^^^ I’ve never had boiled peanuts, but yes you will see them in some gas stations. I guess, everywhere has some unique food items. I remember visiting the Pacific Northwest and the McDonalds served vinegar with their fries. Weird…lol…but I guess that’s a thing in Washington around the Canadian border.
https://ofsl.sa.ua.edu/chapters/zeta-beta-tau/ about the Jewish fraternity
about SDT, traditionally a Jewish chapter at UA
OP: While while the replies you will get in this thread will be valuable data points, be aware that the default answer to [Is X good about Bama?] on CC is always “hell yeah” and the default answer to [Is Y bad about Bama?] is always “hell no.” CC has a lot of Bama boosters. I would not make up my mind until after a visit, but it is certainly worth a visit.
@NavalTradition, fair enough, but what else would you expect if you ask the question in the UA forums?
When I was gathering intel on UA, I posted in a lot of more general forums and PM’ed with folks in the hope of getting information that wasn’t heavily biased. I highly recommend others do the same. Trust me, for every Bama booster out there, there is someone more than happy to give you the other side, and then some.
There have been countless threads concerning UA’s flaws with regard to Greek life and racial harmony over the last several years. And I’m fine with that. UA is not perfect; no college or university is. Do your due diligence. But happy posters sometimes are just that–happy and trying to share the same courtesies that were extended to them.
@NavalTradition You obviously haven’t been around the UA Forum very long. There have been discussions about UA voicing differing viewpoints. However, most parents and students who post here are happy and wish to share that experience.
We’re from Philly area. I only had 1 Shock had that is the open gun carrier law vs our concealed carrier.
Other things to get used to:
- UA closes "early" to us. No 24 hour dinners, stores, etc.
- Very few music venues and even fewer for under age 21
- Finding healthy food and Vegetarian choices requires diligence or higher cash outlay.
- Good Italian food and pizza is not commonplace and to us, non-existent. Many will say DePalma's is great, but it would not stay open in our area. This is more reason to splurge when at home!
My son is not Greek and has had no impact negative or positive with Greek life.
BEST things about UA – Any issues with administration (from registration snafus to financial aid) have been handled within hours.
Thank you @Longhaul - I have been very worried about the greek issue, especially after visiting (though we loved our visit overall).
We ate at DePalma’s btw! 
I thought it was very good but know what you’re saying about Italian.
@SouthFloridaMom9 , my son has friends who are Greek. Even has had roommates who were Greek, but the entire idea is not for him. My son also had no interest in campus politics. You can easily read the on-line version of the Crimson White articles on SGA and The Machine, but my son is apathetic towards the issue.
Plenty of activities to keep a student busy without Greek life.
@SouthFloridaMom9 NO worries if your student doesn’t go Greek, many students do not. Heck the campus is only about 1/3 Greek, and not all who rush stay active throughout their college years.
There are over 500 student groups on campus, not to mention sports teams, intramurals sports, volunteer opportunities and campus ministries. I don’t think your student will miss being Greek. 
Is UA a culture shock? Yes…absolutely. And that’s not a bad thing. Don’t you go to college to experience different people and ideas, to broaden your experiences and horizons? If you’re going to be offended by any little thing or thought that’s different, then you don’t have to come South to do that. Keep your mind and ears open and you might learn something.
I’ll address the Greek thing. It’s true that the entire campus is NOT Greek…although the big fine houses might lead you to believe that. And not all Greeks are the same. There are a number of Greek letter organizations with no housing. Some are in very small houses, some even off campus. It’s a way to humanize a very big campus. But it’s not for everybody, and most people realize that. It tends to be a big deal to first-year students and parents. The farther along you are in your college career, the less it matters.
Campus politics really only concern a handful of people, and frankly don’t mean a whole heck of a lot. It’s something for the campus journalists to write about.
You might not like the food…but you might. At least you’ll have tried it. You might not like the town. At least you’ve lived You might not like every fellow student. But at least you’ve met some people different from you, who have different ideas and histories. You’ll probably meet a lot that you do like, and some you can’t stand. That would be true anywhere.
And finally campus life is a big shock to most anybody. You go from being under 24/7 parental supervision to none, with nobody checking to see that you study, bathe, wear clean clothes, go to bed, or eat healthy food.
All that’s going to happen on any campus anywhere.
I agree with @Southlander the larger transition will be getting used to college life and learning to become an independent adult.
And in the spirit of “keeping it real” here, I want to share the following article. I’m sure the responses will be all over the place, but this is “life on the ground” for many UA students:
I’ve seen a lot of very supportive posts on FB and some truly nasty ones as well. But this isn’t just UA, this is the U.S. of A. today, like it or not.
http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/11/black_ua_students_produce_vide.html#incart_river_home
The only shock is to the taste buds in the form of that disgusting diabetes-in-a-cup known as sweet tea.
You can actually get unsweetened tea in Alabama these days. Mark that as progress.
Yes, unsweet tea is readily available in Alabama!
I, too, don’t care for sweet tea, so I’m happy that unsweet tea can be found pretty much everywhere!
Im from Long Island and I just visited. The people are all really nice and the campus is beautiful. I have been told that the university and the surrounding area are nothing like the rest of alabama. You should be fine
LucietheLakie: "And in the spirit of “keeping it real” here, I want to share the following article. I’m sure the responses will be all over the place, but this is “life on the ground” for many UA students:
Three students of color at the University of Alabama aren’t waiting for a professor or administrator to facilitate a conversation on race. They’re bringing the issue straight to their fellow students. Seniors Amanda Bennett, SGA President Elliot Spillers and A.J. James produced a brief video, directed by fellow student Patrick Maddox, highlighting the racism that they’ve experienced on campus.
I’ve seen a lot of very supportive posts on FB and some truly nasty ones as well. But this isn’t just UA, this is the U.S. of A. today, like it or not.
http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/11/black_ua_students_produce_vide.html#incart_river_home"
I read this article and am shocked that no one has asked Ms. Bennet to provide evidence to back her claim that Whites at UA were attacking Blacks and knocking down doors when Obama won. It is an outrageous lie. If this had happened, I guarantee you that the cops and the media would have been all over it. By the way, this mirrors the two lies we saw from the Mizzou activist students, the one in which the Black and Gay SGA president spread a false rumor that it was confirmed that the Klan was on campus. The hunger striker who got the football team’s attention at Mizzou, claimed to have been hit by the UM president’s car during a demonstration. Video show he walked right into the car. He lied and demanded an apology after this supposed incident.
And I don’t think UA needs to follow the misguided national trend of creating an Office of “Diversity.” UA has one of the nation’s largest enrollments of Black students, both undergrad and grad. It has a relatively high number of AA faculty. NO qualified Black student or qualified Black faculty applicant is being denied admission/hire.
It upsets me that any UA student would call a fellow student the N word and treat anyone with disrespect, but it is not like the White students on campus are having Klan meetings and I don’t recall my Black friends at UA complaining to me about being harassed at UA. The SGA president is Black. Would he have been able to win if so many Whites were racists at UA? There are hateful idiots on every campus, well maybe the hate is directed against different groups depending on the campus, but you get the point.
Is there room for improvement? Sure, I think that the Machine is an archaic and elitist group that does not represent the campus very well. But that is a class, rather than a racial issue. Many White independents have, like the Black SGA president, run into a brick wall trying to fight the Machine. I should know. I was there during a very controversial SGA election in the late 80s in which the Machine used intimidation and a boycott on the Independent candidate’s father’s business to keep the son from being elected. I am all for more seminars on racel condemnations of hateful words, and honest and open discussions, but please, not another wasteful and unnecessary administrative department.
I find these various discourses helpful in understanding the UA and AL culture, and especially to document the changes that have occurred over time.
The OP’s original question is irrelevant if that student visits and feels comfortable there. Years ago, my neighbour expressed a bit of shock at my son attending UA, after what had happened there in the '60s. We visited. He felt comfortable. He fit in. He’s doing well. End of story.
People forget it was George Wallace who stood in the door, not the UA administration.
People never knew it was George Wallace because people never study history or understand what is being beamed at them from the boob tube.
As for the video, I thought it was a little bit too slick, too superficial, and too narrowly focussed. If you’re upset about some half-drunk frat boy using the n-word, then are you also upset about the rapper who is using the n-word to sell a million records? Why not mention that in the video?