My daughter has made the last minute decision to attend the University of Alabama. We are thrilled for her, and we want to help her make the most out of her decision. She plans on going to medical school in the future and is currently planning to major in Biology. Questions: 1) I have heard a lot of great things about the College of Engineering. Would Chemical Engineering offer her more opportunities? Is this path a lot more challenging than a Bio major? (2) She has been accepted into the honors school, but wants to live a traditional dorm to make it easier to meet people since she is from out of state. We have not heard great things about Somerville, the only dorm that is both traditional and honors. How much of a difference does it make in day to day life to live in the honors dorm vs regular? ((3) She has received the Presidential Scholarship. About how much will we still need to pay out of pocket for fees and other expenses, not including room and board (which we already have the amounts for) (4) Any other programs/scholarships/advice for a bright motivated kid who may have missed the boat on some options by making a late decision?
Thanks in advance for any tips!
Just the way you word things, I know you’re daughter is going to be just fine, because you’re a level headed parent!
Just my two cents worth, Chem eng will probably be harder but will be more useful. Especially if medicine doesn’t work out. Or if she wants to go into certain fields of medicine.
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I can weigh in on a few of these. DS graduates Saturday with both a Bio and ChemE and starts med school in the fall. He says ChemE is more challenging, but neither is really more useful than the other. It will really depend on your daughter and her strengths. Remember that GPA and MCAT are critical for med school admissions, so play to her strengths and where she will be comfortable. Can’t help with #2, someone will weigh in. Fees and other will kind of depend on a few things, DSs were around $300 - $400 a term early but don’t forget to add $300 a term for dining dollars. DD can be refunded if not used but DS used them to the penny each term. Also things like parking and football tickets need to be factored in. The biggest expense will be books, science and/or engineering books are not cheap. It depends on load taken but figure at least $500 a term early on. DS had one term that came to near $1000 but that was an abnormality. As for other opportunities, they are plentiful at Bama and will depend on what she wants. I would suggest she look into Emerging Schloars which can lead to early research opportunities. DS also participated in University Scholars which allows you to earn a Masters along with your Bachelors. Wouldn’t necessarily suggest that if she stays premed. Remember the GPA is critical so smart decisions should be made. Couldn’t convince my DS but he ended up just fine.
Biggest hint…if Mom2collegekids weighs in, pay attention. She knows of what she speaks.
If you need anything else just ask or fell free to private message me once you have enough posts to qualify.
Good luck and Roll Tide.
I’m not familiar with science and engineering (my D majored in business and math), but I’ll answer the dorm question. I don’t think it will have much impact on her daily life whether she’s in an honors dorm or not. There are a lot of students in the honors college who are living in non-honors housing, so no matter what dorm she lives in, there will be other honors students. But frankly, I don’t think it matters. I remember thinking it was a big deal when my daughter was a freshman, but in retrospect, what really matters is whether you’re with compatible people. You can have honors kids that party, are loud and don’t focus on schoolwork, and you can have non-honors kids who are hardworking, quiet, diligent students. And everything in between.
As for other costs (excluding room and board), I looked back at one of my D’s bills, and for a fall semester, she paid $338 in course fees, $76 for football tickets, $300 for a parking permit and $350 for dining dollars (refundable if you don’t use). Those were the direct costs. There are also books. She’s had semesters where they were a few hundred dollars, and other semesters when she spent all of $50 on books. Sometimes the book isn’t really required, sometimes you can get them from friends or get a used older edition that’s really cheap, some she found online, and some she rented. For some classes you need a web access code - those can get pricy. Shop around, though, and you can sometimes get very reasonably priced books. If your daughter will be in a sorority there will be those costs - all I know about them is it’ll be more than you expect. Beyond that it’s mostly personal expenses that vary widely.
As for other activities - as someone mentioned above, there is the Emerging Scholars Program. If she’s interested in research, she can do that by approaching professors directly; you don’t need to be in CBH or Emerging Scholars to do research. If she’s not going through recruitment, check to see if there’s room left in any of the Actions or Camp 1831. Those are great ways to get on campus a week before the chaos of general move-in, acclimate to the school, meet a lot of people and make some new friends. My daughter did Outdoor Action and says it was one of the best things she could do to hit the ground running.
Good luck to your daughter. Mine is graduating in two days and has loved her time at Bama, so much so that she’s staying another year for graduate school.
I am a current sophomore here at UA. I just wanted to chime in from my perspective. I have friends who are premed and some are biology majors and other are ChemE. It really depends on your student. As for Somerville, next year it will be home to a lot of international students. In past years they were in Burke. But they will be moved to Somerville. The nice part of Somerville is free laundry, close to the dining halls, and living in “wells”. I have heard that the “wells” really bond and get to know eachother. It could be different with international students but I think it would be fun. Coming to Alabama you meet people from all over, living in a building with students from all over the world, would be unique. I’m sure your daughter will do great!
My wife works for the Department of Medicine here, and interacts a lot with the faculty. Our DS is in a similar boat (deciding between Biology and Engineering), and although he’s not thinking of Med School, DW talked to her faculty a lot about this very decision.
My suggestion is that if your daughter can handle the more rigorous curriculum of ChemEng, I’d recommend it. When looking at students to hire for their labs, faculty she talked to admitted that they view Engineering (any Engineering, not just Chem) students as just a notch up from Biology majors. Biology is kinda the ‘default’ major for medicine, and students who come in with different skills and experience are valued just for the diversity.
But, as mentioned above- she should play to her strengths. A good GPA is far more important than a major. If she feels comfortable with engineering and chemistry, then absolutely go for it. But if she thinks it’s likely to be too challenging, keep it in her wheelhouse.
Keep in mind that the College of Engineering adds a $2500 stipend (depending on the level of your scholarship) for engineering students. With our DS, he made the choice to at least try Engineering for a year. It’s easy to switch majors from Engineering back to Biology… but far more difficult to switch in. Getting a bonus to try something out? That’s yet another reason Alabama is so amazing. 
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My daughter has made the last minute decision to attend the University of Alabama. We are thrilled for her, and we want to help her make the most out of her decision. She plans on going to medical school in the future and is currently planning to major in Biology.
Questions: 1) I have heard a lot of great things about the College of Engineering. Would Chemical Engineering offer her more opportunities? Is this path a lot more challenging than a Bio major?
(2) She has been accepted into the honors school, but wants to live a traditional dorm to make it easier to meet people since she is from out of state. We have not heard great things about Somerville, the only dorm that is both traditional and honors. How much of a difference does it make in day to day life to live in the honors dorm vs regular?
((3) She has received the Presidential Scholarship. About how much will we still need to pay out of pocket for fees and other expenses, not including room and board (which we already have the amounts for) (4) Any other programs/scholarships/advice for a bright motivated kid who may have missed the boat on some options by making a late decision?
Thanks in advance for any tips!
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my younger son was ChemEng’g and completed minors in Chem, Bio and Math. He’s in med school now; just beginning his final year.
Biology is easier than ChemE. However, some might argue that having/developing an “engineering mind” (analysis/problem-solving) is better for MCAT and med school/medicine. Bio is more of “memorization” which is “good,” but may not better develop the critical thinking skills needed for MCAT and medicine.
Keep in mind that med schools will NOT give you a pass for having a lower GPA in a harder major.
All students should take Philosophy Deductive Logic (either reg or honors)
Contact Eng’g and ask if it’s too late to get the extra 2500 per year if she changes to ChemE. Contact Saskia Clayton…make sure that you indicate that dau really intends to do Engg and isn’t just pretending in order to get 2500 a year.
My older son tried a non-honors dorm for one year and thought they were louder.
Look into Emerging Scholars
Its been awhile since I looked at the housing and emerging scholars requirements but from reading facebook and this forum, I think they have changed. If your daughter enrolled past the housing date (I think it was sometime in February) and no one pulls her in, I believe that Housing assigns her a room. I have heard that some students last year asked to be changed and were put on a list and actually ended up with their housing choice; some did not.
With regard to Emerging Scholars, I have heard that it has scaled down this year and it is a much smaller program in the past. I don’t think its as easy to get in as in the past. Definitely look if she is interested in research to see what the requirements are THIS year. Good luck to your daughter and roll tide!
Thank you all for the wonderful advice and comments. There are some very knowledgable parents here! My daughter and I had a long talk last night about the possibility of changing her major. She is definitely interested but her concern is that she feels math is not her strongest subject (Her only “B” in high school was in AP Calc.) But she’s a very practical kid, so I trust her to make the right decision for her.
She is definitely going to apply for the Emerging Scholars program. Working on that now.
Dorm: Somerville is very much a “traditional dorm.” It, Friedman, and Harris are probably the oldest dorms still in current use. Both were built, I’m guessing, in the 1920s…Somerville may be a little older.
Other traditional dorms - Burke, Parham, and Tutwiler, all built in the early to mid 1960s. Burke and Parham are 4-stories, across the street from each other, and are twins. Burke has has one of the better feeding sites on campus (from what I’ve heard). Room arrangement is identical to Tutwiler, Tutwiler is a high-rise, immediately south of sorority row. The biggest problem with Tut is walking up and down the steps for fire alarm drills.
Let me say that making friends - I wouldn’t depend on the dorms for that. Friends tend to come in what you choose to involve yourself in. There’s a special day (or days) pretty soon after classes start called “Get On Board Day.” All the interest groups come out man tables and sign up students. There’s an astonishing range of interests and activities. A good one is FATE - Future Alumni for Tradition and Excellence. They host several activities during the year. My nephew met a lot of folks through it. fate.ua.edu
Welcome, and Roll Tide!
gagirl13 - With regards to doing Chemical Engineering instead of bio, take a look at the course flowchart for engineering and see how many math classes are required. If she is not strong in math, she should take this into consideration. (I am not sure about chemical, but I know in some of the other engineering disciplines, math is very important.)
ChemE math flow is Calc1, Calc2, Calc3, DifEq.
@gagirl13 If your daughter is not strong in math and is sure she wants to go into medicine, then going into Chem E or any engineering is not a wise move. The Calc classes will hurt her GPA.
As @mom2collegekids has said many times, GPA to go into Med School is critical to even get to the interview stage. She surely knows what she is talking about because her son is a 3rd year Med student. I totally respect her opinion.
Think long and hard about ultimate goals and the path needed to get there.
Like others are saying, it is not worth the risk to try to take the calculus sequence if one isn’t good with math…I have seen people go through both AP calc courses and still fail at both because it just doesn’t wrap around their head. Only a few are able to get through all 4 calc courses required for chemE since most get weeded out by calc 2.
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Only a few are able to get through all 4 calc courses required for chemE since most get weeded out by calc 2. <<<<<<
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I assume you are saying this regarding students that eventually want to go to Med School and are not strong math students, correct? My thinking is that many aspiring engineers that took AP Calc BC in HS will be OK in Clac I and II because of the strong math background.
@CyclonesGrad yes for the most part but I mean in general. 4 classes of calculus even for engineers is quite difficult, let alone get good grades in
No offense intended here, but there are very few students who have the right mix of both willingness (read extreme personal sacrifice) and aptitude to go all the way with a medical career, regardless of their major.
Heed Post #13, above, stating “think long and hard about ultimate goals and the path needed to get there.” That, and have a Plan B.
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right mix of both willingness (read extreme personal sacrifice) and aptitude to go all the way with a medical career <<<<<<<<<<<
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This is a career path where 8 or 9 years of salary is given up for a career. Someone needs to be really passionate about medicine to make the path worth all of what was mentioned above.
Going into medicine needs to be a labor of love because it sis not as lucrative as before per many doctors I have spoken to about this. The landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade with hospital mergers, managed care plans, government bureaucracy, cutbacks in medicare/Medicaid.
Be sure you are doing this for more altruistic reasons and not for income.