<p>I’m a high school senior in Michigan planning on going into engineering (definitely mechanical/automotive if I were to attend U of A). I have a 32 on the ACT (34 math and science, 30 english) and a 3.87 weighted GPA, so I would qualify for the full ride at Alabama which is what attracted me to it in the first place. Although my parents would have no issue affording one of the state schools or a small private school with a similar price due to grants (what my sister is doing), going to college for free sounds fun for lack of a better word, but I also wouldn’t feel so bad about my parents paying a ton of money. </p>
<p>I’m applying directly to the engineering school at Michigan, which means I’ve probably got a 50/50 chance and the main thing I’ve got going for me is in state and my uncle is an engineering prof at U of M. Also applying to Wash U in St. Louis which is basically just a dream school and I don’t want to get my hopes up for it. I’m happy with going to MSU honors (or any less-prestigious-than-michigan state school), unlike the majority of kids in my school on my academic level. Purdue is there and I prefer it over U of M but probably won’t be affordable so not really getting my hopes up for it. RPI as well but too many men to be honest, despite the great location.</p>
<p>My interest in UA had died down for a while until I just saw a post on here about this awesome study abroad and internship program in Germany that Alabama is launching this year. I’ve always dreamed of living in Germany and working for one of the auto companies, specifically this part (Stuttgart area). This program is one of, if not the, best study abroad options I have come across in terms of my interests. (comparing it to the likes of GEARE at Purdue, Global E3 at U of M and RPI, Wash U study abroad in general.)</p>
<p>tl;dr: Kid from Michigan that would qualify for the full ride that wants an out of state affordable safety that has respectable engineering and good study abroad wants to know if he should apply to U of A.</p>
<p>I suspect you realize this, but it wouldn’t be a “full ride,” which means everything paid for, including room and board. Your stats will get you free tuition, which is still a great deal. </p>
<p>I definitely think you should apply and visit if you can. The more options at the end of the day, especially affordable options, the better.</p>
<p>My son applied last year to UA, U of M, Kettering and WashU and several other schools. His main interest is also Mechanical (with emphasis in automotive). And we live out of state for both UA and U of M. DS even received two scholarships from U of M along with grant money to make it very affordable. And at UA received the Presidential Scholarship (full tuition) and Engineering Scholarship ($2500 extra per year). He chose UA and has been extremely happy with his choice.</p>
<p>UA has many auto manufacturing plants in close proximity to campus - Mercedes Benz is 15 miles or so, Toyota and Hyundai are also very close. UA has a co-op program with lots of connections to automotive related companies as well. They also have SAE Formula car and Baja programs. I was excited to see the German student exchange program offered this year, but DS decided not to apply at this time. </p>
<p>One thing to consider is if attending UA will allow you to afford more expensive activities than if you attended another school while still saving your family money. It’s not uncommon for students to be admitted to their dream school, but are not able to afford much beyond the most basic costs of attendance. While there are many free or inexpensive things to do on most any college campus, it helps to have the money to be able to treat oneself every once in awhile. If attending a specific school which offers most everything you want means that you’d be able to graduate debt free, you have a very significant incentive to choose that school.</p>
<p>Since you mentioned the presence of lots of women as a factor in considering another school, it’s worth noting that there are a lot of smart, beautiful women at UA. </p>
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One thing to consider is if attending UA will allow you to afford more expensive activities than if you attended another school while still saving your family money. It’s not uncommon for students to be admitted to their dream school, but are not able to afford much beyond the most basic costs of attendance. </p>
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<p>VERY TRUE!!! </p>
<p>I imagine that there are some unhappy students out there sitting in dorm rooms w/o two nickels to rub together because they chose a school that is so expensive for them that they have no pocket money at all. </p>
<p>I think UA’s automotive connections appeal to a lot of OOS students. One of the moms I met at Bama Bound told me her son turned down Rice and Vanderbilt for UA because he’s known since he was a little boy that he wanted to go into automotive design and he was really excited about the Mercedes Benz plant, etc. </p>
<p>Definitely apply to UA, OP, and keep it as an option. You don’t have to make a final decision until you know what all your choices are. There’s no reason to rush a decision, not if you can afford the application fees. </p>
<p>Thanks everybody for the advice, etc. Definitely will be applying, also did not know about the $2,500 a year engineering scholarship, which is cool. </p>
<p>Hearing all this other stuff about UA and the automotive companies in the area is very enticing and is definitely making me seriously consider it ahead of Michigan. Only problem is location, but that can only be solved by a visit. </p>
<p>Does anybody know if UA will grant or subsidize travel costs for admitted students to visit similar to how Wash U does? </p>
<p>@mom2collegekids I am not a NMSF. Wasn’t even close as I had no idea what the PSAT was even for when I took it. I think that happened to a lot of my kids at my school. </p>
<p>Yes, you should apply to UA so you can at least compare it to other schools. You are almost guaranteed acceptance in Michigan’s engineering program, the median ACT score is 32 I believe. Michigan’s engineering program is far superior to State’s and costs to attend are virtually identical. Michigan just had a career fair with over 300 companies represented <a href=“http://benson.eecs.umich.edu”>http://benson.eecs.umich.edu</a>. I think the students in Alabama’s engineering program would probably have similar stats to Michigan’s with the scholarships they are offering but I doubt you would see near the companies at their job fair. I believe they are working on this but that is going to take some time so probably easier to land a job if you go to Michigan, or at least have better choices.
What’s with the PSAT in Michigan being looked at as just a practice test?? Happened at my son’s school too.
I doubt UA would subsidize travel costs as they seem to have no problem attracting quality students with their scholarships. Free tuition for 4 years makes it worth it for you to put it on your list of schools to visit:)</p>
<p>Around this area the PSAT is also overlooked, considered a practice test and often not even taken. I think high school counselors in this area are not up to date with the financial possibilities that the PSAT can open up. </p>
<p>Happened at my son’s private HS too in another state. I begged my son to prep a little for it, but he couldn’t see wasting time to study for a “practice” test. Many kids don’t bother taking it at all because the $2500 NMF award is pocket change to full-pay students who are only looking at pricey privates. </p>
<p>OP, the travel costs to UA are expensive, but maybe you can combine it with a larger college tour? We didn’t visit until spring break senior year when we felt UA needed to be evaluated once and for all before we ruled it in or out as a viable option. Best money we spent, but it’s okay to wait to visit. Just treat UA as a serious possibility and take a look at some of the terrific elite honors programs. If you get accepted into one of them (like University Fellows), I think they may help pay to fly you down. I’m pretty sure they’ve done that in the past, but it may be a “need-based” decision. </p>