New Princeton Review Ratings

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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<p>Princeton Review posted their ratings recently, and I think that Bama’s ratings grossly misperceive our university. Nonetheless, I decided to post them here for discussion:</p>

<h1>6 - Lots of Beer</h1>

<h1>8 - Lots of Hard Liquor</h1>

<h1>13 - Party School</h1>

<h1>15 - Students Pack the Stadiums</h1>

<h1>15 - Students Study the Least</h1>

<h1>22 - 2010 Top Entrepreneurial Programs</h1>

<h1>6 - Best Athletic Facilities</h1>

<p>To be honest, when people think of Bama, this is often the stereotype our esteemed university is forced to bear. I understand that there is a great deal of partying and not studying that occurs at the Capstone, but I would like to point out for prospective students that there are many students here who choose to not partake in drinking/partying and even more students who study. It is not as overbearing as perhaps their rankings suggest.</p>

<p>And then, of course, if that is what one desires to do during your college career, Bama does have quite an active social atmosphere…</p>

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<p>^^^Hmm, where does the Princeton Review rank on the list of most statistically and methodologically invalid college rankings? I’ve conducted my own highly scientific survey on this and they came out #1. </p>

<p>How very Ivy League!</p>

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<p>Remember, too, UA is a state university and all types of students attend. I know I tend to have a skewed view of who goes there, largely based on our visits and the conversations on this forum…</p>

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<p>Most schools have a “party element”.</p>

<p>The facts are…</p>

<p>1) Schools that have strong sports teams are going to have a party element.</p>

<p>2) Schools that have Greek systems are going to have a party element to them - that doesn’t have to affect you in the least. If you don’t participate in the Greek system and/or parties, then fine.</p>

<p>3) So-called party schools do not uniformly across all majors have kids who like to party. Obviously, most students in the harder and more demanding majors do NOT have the time or interest in partying all the time. Who cares that some kids in the so-called easier majors devote too much of their time partying. That shouldn’t affect the serious students. </p>

<p>4) If you aren’t a “party person” or are only an “occasional party person” then likely you are going to choose friends who are similar to you. That will be your social circle.</p>

<p>And…TheStudent is right. A large state university is going to have the full-range of students - from the ultra-serious to the “my parents are making me go to college, but I’d rather be sleeping or partying” types of kids.</p>

<p>Thankfully, the ones who party hard, often flunk-out within a semester or two. LOL</p>

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<p>I attended two large state universities: UC Berkeley (undergrad) and Michigan State (grad school). One had the reputation as the finest public university in the nation, the other as a party/jock/Greek-oriented school. I assure you that there was no distinction in the amount of partying that went on at either school. But, as m2ck correctly points out, partying, unlike the plague, is not contagious. </p>

<p>The real question is not where a university ranks on the spectrum of nonsensical, meaningless categories. The real (compound) question is, does my university have the resources I need to be successful and do I have the internal resources and drive to take full advantage of them?</p>

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<p>Anyone concerned about their child and partying needs to be quite clear with their child about their expectations…</p>

<p>Tell your child that a pre-determined and reasonable GPA must be maintained or the checkbook closes.</p>

<p>I know that kids do party, and it’s unreasonable to expect students to be at their desks studying on Friday and Saturday nights. So, discuss with your kids what your expectations are…but be reasonable. :)</p>

<p>Also, give your child some tips about drinking.</p>

<p>You can’t just say, “no drinking allowed until you’re 21,” because they will likely ignore you. LOL </p>

<p>Even if your child has never drank before, it is likely that he/she will have some (even if just a few) alcoholic drinks in college - no matter which college they attend unless it’s a strict religious college. </p>

<p>So, calmly them things such as…</p>

<p>Never drink and drive. And, don’t be a passenger in a car where the driver has been drinking. NEVER!!! Call a cab. Let your child know that you will gladly pay for a taxi - with no lectures attached. Taxis are cheaper than funerals! </p>

<p>Bama also has a service 348-Ride for such situations. <a href=“http://crimsonride.ua.edu/pages/348-ride.htm[/url]”>http://crimsonride.ua.edu/pages/348-ride.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Have both a taxi number and the 205-348-Ride number in your child’s cell phone.</p>

<p>Never go to a party with an empty stomach. Eat first!</p>

<p>Drink slowly; you’ll drink less overall. Drink water as well to keep yourself hydrated. </p>

<p>Never drink anything that been mixed by others or is in some kind of big container that could be tampered with.</p>

<p>Don’t binge drink.</p>

<p>Shooters can be dangerous…too much alcohol in too short of time.</p>

<p>These are just off the top of my head. I’m sure there are many other tips.</p>

<p>:)</p>

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<p>PR says that that they “aim” to get online survey information from at least 10 percent of each school’s student body. They also say that they surveyed 122,000 students at 373 top colleges this year to compile their rankings - an average of 327 per school. I think that 3,270 sounds low as an average student enrollment for the schools they survey, but in fact, that may be only the number to whom they send electronic surveys. They don’t release the response rate or the number of responses from a given institution.</p>

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<p>Nor do they release data on the behavioral, academic, or motivational demographics of the individual respondents. Doing so would probably hurt sales and cast light on the meaninglessness of these statistics.</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong; I like lists as much as the next person. They’re lots of fun and generate lots of discussion. They just can’t be taken seriously when the underlying bases for their construction is unknown or flawed.</p>

<p>How about we compile our own list? How many of you out there think you or your kid is going to get (or is already getting/has gotten) a great education at UA and will lead (or is leading) a successful life?</p>

<p>My hand is raised. Roll Tide!</p>

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<p>Thank you, mom, for the tips, and the reminder of the phone numbers to put in your phone.</p>

<p>I reiterate, DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!</p>

<p>Keeping your kids in my prayers that they have a safe semester.</p>

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<p>My oldest d told me she wished her dad had said, “I expect A’s and B’s, and if you get them, I will pay for the courses. Any course of C or lower, you pay for that course yourself.” She got a 2.7 GPA when she was capable of far higher just because there was no accountability. So I pass that along to any parent who wants to see his/her child eligible for grad school. My d, who is intellectually gifted by the way, had to wait years before applying to an MBA program to get past that terrible GPA. (she did get into both MBA programs she recently applied to, so the story does have an ultimately happy ending. Still, the happy ending could have happened earlier…)</p>

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<p>I’m not surprised at all actually. Fairly accurate representation of the school as I experienced it.</p>

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<p>I wouldn’t say the rankings give a false persecution of UA. Remember there are far more types of people at UA than those you see here on CC. Many students here do drink and party heavily and are in majors that don’t even schedule classes on Fridays, but that doesn’t meant they’re dilettantes.</p>

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<p>^“persecution”? haha it’s not like princeton review went after the university with a whip…sorry it’s just that the word evokes so many images :)</p>

<p>seriously, though, the princeton review rankings are probably the least scientific “trusted” surveys known to man</p>

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<p>Darn spell check. I was going for “perception”.</p>

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<p>The validity of these rankings leaves much to be desired and said rankings do help continue the stereotype that UA is all about partying and sports and less about academics. I readily admit that there are students at UA who like to drink, party, and watch sports to the detriment of their studies, as is the case at most every school. Is it still possible to drink, party, and/or watch sporting events while still getting good grades in a difficult major provided that you practice moderation.</p>

<p>I highly recommend talking your child about the potentially harmful effects of drinking and how to drink responsibly. AlcoholEdu does a good job, but parental reinforcement is helpful. While many students choose not to drink, many will and need to know some basic facts about drinking beer, wine, and/or hard liquor, particularly alcohol content. There’s a big difference between drinking 3.2 beer and 190 proof grain alcohol, for example. Recognize that your child’s drinking habits may be different from your own and that the legal drinking age is not always 21, especially if outside the US. Some states do permit minors to drink in the presence and with the approval of a parent/guardian in the family home or possibly other locations.</p>

<p>I cannot stress enough to NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE or ride with somebody who has been drinking; it is just not worth the risk especially when other options are available. Use a designated driver or find an alternate way home. The number of accidents, injuries, and fatalities due to drunk driving was and still is used as a primary reason for laws that set or encourage the drinking age to be 21 in most of the US.</p>

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<p>I look at it this way. Party = Fun, it doesn’t always have to involve drinking. With that great stadium and tailgating not sure how 'bama is ever going to get away from that reputation. Plus, with 4000 students in the honors college at least you know you have peers that generally know how to balance life/work.
I think heavy and binge drinking might be more of a problem at a rural/isolated college because there is nothing else to do. I was born in a very rural area and my older sisters got into tremendous trouble, there wasn’t even a movie theatre for miles. We moved out to a suburban area, and my younger sister and myself escaped the alcohol issues as we had other stuff to do.<br>
As I received a text from my S last night from some restaurant, my husband and I said- expensive, but much better evening fun than drinking somewhere.
On the other forum in Parents Forum, some small schools chimed in with huge party atmosphere, but as one guy said- since we don’t even make any rankings we are off the radar.</p>

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<p>Right you are Idinct! I am an alum, my daughter will be a junior and my son will be a freshman. All of us chose Bama for very different reasons, but hope that the end result will be success in life. Daughter had many colleges and scholarships to choose from, but from the moment she stepped on Bama campus for her very first time, the welcome mat was out and it was not a superficial one. It made me feel very proud of my alma mater and in comparison to her other tours, Bama stood head and shoulders above the rest. They (professors, administrators, etc.) appeared and were genuinely interested in my daughter. It was not what she expected after reading the many college manuals that are out there. It was difficult to see her go off to school 10 hours away, but it was the best decision for her and in comparing her experiences to what her high school peers have experienced here in NC, she came out on top.
As for my son, he made his decision late. He was recruited by several D2 and D3 schools for football, but at the last minute gave up his dream to play in college to go to Bama. It was a decision based on some of the stories my daughter had relayed, but it was also the fact that during the recruiting process he had a very good look at what some of these smaller colleges were all about. I don’t want to paint them with a broad brush, but drinking is a huge deal at these smaller schools, especially those that are somewhat isolated. It became very apparent to my son that this was “the” pastime. In fact one tour guide was very hungover from the previous evening’s goings on. It didn’t speak well for a first impression. So in the end after much well thought out deliberation, my son took a merit scholarship, admission to the Honors College and the hopes that he will have just as positive of an experience at Bama as I and my daughter have had. It is a very exciting time for all of us. So here we sit, my wife and I, empty nesters in NC. Any houses for sale in Alabama?
I always have told people that have questioned my daughters’ choice of college or have put Bama down upon hearing that I went there, that Bama is a very well kept secret. I have also used Malanai’s response that he put in a previous thread when questioned on this subject.<br>
Congrats to all of you freshman and from what I can tell, the class of 2014 appears to be very strong. Make us proud and RTR!</p>

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<p>True about the fab stadium and how that will always inspire a party spirit. Heck, even the adults party for games. </p>

<p>I went to an all-girls high school. We strongly associated with an all-boys high school that has a powerhouse football team. Both schools are very academically oriented Catholic prep schools. When I’m in Calif during football season, I still go to the games. It’s like going to a college game…RVs and BBQs lined up in the parking lot, people tailgating all day before the game starts. It’s fun. </p>

<p>Who says that you can’t mix fun and academics?</p>

<p>So here we sit, my wife and I, empty nesters in NC. Any houses for sale in Alabama?</p>

<p>Yes, there sure are…and some really good deals, too. Alabama housing prices are very good. And, the Huntsville area is considered the#1 place to live. </p>

<p>Kiplinger rates Huntsville #1: [No</a>. 1: Huntsville, Alabama - Kiplinger](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2009/07/2009-best-city-huntsville.html]No”>No. 1: Huntsville, Alabama | Kiplinger)</p>

<p>Moody’s rates Huntsville #1: [Moody’s</a> elevates Huntsville to No. 1 city for job growth prospects | al.com](<a href=“http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/03/moody.html]Moody’s”>Moody's elevates Huntsville to No. 1 city for job growth prospects - al.com)</p>

<p>Forbes rates Madison County #1 (Huntsville is the big city in Madison County): [In</a> Pictures: Affordable Places To Weather the Downturn - No. 1 Madison County, Ala. - Forbes.com](<a href=“In Pictures: Affordable Places To Weather the Downturn”>In Pictures: Affordable Places To Weather the Downturn)</p>

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<p>^^^But what does the Princeton Review have to say, m2ck? :)</p>

<p>JK, couldn’t resist. Huntsville looks great. Hope to visit sometime soon.</p>

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<p>i wonder how huntsville will be affected by the whole downsizing of nasa…most of the companies there are not particularly into space travel</p>