<p>Actually southern states today tend to be more racially integrated than a lot of northern states.</p>
<p>@tola2015 after seeing all the info on UA web site, video tour etc - your parents may have the most favorable visit with you coming to Scholars Day early in 2015 - check with HC if it is scheduled yet. It will be a Sat. Plan to have a Friday tour of depts and what you want to see on campus - scheduled through HC.</p>
<p>Honors Recruitment
Allison Verhine
Coordinator
269 Nott Hall
205-348-5534
<a href=“mailto:allison.verhine@ua.edu”>allison.verhine@ua.edu</a></p>
<p>Susan Alley
Assistant Coordinator
270 Nott Hall
205-348-5599
<a href=“mailto:susan.alley@ua.edu”>susan.alley@ua.edu</a></p>
<p>You will be in a huge room full of many OOS (and some in state) students and families - families that had to see UA because their student had the great scholarships. Will have an excellent set of presentations that will have your parents see that UA is a gem of a school.</p>
<p>Since we are in-state, we have had opportunities to visit campus, and also hear some of these speakers at other scholars events (like one in our city).</p>
<p>My DD is entering this fall with Presidential Scholarship. Fantastic academic opportunities for her. Exciting times.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids Basically. But I don’t even think they should consider us to be on the same sphere she way more dependent on them I’m more independent. I think that is where her problem stemmed from. She had 2-hour long conversations with them daily. If she needed something she always went straight to them whereas my sister who is going to IUPUI (her first choice) and I prefer to figure things out on our own. And if that doesn’t work then I use google then I go to them. </p>
<p>@SOSconcern thanks for the information! I’ll search it up right now :)</p>
<p>I think if they look at the bigger picture they’ll see that this might be the best decision in the long run. </p>
<p>2016: Oldest sister starts med-school
2018: 2nd sister starts med school (I’m still getting a bachelors)
2019: I graduate and start med school
2019: 3rd sister starts college
2023: 3rd sister starts med/law school
2024: 4th sister starts college
2028: who knows what 4th sister is doing with her life because she only 7 right now but if she doesn’t go to med/law school then she has to at least get a masters degree </p>
<p>So if my parents ever plan on retiring or saving money in the future then they should just let me go to U of A it seems like a great school. </p>
<p>FWIW - Just my opinion:</p>
<p>I’ve lived in Indiana almost my entire life. My son had never lived anywhere else until started school at Bama. (He by the way is part Indonesian by ethnicity, but self-identifies as caucasian).</p>
<p>Being from Indiana, I can say, let’s face it, Indiana is not the most ‘cosmopolitan’ state, either. Many people in the country would attribute the same comments about racism to Indiana that your parents have made regarding Alabama. </p>
<p>I’d never been in Alabama at all prior to my son’s first visit, but I immediately saw many parallels between Indiana and Alabama. Just like in Indiana, if you venture into the more rural areas, you will encounter a greater number of lesser educated, lesser ‘worldly’ people who are resistant to what they are not familiar with. </p>
<p>If you’ve been to Bloomington, UA reminds me A LOT of Indiana U, Bloomington (where I have received 3 degrees). Just like Bloomington, Tuscaloosa is more diverse and liberal than the state as a whole. I think the ‘feel’ of Tuscaloosa and Bloomington is very similar. The campus/class buildings are fairly centralized, the dorms are clustered in a few areas on the outskirts of campus, Tuscaloosa has ‘The Strip’ with restaurants and bars right off campus - Bloomington has the area located to the west of campus mainly on Kirkwood. Both campuses are surrounded by a substantial amount of student housing since most upper-class students move off campus, both towns have their malls/main retail areas fairly accessible to students. The football stadium is SUBSTAINTIALLY larger in Tuscaloosa ;), (but you’ll find many more basketball fans in Bloomington).</p>
<p>I’m not sure how diversity between the 2 schools compares, but I’d guess it would also be pretty similar. As a student at IU, B, it seemed to be pretty diverse, expecially with respect to international students, But that was in comparison to the state at large.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how acurate these statistics are, but I found these sites: Indiana U, Bloomington: <a href=“Indiana University - Bloomington - Niche”>http://colleges.niche.com/indiana-university/diversity/</a> (African American - 5%, International - 11%, White 74%) University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa: <a href=“The University of Alabama - Niche”>http://colleges.niche.com/university-of-alabama/diversity/</a> (African American - 13%, International 4%, White 78%). I find it slightly ironic that the IU, B was rated a ‘B’ for diversity and UA was rated a ‘C+’, as others have said the south is more heavily scrutinized.</p>
<p>Overall, in my opinion, I’d say if you/your parents would be comfortable with you attending school in Bloomington, you’d be just as comfortable in Tuscaloosa. </p>
<p>Some of the most racist people I have ever met in my life were cosmopolitan, highly educated, wealthy, and living in the most liberal parts of the country (the Bay Area of California is full of elitist racists, most of whom make their living on college campuses.) There are close-minded, ignorant people in every social and economic strata. And isn’t racist to assume that all whites in the south are racist?</p>
<p>If you can persuade your parents, go visit the university and see for yourself, and make a decision based on your observations, and facts, and not out-dated presumptions about the rural south.</p>
<p>@chesterton They don’t assume all whites in the south are racist just particularly Alabama. I just find it weird that he is calling a place racist when my parents moved us to a school district where the high school (ranked 10th in the state) is only 5% black and has only 21 African-Americans in my grade. I’m still going to apply. I plan on sending in my application tomorrow and if I get accepted then I’ll just tour the school and see if I like it. </p>
<p>@jrcsmom If I was forced to go to a school in Indiana the only one I would settle for would be Purdue (one of my safeties). Too many people from my school go to IUB. And I visited Purdue in 8th grade when I went to their engineering program (I don’t even know why I went since I don’t even want to be an engineer) but they had good food. </p>
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<p>Very true…and even the so-called more sophisticated states, once you’re in the more rural parts, you may encounter some “lesser worldly” people who, as said above, are resistant to what they are not familiar with.</p>
<p>Hate to break it to y’all but this is not just a rural phenomenon.</p>
<p>Of course it’s not just a rural phenomenon and you can find ‘small minded’ people anywhere you go and I’m not ‘bashing’ rural people - I am one - live in a town with 2500 people, with no McDonald’s or movie theater…have to drive nearly 30 miles to get to the closest Wal-mart… I can stand on my front porch and listen to my neighbors cows… my son’s high school has an annual ‘drive your tractor to school day’. I was born in a town where I still have many relatives that just recently grew to 1000 in population. They have no movie theater or fast food restaurant in their entire county. Not trying to bash rural dwellers, but statistics will bear that you will encounter a larger percentage of ‘lesser educated’. ‘lesser worldly’ people in more rural areas. In my son’s public high school, they skipped the chapter on evolution entirely because his biology teacher didn’t agree with it. I’m glad I live somewhere with no crime, no traffic, that is peaceful and quiet…but I’m also glad that I was able to travel with my son as he was growing up and expose him to many other regions, cultures, and beliefs.</p>
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<p>I like this thought and want to build on it. What schools do you parent’s think highly of? For example, 50 years ago (hmm … maybe 75) a lot of ivy league schools had quotas to try to minimize the number of Jewish students on campus … a pretty ugly past. The same can be said for virtually any school …there is something about the past that they wish they could wipe away.</p>
<p>University of Alabama has very many students still stuck in an Old South mindset. I know someone from Connecticut who went there and when she told her class that she was from CT, the kid sitting next to her got up and moved. I don’t think that the entire university is like this by any means, but like someone said- Alabama has a lot of history. However, you can find racism and traditionalism in any university, as people have mentioned.</p>
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<p>I highly doubt that. That sounds like a tall tale told for entertainment. But even if it did happen, that would be such an outlier (and so extremely weird) that no one should expect that.</p>
<p>(the story is so outrageous that certainly a prof would have called that student out if that had happened.) </p>
<p>Bama does not have “very many” students still stuck in the Old South mindset. The numbers just dont add up. Too many of Bama’s students are either from OOS or from big cities and THEIR roots are elsewhere (which is one reason why so many students at Bama do not speak with a southern accent). Are there some students with an old mindset? Sure, likely, probably. Just like there are students in various other schools that have crazy thoughts about various minorities…Asians, Indians, Middle East folks, Blacks, Hispanics, etc. </p>
<h1>31 Are there a lot of Asians in UA (international or American -Asian) - I mean by “a lot” enough that an Asian would see at least one other Asian in most regar-sized classes?</h1>
<p>Based on information my friend gave me(she’s a sophomore), “there are significantly less Asians(international or not)
than there are in other schools, and they tend to hang out with each other”.</p>
<p>Well I am an Asian, but don’t necessarily hang out with Asians ONLY. It would be great to meet a Korean in school, though. Yeah there ARE certainly Asians and you can see them. What I heard is that you can see them more frequently in Science/Math classes. That’s all I know.</p>
<p>this may help … <a href=“BigFuture College Search”>BigFuture College Search; …</p>
<p>(if the tabs didn’t travel well … on the left pick campus life … then in the middle pick student body … and you should get a pie chart of the racial demographics at Bama)</p>
<h1>34 Thanks!</h1>
<p>It says 1% Asian, 3% non-resident Alien, 2% 2 or more races
Also 45% out of state (a lot!)
54% female</p>
<p>lol 1%. </p>
<p>If Alabama is only 1% Asian, I very much doubt if that’s because Alabama is discriminating against Asians in admissions; it’s probably rather that Asians are discriminating against Alabama.</p>
<p>Regardless, I wouldn’t want my Asian kid to go to a school that was only 1 percent Asian. And she wouldn’t want to go there.</p>
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<p>My mom was very concerned about it as well but now she okay because of the various origins of students…
Yeah because of southern stereotypes MANY asians wouldn’t come to U of Alabama unless its like Ivy level or something.</p>