Actually, she has yet to make a decision. She was offered a Presidential scholarship from Alabama, a competitive full tuition scholarship offer from a higher ranked school known for its pre-med program, and is waiting on scholarship offers from two other universities that interest her. Since starting this post, she has participated in medical-related activities and found that she really enjoyed them. She also visited some colleges which she liked-but thought they might not be the best fit for her because of school size, distance, etc. However, at these colleges she was offered the chance to speak to professors about their research projects and is now very interested in doing research in college.
So, dance has fallen a bit from her priorities. She remains interested in being part of a sorority since she has grown-up being part of a competitive dance team and likes the idea of being part of a similar group. She really liked her visit to Alabama and we were very impressed with what they offer to NMFs, the supportive environment, and the extra help they give pre-meds in advising and helping them apply to med school. The downside for us was the sorority system at UA: (1) they rush in the fall and experience in watching d’s grades at the beginning of the year has shown us she has an adjustment period where she needs to focus more on academics the first 3-4 weeks of school and (2) I found estimates that sorority dues at UA are approx $6,600/ year vs. approx. $3,000/ year at the universities she is looking at in the north.
@mommdc & PhilaSkimom- Thanks for the info. I did look at Temple. They actually have a very good dance team. I did not encourage her to apply because of the distance factor and also I think I recall seeing that it is located next to a rough neighborhood- I don’t remember the specifics about the location that I did not care for. As you can tell, I am a mom who has still not cut the strings yet and I worry about safety issues.
Sorry, @momofsmartdancer, but your OP from September 2013 stated that your daughter was a junior. Did she take a gap year?
Not sure which school “in the north” she’s considering, but coming from the Midwest, I would think UA might be less of an adjustment than many of the schools I’m aware of in the Northeast.There are so many folks from the Midwest at Bama (particularly from Chicago) and the Northeast can seem awfully fast-paced and (for lack of a better word) blunt to the Midwesterners I’ve known who relocated here.
It sounds like she has two great offers, however; if the cost would be the same, why not let her choose?
Re sorority concerns: Sororities DO emphasize academics. The new member period includes mandatory study hours (and yes, they DO study during those hours), usually at the house or with sorority members. Often a sorority will have older members in the same curriculum who can advise her. The cost of sorority at Alabama includes all meals from Monday morning through Thursday lunch. If she pledges, she will have a brief period of time where you can switch her meal plan to the “Greek 55” which will cover other mealtimes. Many students still like to eat out several times a week.
Honor societies generally wait until second semester - sometimes late in the second semester - to recruit new members. The social sorority and honor society experiences are vastly different. Students can be members of both. And, as you may be aware, if she is interested in a historically African American sorority, the process is usually reserved for students who have accumulated a minimum number of hours. The process of membership is also very different.
I don’t think any old threads should be closed.
There is a lot of info to be gained by reading (and occasionally posting to) them.
In fact, I wish more people (and especially students) would take time to use the ‘search’ magnifying glass to find answers to relevant questions instead of expecting instantaneous answers like they would from Siri.
Race is not nearly as big of an issue at UA as most people seem to think. In some greek houses (older ones) there can be racist members, but she wouldn’t want to be around that anyways. I know plenty of sorority girls who are minorities and they love it.
