Our son did not qualify for any scholarships. He loves UA. He is interested in the Business school (mainly marketing, sales, maybe real estate). Are we making a huge $$$ mistake to “overpay” for a Bachelors Degree?
Thank you!
What are your in-state choices? I would generally say it’s not worth it to pay $40k to attend UA as an OOS student if you have better in-state options.
We are in Florida. FSU is his other option.
There are many OOS students at Bama paying full price. If you can afford it without loans or jeopardizing your financial situation/retirement, then it’s up to you.
What is your situation?
I think it depends on your financial situation. Is a Bama business degree worth more than an FSU business degree? I doubt it. Is the Bama total experience worth more than the FSU total experience? For some kids, it very well could be. But unless I could pay the OOS tuition without going into debt and without jeopardizing my retirement or other finances, I would not be willing to pay more for the “total experience.” OTOH, if I could afford it, I’d think of it like any other luxury item I might want.
For my daughter, it was less expensive for her to go to Bama than to the other school she was considering, but we were willing to let her choose the more expensive option because we could afford it without any financial hardship. Luckily she chose Bama, not only because we saved some money but because she’s had a fantastic experience.
UA is a great school, but your own state flagship is probably comparable academically, and a better value in price.
Thank you to everyone who responded.
All of us (including our son) didn’t like FSU as much as UA. He is interested in a fraternity (only 15% participate at FSU vs. 40-50% at UA). UA of Alabama has really impressed us with answering our questions wether it was via email or in person. We met a lot of great administrators as well as students while we visited UA twice. Our son felt like UA was more of a “fit” for him. A few of our friends’ children attend or have graduated (not business) and loved the whole UA experience. The adults we know who graduated from FSU all graduated with risk management/insurance degrees. They enjoyed their time at FSU decades ago.
We can afford it.
We are just afraid that the UA Business degree is weaker than the FSU Business degree. I have scoured the internet looking for comparisons, companies that recruit from both schools etc…
Thanks again!
That is generally my take as well. However, it really depends upon the cost difference between the two. For people in my state ¶, the difference in cost is only about $10k a year between UA and Penn State or Pitt. FSU is more like $20k. For some folks that would be acceptable if they had the money available or had been budgeting for a private school.
Does Bright Futures figure into the equation at all?
Yes, he has Bright Futures and FL prepaid. I know (crazy to think we would go OOS).
I can’t help you with the relative strength of the business programs. I know the UA programs in Accounting and MIS are very well regarded, but that’s not where your son’s interests lie. My daughter was in the business school and majored in Econ and Finance. She’s graduating in a couple weeks and has a job lined up that she’s looking forward to starting. She did not get that job through UA’s career fairs or career center; she found it online on her own. With the online resources today, a student who is motivated should be able to find a job regardless of whether an employer recruits on campus. Of course, it’s easier if there are a number of employers of interest who recruit on campus.
In the past I’ve found lists of companies that were registered to attend UA career fairs online. I’m sure if you contact the Culverhouse career center they’d be able to give you a list of companies that routinely recruit on campus, and I would assume FSU could do the same.
I simply can’t imagine paying full price (even if you can afford it) for a public university education unless said university provides something truly and genuinely exceptional.
I wouldn’t know. Is a business degree from alabama exceptional? Also, paying full price for an out of state flagship because there may be a better social component than the in state option seems highly questionable.
Anyway, to answer your question. Yes I believe you would be making a mistake sending your son to alabama under the circumstances you’ve described.
A lot of folks wouldn’t pay full price for any university - public or private - if the in-state option is adequate.
Greek life isn’t just about making lots of friends and attending great parties. There are also tremendous opportunities for service and learning the business side of running an organization. While my son had no interest in Greek life (he’s in engineering), it does seem that Culverhouse students are pretty involved with Greek life in general. That kind of makes sense to me. As with most things in life, it depends on what you do with the opportunities afforded you.
As @beth’s mom mentioned, accounting and MIS are the two standout programs in Culverhouse, but the university’s PR department is well-regarded as well. I think a lot of students double-major in PR and marketing for instance.
Check out Capstone Agency and Capstone Men & Women for an idea of the kinds of programs the school offers.
http://www.capstoneagency.org/
http://cmw.ua.edu/
Yes, it’s a public university, but in many ways it doesn’t feel like one. That may also be the case with FSU, but I don’t think it’s as black and white a decision as some others might.
One other thing, I kind of doubt an FSU business degree is any more of a draw to most employers than a Bama one. UF? Sure. But FSU? I think it’s a tossup unless you’re talking about specific majors where one may stand out more than the other.
No. Solid but not exceptional.
The prepaid can be used at Bama.
I doubt any business would consider a FSU business degree to be better than Bama’s.
Since you can afford it, it’s a family decision.
That Greek rate is more like 33%, not 40 - 50%. The upper figure might be true freshman year, but once things shake out it’s lower. I’d also say the 40-50% is more for girls than guys. Overall, fraternities are smaller and there are not as many guys as girls who are Greek. For Fall 2016, there were 7112 sorority members vs. 3830 fraternity members.
Yes, per #15, the Greek population for males at UA is much smaller than for females. Maybe 25% of the guys overall are Greek… maybe 30%. Business school has more Greek guys than say, for instance, the Engineering majors.
Thank you!