My son still can’t decide between UA and UAH. UAH seems to be the better choice in many ways (better computer science dept, better coop prospects), but he would miss UA football and he is worried that the social atmosphere is lacking at UAH. He is not planning to go greek at either school. He is also wondering if UAH students are UA football fans, and if they attend games at all.
This is just a thought. I’m no expert by any means. My feeling is that if he’s not going Greek then he would enjoy uah. Greek is big big big at alabama.
As far as football goes. I can assure you, there will be lots of alabama fans that attend uah. Uah doesn’t have football but does have other sports. In fact, I don’t know the finer points but they have a surprisingly good hockey team.
Also with regard to the engineering programs, I would think uah would have leg up because of it’s location.
Thanks, @“General tso chicken” ! I figure if he wants to see UA football games, he can buy them online and travel there with friends on game days, assuming tickets are easy enough to acquire.
Wow, Zekesima, I could have written this post about my daughter! She is still agonizing between UAH and UA, and your son’s points are her’s in verbatim, except she is in ME: the curriculum, the co-op prospects, not rushing, but missing UA spirit and football. Incredible that someone is in the same exact dilemma.
How funny, Sophocles! He keeps going back and forth with the pros and cons of each. Is she leaning one way? My son feels like UA does a better job at marketing their school, but doesn’t want to be swayed by that.
The Salutatorian at my daughter’s high school chose UAH over his other options (he had a big scholarship there, but I’m sure he had other scholarship offers as well). It seems to be a wise choice for students who want to study a major that is strong there, and don’t think they will change their mind about the major later on and want something entirely different. As for UA school spirit, keep in mind that it goes way beyond the undergrad years. There are UA alumni groups, and houses all over the Southeast with UA flags hanging outside during football season. Being a UA alum is something that can go a long way, especially in the Southeast. While the Greeks do hold a lot of sway at UA, they only comprise 36 percent of the population, meaning 64 percent of students there are not Greek. It is a really tough decision. Are there any factors that can be the tie-breaker for you? Cost? Dorm life? Campus and city? Son’s preference? Friends of son going to one versus the other?
The UAH students that are from the state/region tend to be split between UA and Auburn in their fandom. You will find that all of Alabama is this way (except Auburn and Tuscaloosa). Many of them travel to the games, but there aren’t any UA (or Auburn) game-related activities on UAH campus.
The settings of the two schools are very different. Tuscaloosa is rural (slightly suburban). The locals are, generally speaking, lifelong area residents whose families came from the area, etc. Huntsville is a larger (but not large), more diverse city with many people from all over the country/world, many of whom work as engineers or other government contractors or are in the military. Not sure if this matters to your son.
UAH has a good hockey team (already mentioned above) and a good basketball team, but their sports are no where near the level of UA sports, and the games are not always well attended.
UAH has more of a commuter feel, but that has been slowly changing over the last few years.
Everything in @mommyrocks’s post is accurate ime. If your son thinks he will want to stay in the South post-graduation, being a UA alum can open doors. People take it VERY seriously around here.
Thanks for the response, @mommyrocks! Yes, there is a big cost difference since my son just missed the cutoff for the presidential at UA with a 31 ACT. Going to UA would require taking out a small loan, which he would be okay with.
Zekesima, my daughter is leaning towards UA, where her older brother got his BSME degree, so she has grown up loving UA. But UAH is giving more money, Dad prefers UAH’s curriculum, and perhaps better internship and co-op opportunities at UAH. She sat in classes and met with wonderful faculty and students at both schools. The commuter vibe at UAH seems to be a negative, as with needing a car if she wants to go off campus into town.
^^Yes, we, too, prefer the money and curriculum at UAH for DS, but he seems to be leaning toward UA, too (though this changes from day to day, lol). He would probably have already chosen UA if he had gotten the presidential there, but now he has to weigh whether the football atmosphere is worth a few grand in loans per year $-)
@Belle315 Very interesting about the alumni network that goes with being a UA grad. Is there anything similar among UAH grads in the state?
Ah, yes, the missed UA presidential, which would have sealed the deal! Lol, her very same predicament.
Outside of the Huntsville area, not that I know of. In the city/north Alabama region, though, a degree from UAH is highly regarded, especially in CS, Math, Engineering, Nursing, or Business.
If your son doesn’t haven an interest in staying in Huntsville, but wants to stay in the South, UA will sound more impressive, everything else being equal.
Co-op/internship opportunities will be much more plentiful at UAH, however, which may ultimately be of more use than name recognition.
@sophocles I think our kids will be instant friends, lol! They already have so much in common 
@Belle315 It’s really helpful to get a local’s insider perspective on this… Many thanks!!
I think UAH is respected in engineering circles, and we are OOS. At an international conference this summer, my engineer-husband met another engineer from Huntsville, originally from the Northeast, who spoke highly of UAH.
Zekesima, funny how they’re so similar! I would love to know what these kids ultimately decide.
My D is trying to decide between UAH and UMD for aerospace. (She had applied to UA as well, at my request, but she’s eliminated them.) In atmosphere, UMD is much more like UA. It really is like comparing apples and oranges!
Hey @NerdMom88 ! Yes, it does feel like apples and oranges. So, I guess the question becomes which aspect of the college experience is more important…the academic or the extracurricular? My husband and I like UAH better, and think he can have a fine social experience there, but he has doubts about that. We’re leaving the decision to him.
@sophocles Haha…another point if similarity. My husband is also an engineer who has taken business trips to Huntsville and feels that the school is well regarded, even by engineers way out here in CA.
If anyone is interested in a discussion about the UA vs UAH CS departments, I posed this question over at reddit and am receiving some interesting reponses (the capstone subreddit…don’t think I’m allowed to link).
DD is in CS. When we first visited (egad, 2 years ago), we had a good conversation with some faculty members. I was pleased with their responses. I guess the proof will be in a couple of years, but so far I’m confident DD made a really good call.