Bama has been my #1 choice for almost a year now. It was the only school that I was gonna apply too but my parents made me apply to other places in case I changed my mind. Now that I got into Indiana my parents did some research and are obsessed with it. They are making me visit and consider it. My mom still says the choice is mine but my dad gets mad when I bring up Bama and thinks I’m only going there for the football team.
What points can I argue for Bama? Every time I try to say anything about academics they bring up Kelley’s(major in accounting) and IU’s ranking. They think Indiana blows out Bama in academics just because of stupid rankings. I’m not in the honors College and have no scholarship/money isn’t an issue so can’t use cost to my advantage. I know IU is a good school bec it was my second choice and I’m sure I would be fine there but I was so set on Bama. Anything I can say to make Bama look more attractive? My mom and I visited and she loved it but my dad did not visit. Thanks in advance.
Give iu a chance. Go into the tour open minded. This clearly isn’t what you wanted to hear but just be open to iu. My best friend is going to IU next fall because of kelley but he has fallen in love with the school itself. Just be open minded and if the choice is yours, choose bama if you love it but dont visit iu with the intention of hating it. Good luck!
I attended IU for my undergrad (I also have 2 grad degrees from there) and I still live about 40 miles away from Bton. My son attended UA (he’s currently a 5th year senior due to his co-op) and I’ve visited Ttown quite a few times over the past several years.
I actually think Bton and Ttown are very similar in their size and in their ‘feel’.
What football is to UA, basketball is to Bloomington, so you get a big sports focused school with the enthusiasm and spirit which ever route you choose.
Both campuses are very nice and although many fall in love with UA, personally I prefer IU with the limestone buildings and wandering through the arboretum.
What The Strip is to Ttown, Kirkwood is to Bton.
I will agree with your parents about Kelley. Kelley does an amazing job of bringing several hundreds of businesses to campus primarily for business students each year.
UA has advantages in weather - although Bloomington’s weather isn’t horrible, you’ll get far more than the couple days of snow that Tuscaloosa has each year (and Bloomington doesn’t close the campus when there is snow on the ground). UA also has the advantage in their dorms. The dorms at IU were there long before I was a student and are smallish and show their age - they don’t even come close to comparing to the dorms at UA. UA also does a better job of having a more personalized approach - having individualized tours and recruiters in each region.
I guess I am practical - which one will cost less? If IU is instate and you will get out of school with less debt, definitely go there. The Kelly School of Business is very reputable. Plus if you are closer to home, you’ll be able to come home or have your family visit more often. If it is the same cost and you are determined to go to UA, then have your dad visit. Maybe he will fall in love with it like you. UA also has a wonderful business school so for education purposes, I don’t think you can go wrong either way.
Thank you for the responses. IU will be roughly the same price both being OOS. I am gonna try to get my dad to visit Bama. He ultimately will let me go where I want but I can’t be happy at Bama knowing that he is not to fond of me going there especially since he is paying.
If you’re going to major in accounting, you should check out Public Accounting Report’s annual professor’s survey. Here’s their top 10 undergraduate programs for 2016:
University of Texas
University of Illinois
Brigham Young University
University of Notre Dame
Texas A&M University
Indiana University
University of Mississippi
University of Alabama
University of Southern California
University of Florida
Indiana and Alabama are pretty close. Alabama has very good programs in Accounting and MIS.
My daughter was also accepted to Kelley but chose Alabama. She chose it for the whole package, not just academics. For her major, Indiana probably would have won over Alabama (but lost to a couple of her other choices) had she chosen solely on academics. IMO, as long as the academics at the various choices are respectable, it makes sense to consider other things, including location, fit, cost, atmosphere and yes, even football.
My in-state school is Rutgers and I would have no problem going there. Over the years though it’s been more difficult to get into and with my grades/SAT score I have a slim chance of getting in. Right now I have been accepted to Bama and IU and both are good schools. I really don’t like any other in-state options other than Rutgers NB.
Dont make your final choice until you visit IU. I think it fair to at least look. then if Bama is still your number 1, you have a good case to go there.
^^ Good point. I was assuming, since your parents were fixated on Kelley, that you were a direct admit. If you’re not, you need to take a good look at the likelihood of admission and take that into account in making your decision.
No I was not a direct admit to Kelley and that was my biggest argument against IU. Of course my parents took it as a positive and see it as a way for me to stay motivated my first year. To guarantee entrance to Kelley you need all B/s or higher. I am assuming if I did not get in I would transfer, but why even go through that.
With no guarantee on Kelley, I’d pick UA. If you were a direct admit to Kelley, I’d lean more to IU (but would not be against UA per se).
Don’t let a (possible) NY bias about southern schools drive the decision. I know that northeasterners have discovered IU and think it’s cool. IU is a fun, beautiful, good school. I would definitely visit so that your parents know that you’re not making a purely emotional decision. But there is nothing wrong with Alabama, and if that’s what excites you - more power to you.
PS: Check out the rankings helpfully posted by @BethsMom!