Thoughts on LSU vs Alabama vs Arkansas

<p>Hi everyone. I would appreciate hearing anyone's experience with LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas. My D is a senior and has narrowed her school choices to those three plus A&M, Texas, and Tulane. She has good stats but as an OOS student, A&M and Texas will be challenging to get into. She meets the qualifications for guaranteed admission into Tulane (we live in Louisiana), but that would require a significant amount of aid. While I know a lot of kids who have gone to LSU, Alabama and Arkansas, I would really like to know other people's thoughts or first-hand experiences, especially in the area of engineering (biomedical/chemical/biological). Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!</p>

<p>A quick item:</p>

<p>Arkansas does offer all three programs, but the Biomedical program is small (awarded 8 BS degrees in 2013).
LSU does not offer a Biomedical undergraduate degree.
Alabama does not offer a Biological or Biomedical undergraduate degree.</p>

<p>While I"m at it :)</p>

<p>Tulane has a fairly large Biomedical program, but a smallish Chemical and no Biological.
TAMU and Texas both have very large Biomedical and Chemical prorgams, but only TAMU has the Biological program.</p>

<p>Can you afford the OOS tuition at these schools? Or do you know if your D would qualify for any offered merit?</p>

<p>My son graduated from Bama with a Chemical Engineering degree a year ago. He enjoyed the program and learned a LOT. </p>

<p>What is your D’s career goal? BiomedE and BioE aren’t needed as an undergrad. It can be difficult to find jobs with those majors if only holding BS degrees. Grad degrees are often needed. </p>

<p>If she is interested in BioMedE for grad school, then MechE or ChemE would also work.</p>

<p>If she is interested in med school, then any of them would work. She should pick a major where she will get the best GPA.</p>

<p>As a Louisiana resident, if she has 24+ ACT she can qualify for the New Arkansan Non-Resident Tuition Scholarship Award at U of Arkansas. This would take care of most of the out-of-state expenses. (I used to live near this campus and visited it frequently a few years back–Fayetteville is a nice town in a scenic area, not too huge of a campus. I don’t know the other schools, but I think she’d like it there. . .)</p>

<p>She qualifies for merit aid (UA Scholar at Alabama + what the Engineering dept offers and the 90% Non-Resident award at Arkansas), so the costs will be comparable at all three schools. She’s leaning towards Engineering at this point but isn’t completely sure. </p>

<p>I know nothing about the cities of Tuscaloosa or Fayetteville, nor anything about the campuses themselves. We haven’t visited either yet. Her high school is an academic and arts Magnet school with no football/baseball/basketball teams, so she wants to go some place that has the whole full-on rah-rah college experience in addition to the academics. Good thing we live in the middle of the SEC :)</p>

<p>Sounds like it’s time for a road trip! :D/ </p>

<p><a href=“University of Alabama - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>visit the Bama forum here…lots of helpful people.</p>

<p>HONORS COLLEGE CAMPUS VISITS </p>

<p>If you do visit, first set up the campus tour online…try for an early morning time! </p>

<p>Set up your tour here: <a href=“http://tour.ua.edu/”>Page Not Found | The University of Alabama; Campus Tour - The University of Alabama</p>

<p>Don’t delay setting up your campus tour! The tour is a mix of walking and riding in a small bus, so each tour is strictly limited to the number of seats on that small bus.</p>

<p>In the email to the below listed people, include:
Student’s name and contact info
Date and time of the Campus tour that you’ve reserved.
GPA and test scores (include likely NMSF if applicable)
Likely majors
Career interests (including med, law, etc)
Anything particular that you want to see. If you have an interest in seeing the new Science and Engineering Complex, the TV or radio stations, the B-school or what-have-you, let them know.</p>

<p>Honors Recruitment</p>

<p>Susan Alley
270 Nott Hall
205-348-5599
susan.alley AT ua.edu</p>

<p>Neil Adams
neil.adams AT ua.edu</p>

<p>They will arrange the rest of the day…meeting with faculty, honors people, touring honors dorms, etc.</p>

<p>Sometimes mail goes to their SPAM folders, so call them if you haven’t heard back within a few business days. They do an excellent job and work very hard.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for all of the information!</p>

<p>My daughter goes to Arkansas. She did not look at Alabama or LSU but did look at A&M. She loves Arkansas and it seems to be a perfect fit for her. I will admit the university and Fayetteville are very nice and the area is beautiful. I think the school size is great at around 25,000. That is less than half the size of A&M.</p>

<p>Like mentioned above—sounds like time for a road trip!</p>

<p>As far as overall academic reputation, I would put Alabama quite a bit ahead of Arkansas or LSU. The majority of freshmen wind up changing their majors, too, so be aware of that. I live right in the middle of the SEC and am pretty tuned in to most of the programs, and I would give Alabama the clear edge here. Texas, of course, trumps all of them, but you are correct that admission is difficult for an out of state applicant without extremely stellar credentials. Students from around here tend to visit many of the SEC schools and then seem to land at Alabama or Ole Miss.</p>