. On the east coast, there are very limited schools with scholarships of this value. So it makes many “suspicious” of the motives. But people are learning.</p>
<p>I remember first hearing about UA from the Class of 2007. Two of the top students from our HS chose UA, one over Johns Hopkins and the other over Wake Forest. One of them was selected for UFE and the other for CBHP. I’m not sure what their NMF status was, but they either had that full scholarship or the Academic Elite. That put UA on the map for successive classes.</p>
<p>I echo the comments above. We kept Bama on our radar due to the NMF offer, but considered it her safety at the bottom of the list. So on our trip to see the SE schools: UNC, Duke, Clemson, William & Mary and Virginia we decided to visit UA as well “on the way.” So UA was the first school we stopped at, and for the entire rest of the trip everything was “UA was better than this.” By the end of the trip, UA was 3rd on her list behind Rice and William & Mary. She got accepted to all three and ultimately chose Bama once she learned she got CBH. UA has nothing to feel inferior about, it is an EXCELLENT school, and certainly while not the sole determining factor, the NMF package helps to seal many decisions for all the reasons stated above. My D will graduate debt free with her MS degree in 4 years and have only WONDERFUL options moving forward!</p>
<p>As more and more of the best kids choose the scholarships over name brand schools, it gets the attention of other bright kids.</p>
<p>Quoting lattelady: “Two of the top students from our HS chose UA, one over Johns Hopkins and the other over Wake Forest.”</p>
<p>Wow…Choosing UA over Johns Hopkins says something. I am curious to know if there are any premeds from UofA who have got admission into a top 10 medical school.</p>
<p>" I am curious to know if there are any premeds from UofA who have got admission into a top 10 medical school."</p>
<p>bama has students at Ivy meds and other top med schools. Besides, the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham is also a top med school - ranked #12/#31 (med schools have 2 rankings). That said, all US MD schools are excellent. There are no “just good” ones or “subpar” ones…all excellent. The academics in US MD med schools is flat because they all follow a standardized curriculum.</p>
<p>My son also chose UA over Johns Hopkins.</p>
<p>Dad2ILD- your daughter will graduate with an MS in 4 years? While she is getting her BS?</p>
<p>@ proudmama3
Yes the program is called University Scholars
<a href=“http://courseleaf.ua.edu/specialacademicprograms/universityscholars/[/url]”>http://courseleaf.ua.edu/specialacademicprograms/universityscholars/</a></p>
<p>@ quiet thinker I know of another poster here on CC who chose UA over Yale and another one over Georgetown…my son met a UA student last summer while attending the CBLA who had turned down Harvard for UA.</p>
<p>You would probably be suprised by how many UA students were prospective students at very prestigious places…</p>
<p>I just hope UA’s reputation doesn’t go up to quickly and the scholarships stay in place long enough for my D!</p>
<p>PM3 … yes, she had 36 credits from APs coming in. She’s taking Stats this summer online, which clears the way for her to fulfill her BS requirements by the end of her 3rd year, and then her 4th year will be devoted to her MS. She’s very excited and already hopeful for doctoral work to follow! :-)</p>
<p>Sounds like my incoming son, Dad2ILD…</p>
<p>For those interested in University Scholars:</p>
<p>Even if you don’t finish your masters within the 4 years, having taken those classes will make you a much better applicant for PhD programs…many of which will admit you without a masters. Admittance is largely based on GPA, GRE scores, and courses that you’ve taken. Obviously, if you’ve already completed some grad level classes, you’re going to be more competitive than the other applicants with only undergrad level courses.</p>
<p>I can honestly say that it was pretty single-handedly the scholarships that got me seriously considering UA. The more research I did on it the more enthralled I was and it became more and more of a very promising choice. It ultimately came down to the fact that UA offered far more in scholarships than some of the prestigious private schools to which I was accepted, and now that I’ve got both feet in the water I’m extremely please with what I’m getting. No doubt UA is on the right track here, and the NMF and Presidential scholarships are a huge part of it.</p>
<p>I was initially worried about sending D to UofAlabama as I was not sure if she would find fellow students who are intellectually curious. After seeing many posts from various people, chief among them being m2ck, I am quite convinced that my worries were misplaced. Now the only things that I worry about these days are small issues like “how will she reach the Tuscaloosa campus from Birmingham airport”. All these worries make no sense as D is yet to start her senior year at high school :)</p>
<p>“how will she reach the Tuscaloosa campus from Birmingham airport”. </p>
<p>There is a shuttle service, and a new shuttle service is now starting that is a better price. Hopefully someone can post the link. I’m on my phone.</p>
<p>Quietthinker, I think you are going through the various steps of UA enlightenment that many of us out of state people go through! Except for the one poster who’s 7 year old was going to send a letter of intent to UA ! LOL </p>
<ol>
<li>UA as an unknown option</li>
<li>introduction to UA by CC Banner or word of mouth</li>
<li>denial of appropriateness</li>
<li>curosity about the “hype” and promises</li>
<li>acceptance of possibility of UA being an option for your child</li>
<li>research phase with likely visit and UA placed on your childs “safety” school list. </li>
<li>realization that UA is not only a good financial decision, but a good academic decision </li>
<li>enlightment and total buy-in as evidenced by logistical planning for move in accompanied by purchasing of Alabama gear and the frequent use of the phrase “Roll Tide!”-</li>
</ol>
<p>QuietThinker: Your concerns are valid. Many people think Alabama is just a football school (okay, football does play a small role in the lives of the students …). Some of my son’s friends laughed when he turned down Washington U. for Alabama. But he will graduate debt free, has traveled around the world for internships or studying, has done all kinds of research and a host of other things. Where are those friends from high school? Some have jobs but not in their major fields. My son’s roommate (who is not a NMF) turned down Georgetown. Their good friend, Mesquite_girl24, said no to Duke and Rice. Last year, my son met a young man who liked Bama so much that he turned down MIT. </p>
<p>As for pre-meds, my son has friends who graduated from Bama who are at or are heading to the Ivies. He also has a friend heading to MIT for his doctorate in engineering and another going for her PhD in political science at Wisconsin (which has an excellent program). </p>
<p>As for getting to and from the airport, M2CK is right. Bama does have a really nice shuttle.</p>
<p>vlines: At one time, my younger son had 10 Bama shirts. He cannot apply until the summer of 2013 (for the Class of 2014). And everything’s Roll Tide.</p>