DS19 applies for a physics department scholarship. He is thinking he will double major math & Physics. Does anyone know of a freshman math scholarship? And are departmental scholarships stackable with NMF. Trying to get enough $ to cover food, fees, transportation and whatever we aren’t thinking about.
We did the campus tour last Monday. however, my son is till undecided at this moment. I do like the facilities and campus in general.
My daughter is a potential NMF finalist (class of 2020). We are in Florida, but she really wants to go OOS. I’ve learned so much about UA from this thread, but I do have a few questions.
We have limited funds so if we go see UA, we want to make the most of our visit. I’ve heard great things about how UA treats NM finalists. Do we need to wait until she’s officially named a NMSF or would she still get the same tour if she went in the early summer? Is there a particular point of contact?
She’s also very interested in Randall Research Scholars. Any advice on what she can do to improve her odds? She has a 4.0UW GPA in a rigorous IB program (mostly AP, IB) classes, a 1550 on her first (and only SAT), and decent ECs but no research and maybe one state/national award. I know the ECs are probably her downfall at the moment, but would higher test scores help? I think she could very realistically do 20-30 points higher on the SAT- or she might try the ACT as she’s quite quick with testing. Any insights into what they’re looking for?
@TrendaLeigh I would recommend visiting during the school year if you can, just to see the campus in full swing. If summer is the only time, I think that would be ok, but you might not get to see some things (for example, we had a good time seeing the extracurricular Baja racing and Mars robot design teams, but I don’t know if they are active over the summer.)
For your visit, get in touch with the Honors College, and they can plan a good visit itinerary for you. When we visited, my son worked with our regional admissions officer (here in Colorado) rather than the Honors College directly, so I think either way would work. Let them know the NMSF probability, so they can include info on the NM scholarship. Also, if there are particular programs your daughter is interested in be sure to let them know that too. We talked to people about Randall Research Scholars and Blount Scholars, and my son liked what he heard enough to apply (and be accepted!) to both. On our visit he also had a chance to sit in on a class, tour the engineering facility, talk to professors and see the chem labs.
As far as Randall Research Scholars goes, I don’t think your daughter needs a higher SAT–that’s a great score! Prior to applying, the advice my son got was to really pay attention to the essay–it is not enough to have high test scores, NMF, AP (IB) classes because almost everyone applying will have that–those things won’t set you apart. If I recall correctly, the essay asks why you would be a good fit for the program, but also why the program would be a good fit for you. I think researching the program and having compelling answers to these questions is what will set you apart. Be sure to pay attention to the application deadline–it was earlier than a lot of the other deadlines my son had.
I would totally have your daughter try the ACT. Both of my kids have thought it was easier than the SAT, and it seems easier to get a perfect score. UA gives the Presidential Elite scholarship for a perfect score (ACT OR SAT) which is a nice backup to have in case national merit scholarship doesn’t work out.
Good luck!
@TrendaLeigh ,
I think the feedback that @Colorado19and22 gave is spot on across the board.
For high SAT scorers, it is definitely worth taking the ACT to see if you can achieve a Comprehensive 36. As mentioned, the Presidential Elite is a nice scholarship package!
That being said, RRSP is not looking for that score or anything close to it, and she is probably not increasing her chances for RRSP by improving her SAT score. I can also tell you, a “perfect score” is NOT a ticket to an RRSP invitation. “Research” would be a benefit, but the program is really looking for self motivated, engaged, interested, and communicative candidates. The ECs and the Essay is where she can demonstrate this - especially as how it applies to the program goals.
You might want to direct your tour questions to your regional recruiter as well. I am failing to remember who coordinated our visit, but it was handled primarily through the Honors College and it was prior to officially being named NMSF / NMF.
@DavidPuddy and @Colorado19and22, thanks for the detailed info. We may try to fit in a visit as soon as IB/AP exams are over. And I think my daughter will try the ACT this summer - partially because it may open up a few more scholarship opps and partially because her friend made a 36 
Everyone around here seems to think we’re crazy for considering UA over UF (our state flagship which also offers an amazing NMF scholarship.) But my daughter is definitely an introvert who tends to fly under the radar - her best friends are just figuring out now that she’s at the top of her class. Given her personality, I think she would truly benefit from a strong honor’s college and special programs such as RSS. Do these programs add as much value for NMF as they seem to, looking from the outside in?
Also look into UA Huntsville.
@TrendaLeigh
I can only give my opinion, but programs like RRS and Fellows add tremendous value. Tremendous.
The honors college has distinct and discreet advantages as well. Absolutely worth it.
Caution, again: NMF (of which there are ~250 each freshman year at UA) is not an entrance ticket to the competitive programs.
@TrendaLeigh my son is currently a high school senior and will be going to Alabama in the fall, so we don’t have lived experience at the school, but I can share why he chose them.
When my son got his PSAT scores they were above our state’s national merit semifinalist cutoff from last year, so I encouraged him to look at the schools that give large (full ride or close to it) awards just for being NMF. I told him he would have to pick at least one to apply to so that he had a “sure thing”. Shortly after that, we were at a regional college fair and he stopped to talk to the Alabama recruiter and once she knew his stats/GPA/potential NMSF she was able to tailor what she shared, so he found out about RRSP, Blount Scholars, Emerging Scholars, the NMF scholarship. He came away from that encounter with a positive feeling. Immediately after that, we walked directly across from the Alabama table to the UF table and it was a completely different experience! She asked his stats and when he told her she said something like “why are you even talking to THEM then” with a chin toss Alabama’s way. It just reminded him of all those kids who think they are so great and never miss a chance to remind you about it…and he hates that. He asked her about research opportunities for undergrads and the answer was that they are hard to get because they usually go to grad students. Anyway–the whole encounter was a turnoff.
Over the next few months, we dug in to both the UA NMF scholarahip and the OOS Benaquusto found pros and cons for both. But on the whole, UA’s scholarship seemed so much more flexible (lasting 5 years rather than just the number of credits for a bachelor’s, can be used for grad school if you choose). There were certainly other considerations as well–my son loves hiking/biking/outdoors and UA seemed to have better opportunities for that, and RRSP and Blount Scholars sounded like great programs.
During my son’s fall break we visited Vanderbilt and UA. We flew into Nashville and visited Vanderbilt first, just to see if a T20 school might be “worth it” (he goes to a school where a lot of kids attend T20, teachers encourage them to apply, etc.). Vanderbilt was pretty, but he came away disappointed. He thought the level of discussion in the class he sat in on wasn’t even to the level of his high school and when he had lunch with some students and asked what they liked about Vandy he heard things like “well, Nashville is a cool city” and “not the school spirit, that sucks”–and these were the kids acting as student ambassadors! As we drove down to Tuscaloosa he let me know he would NOT be applying to Vandy. He was worried he would never find what he was looking for.
The next day we started our UA visit. He had let our regional recruiter know what he was interested in, and when we arrived there was a full schedule of meetings/tours/presentations for the Honors College, RRSP, Blount, engineering, admissions/scholarships, etc. He also got to sit in on a class. The experience was great, and as we left for the airport he said that if he could get into RRSP and Blount, he didn’t see any reason to go elsewhere. He thought the students were engaged and happy, the class he sat in on was good, and that all the adults he talked to were really dedicated to making sure the students were able to achieve what they wanted to. It was a complete 180 from how he was feeling after leaving Vandy. He thought Alabama was almost too good to be true–that it was just how they act to get kids in the door, but then decided it was the real thing.
When all the decisions were in, his final 2 were UA and CU Boulder (our flagship). He chose UA for a lot of reasons including the ease of double majoring and taking classes outside the major, RRSP and undergrad research, Blount and the liberal arts minor, and of course the scholarship.
As we went though the process, I periodically would go back and look at UF, given its higher ranking. The equation is different for you since you are in-state there, but some of the drawbacks I saw for my son were uncertainty about continued funding of the OOS Benequisto, the summer requirement, the comparative difficulty of accessing undergrad research, the less-generous AP credit, the way AP credits count against the hours covered by the scholarship, the way credits above the amount required for a degree are a higher cost, the higher percentage of in-state students, and so on. Since we are further away and our state flagship is fairly expensive ($25k per year after all of the higest-level merit scholarships are applied–we don’t have anything like Bright Futures or Benacquisto, and no scholarship for NMF at all) we didn’t get the pressure it sounds like you are getting.
My son is also somewhat of an introvert and I am happy he will have Blount and RRSP as places to “belong” from day one. As a mom, I might have rose-colored glasses on, but I do think that these programs, and also the Honors College serve to make UA feel a little smaller.
Good luck in your admissions journey!
Thanks @DavidPuddy and @Colorado19and22! @Colorado19and22, your son and my daughter definitely had some overlapping lists! So much great info and food for thought! I hope we can visit UA in the upcoming months. (My mom was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, so our May plans are on hold.)
@Colorado19and22, , my daughter would be turned off by the attitude of the UF rep as well…and unfortunately, I don’t think it’s a isolated experience. As a former Gator, I thought I would be more pro-UF, but I just don’t think it’s a great fit for my daughter. Your son’s Vandy experience was also fascinating since it’s at the top of her “dream” list - although she really hasn’t researched the school in depth. If she were to get in, though, it would be a financial reach for us even w/ their generous aid. If she went to a “NMF school,” she’d have more (financial) freedom for study abroad experiences, trips, unpaid internships, etc.
I particularly appreciate the info on the details that were not yet on our radar - such as AP credits. I had no idea her AP classes counted against the hours at UF. Since she’s undecided, I am hoping the AP credits allow her a bit of freedom the first year to explore some different STEM-oriented paths and/or double-major.
One of her “bucket list” items is to study in England - does anyone have experience with the UA in Oxford program?
I’m not in admissions and never was, but if I were I might even be a bit turned off by a kid who kept testing after an SAT of 1550. (Even moreso if the score were higher.) With stats like that, can she get any research experience, or maybe dual-enroll in one of the challenging freshman or sophomore science courses at a local university? I’d look at that SAT score as saying that she has all the HS level skills down rock-solid, and my question is whether she wants to re-polish that apple, or whether she’s eager to move on to college level challenges if she can find them.