New Automatic Merit Scholarships for U of Alabama

<p>We live in Georgia and the cutoff for NMSF tends to be a few points higher that Alabama. If my son scored high enough to make the Alabama cutoff but NOT enough for the Georgia cutoff, would UA still consider him for their NMSF scholarships? I am a UA grad and he really wants to go there and get into the Honors program. He is currently a junior and just took the PSAT. He made a 202 as a soph. so we are hoping for something in the teens this year. Any thoughts?</p>

<p>i don't think so. NMF are qualified by state. but even if he doesn't make NMF in your state, he should be well qualified for some of their other scholarships.</p>

<p>Stratford... </p>

<p>No, you have to make NMF in your OWN state for any NMF scholarship ANYWHERE. </p>

<p>Since your son made a 202 in his sophomore year, then he has an good chance of making it for his junior year. What is Georgia's cut off this year? I think it was 214. </p>

<p>If your son doesn't make the cut-off, then all is not lost. He won't get the "great NMF" scholarship, but he certainly has what it takes to score well on the SAT or ACT and snag a full tuition OOS scholarship. </p>

<p>Have him start taking SATs and ACTs as soon as possible (UA doesn't care how often you take the exam). </p>

<p>When you register for tests, order the "score services" (or whatever it's called). That way, after each test, you'll get sent the test book and your child's detailed score sheet (with indications of which ones were right, and which ones were wrong -correct answers are supplied). This way he can see what he got wrong and "focus" on improving his "weaker" areas. This score sheet will also let you know if your child is missing more towards the end of the test (my own son's problem). This will mean that he needs to work on his stamina for taking such tests (or he'll need to make sure he visits the bathroom at break time - a mistake my son forgot to do. LOL)</p>

<p>See post #120 for our family's "tried and true" methods for improving SAT and ACT scores... (I need to add the above tip to the list.)</p>

<p>Thanks JL50ish. I think he will probably make it. He scored in the 220's on a few practice tests but, as luck would have it, he was not feeling well the day of the test this year. Unfortunately, a few points up or down can make a HUGE difference.</p>

<p>Stratford...</p>

<p>You are right... a few points up or down can make a difference!</p>

<p>I hope your son did well in spite of how he was feeling that day. It's unfortunate that a sudden illness or whatever can "throw a monkey wrench" into the whole PSAT thing.</p>

<p>If your son doesn't make NM, then do pursue the other scholarships. Now that PSAT is over, concentrate on his performance on SAT and ACT. Hopefully he is willing to practice. If not, then provide some "incentives." I used to offer trips to the movies if my kid would do a practice section or two. Once he started seeing improvements, he started practicing on his own.</p>

<p>I received an offer for merit aid to UA but I am really not sure about it. Where I live there is a huge stigma attached to going to UA, it's the backup school for most people. The kids who go there are either kids who got a full ride, or whose family bleeds Crimson, or kids who didn't get in anywhere else. There is a huge dichotomy of entering freshman if you take out the Crimson Tide faithful. I can guarantee that most kids in my high school who want a big football school experience and who can afford to go out of state but who don't get in anywhere else go to 'Bama. I think that their eagerness to grow their student population diminshes their stature. Recruiting NM kids is a good thing, but allowing so many students in with such low scores in just to fill seats is a bad move. It's like it is giving the school dual personalities...that of high achieving, rigorous, quality education and that of 'C's and sleaze = degrees'. Ummm that actually came from a UA student describing UA. Don't hate me, I didn't make it up. I'm just saying, I wish that instead of trying to grow 'big' they would stay the same size and just raise admission standards across the board so that the entire student population is of a better quality not just the honors students.</p>

<p>boon >> I received an offer for merit aid to UA but I am really not sure about it. Where I live there is a huge stigma attached to going to UA, it's the backup school for most people. <<<</p>

<p>You are from Georgia.... so, of course going to UA is not desirable - especially since UA's recent victory over UGa kicked them out of their #3 ranking. I visited UGa and it's not nearly as nice as UA. Now, for those who "bleed Bulldog drool," I guess UGa is the place to be.
;)</p>

<p>BTW... are you a NMSF?</p>

<p>^^You read me wrong....i am not a Bulldawg fan as I have only lived in Georgia and the South for that matter for a couple of years. I am actually very open to all of the schools in the region including UGA, USC, UF, FSU, UA, Auburn, and Clemson. I have my preferences at this point but I am keeping an open mind to see who offers me what in terms of $$. I am not ruling UA out, but you can't deny that it is an incredibly easy school to get into from what I have seen. The point was that they get top students from across the nation but they also accept a lot of kids who could never get into any of the other schools I'm considering. I believe that it diminshes their stature. The stats don't show everything because of the high percentage of NM admits. A more telling stat would be how many admits need to take remedial courses their freshman year. Judging by the people that I know that were rejected from UGA, UF, FSU, and even Auburn, but got into UA, I would say that it is probably the highest of any of the local institutions. Having said that, I believe that the university offers all of it's students a great education, honors or not. I'm not trying to belittle UA, I'm just stating a perception that concerns me. BTW I am not a NMSF nor am I a football fanatic.</p>

<p>Sweet thread, now I really want to go to UA, especially with Notre Dame's COA around 50k! yikes!</p>

<p>hawaiiboy15--Keep all of your options on the table! ND may offer you great Financial Aid if you qualify. And, I would visit UofA before making a final decision. Wherever you end up, you will love it, trust me!!!</p>

<p>I know, I know, lol!</p>

<p>Yeah, I'm still hoping to go to ND. But I haven't had my dad fill out the FinAid calculator at College Board yet, to give us a general idea of how much we will have to pay. I still might want to join the Navy, so NROTC is still on the table, but right now I'd prefer the Coast Guard. But who knows, a lot can happen in a couple of years.</p>

<p>I am a little confused on the desription of the UA Scholar scholarship, it states "will receive 2/3 tuition". Does that mean if tuition is roughly 18K OOS, then I would pay 12K or 6K for tuition.</p>

<p>I thought tuition was 9k? Or is that 18k include total COA of 18k?</p>

<p>On Collegeboard it says out of state tuition is 18,000, room and board is 6,430, books and supplies are 1,000, estimated personal expenses are 2,170, and transportation expense is 1,084.</p>

<p>You're right I checked CB and UA's website. I thought it was 3k in-state and about 9k OOS, but it does say that here:Undergraduate</a> Tuition 2008 - 2009</p>

<p>It says 12-17 hours is 9k, but maybe I'm reading it wrong, IDK.</p>

<p>My guess is that it's for each semester.</p>

<p>I think the 9k is per semester, so 18k per year. If you received a 2/3 tuition scholarship, you would pay about 3k per semester or 6k per year plus room and board.</p>

<p>Ohhh, that makes sense now. Sorry about the confusion.</p>

<p>Applied! Finished the application and sent my act scores, sending my transcript tomorrow. I have filled out the honors college app but haven't submitted it, and I haven't submitted the scholarship app because I don't have a CWID? Will I get one later so I can apply? I also applied to U of Tennessee and am currently finishing up USC (California). Plan to do Vanderbilt this week.</p>

<p>Arnoldsoccer4, you will receive your CWID in a few days. My son applied to UA on Oct. 19. By Oct. 24, they had all his transcripts and SAT. And we got a CWID within a day or two of application so he could do the scholarship application. Good luck on your other apps to U of TN, Vandy and USC.</p>