<p>The best line on this thread: “I learned what a wahoo was today.”
Now, that was funny!
We don’t get the “look” anymore. Happiness is written all over my students face. She has become a regular recruiter for the tippy-top “look snobs” in our area. It’s great. Kill them with southern kindness and UA will take it from there.</p>
<p>Karen’s wahoo=persnickety
ps Don’t come to the UA forum with a persnickety jab because Malanai, mom2k and many more BAMA mommas and pappas will verbally *****-slap you to last week. </p>
<p>The UA Forum ROCKS because UA is all that and then some! Deal with it. Proof is in the pudding. ROLL TIDE y’all.</p>
<p>I have talked to alot of people about UA, and the ones whose opinions I respect the most (and this includes parents of friends who are going to Ivy and more ‘elite’ schools), all totally ‘get it’. The ones who don’t, well, we don’t worry about so much…I think the perception ‘tide’ is changing.</p>
<p>Honestly, the parents on this forum are reason enough for someone to consider UA. Always polite, friendly and helpful, and funny as all get out.</p>
<p>'Bama’s College of Engineering reports that within six months of graduation 83% of the engineering undergrads who graduated in May 2012 were either employed full time or were pursuing further education. The median starting salary of those who were employed was $60,000, the average salary was $62,898, and the salary range of these newbies was $35,360 - $111,000. </p>
<p>Although S did not apply to UA I love following this thread. S, a high achieving kiddle who fell in love with a safety school. He has been offered the highest amount of merit aid given to OOS, he is in the honors college. Today he received an invitation to be part of an early admissions co-op/internship program. Oh, and his particular major has a one of a kind study abroad experience where he will spend 1 year split between two European countries and would graduate with a BSME and BSMS. He loves technical theater and is in personal contact with the head of the department who state …“you can do whatever you want here with us…” All for a cost of less than his private high school. It will be a tough offer to turn down. And yes, we get the aghast looks and comments along the lines of ‘oh why did he not reach higher…he has sooo much potential’. </p>
<p>“The look,” I get the look and much worse. I live in an affluent, predominately white area in coastal California. People often ask where I’m going to school, and when I proudly say “University of Alabama,” I’ve gotten everything from “the look” to “Um, why?” to flat out laughter. Reactions are rarely positive and I’m extremely sick of having to justify it to people. I’m going to a great school with a great couple of scholarships and I’m getting out of this town, which (according to statistics from my school), 85% of my graduating class will not do. Why Alabama? Why not?</p>
<p>California isn’t ‘slashing’ its budget for higher education anymore. In fact, I think we reached a surplus in our finances for the first time in several years. Secondly, UCLA and Berkeley aren’t hurt from these cuts as dramatically as other universities would. Both universities are very rich. UCLA has nearly five times the endowment that Alabama does, and Berkeley has over five times. (I thin per capita, UCLA has 3x Alabama, and Berkeley has 5x.)</p>
<p>In addition, the universities are able to use their global reputations to pull in international and OOS students for extra revenue. UCLA pulled in around 100m in 2012 from OOS tuition, and was expected to pull in more in 2013. This has largely subsidized their budget cuts. The universities public missions are hurt, but financially they’re doing just fine.</p>
<p>Just because a university is “rich” does not mean that it will adequately serve the needs of all its constituents (i.e., undergrads). I have enough knowledge of how state university systems work to know that undergraduates are not always the focus of scarce resources. And that’s what this thread is about.</p>
<p>Anyway, Alabama is pulling in OOS students just fine.</p>
Californians who choose to go to Alabama most likely didn’t have Cal, UCLA, UC Davis, or UCSD as college options. They were probably choosing between say UC Riverside, UC Merced, and OOS public institutions like Alabama and Georgia.</p>
<p>You’re preaching to the wrong choir here my friend. ;)</p>
<p>Are people really comparing UA and Berkeley? These two schools are not comparable. Berkeley is far superior to UA in almost every department, budget cuts and all. UA may be a great fit for many students, and it is great that so many people seem to be happy with UA, but I don’t see how you could even begin to compare the two (same goes for some of the “lower ranked” UCs for that matter).</p>
<p>I don’t think people here are comparing UA to Berkeley.</p>
<p>But, you could talk to CrazySpaghetti, a poster on this forum. She turned down UCLA for Bama and is having the best time of her life. She’s led at least one trip down to Costa Rica with the Honors Alabama Action in Costa Rica, and she’ll be going to law school soon. I believe that she’s now a senior. Her younger brother may be coming to Bama next year as well. Her older sister did go to UCLA, so the family has had both experiences. </p>
<p>There are a few different types of Calif kids who come to Bama. Yes, some are choosing Bama because they weren’t accepted to UCLA or Cal and they want the Big Football College Experience. Some have the have the stats for Bama’s big scholarships and some don’t and are full pay. Goldenboy isn’t exactly right when he claims that the Calif kids are choosing between the lowest UCs and Bama. While that may be true for some, it’s not true for others. My own Calif nephew had a very difficult time choosing between Bama and UCLA. They were “neck and neck” in his final selection (he also was accepted to Berkeley, but he dismissed that school after visiting). In the end, he chose UCLA because he wanted to still participate in frequent family get-togethers and he’s only an hour from home. His mom still comments that it was a very difficult decision for him and that he still wears the Bama hoodie that he bought during his campus visit.</p>
<p>I was talking Wall Street, not accounting. It’s no great shakes to get a job with a “Big 4” accounting firm. They hire bajillions of grads every year. I’m talking “real” Wall Street: Goldman, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, etc. Your UA grad may end up at one of these places as an equities salesman or a wealth “consultant,” but won’t be allowed near any corporate finance client doing M&A or securities work. When clients are paying bajillions for advice, they want to see the Ivy resume, even if they themselves went to UA. It’s just what it is, sorry.</p>
<p>^You may be right, but the good thing is that most people don’t aspire to work on Wall Street. The jobs you describe are a small fraction of the jobs needed and wanted by today’s college graduates. Yes, the Ivies are feeders for entry-level analyst positions, but many smart young adults do not want to work 80- to 90-hour weeks doing soulless grunt work. And not everyone wants to live in NYC, believe it or not. Many young people also have ethical concerns about the role Wall Street’s practices have played in damaging our economy, and want no part of it.</p>
<p>“I was talking Wall Street, not accounting. It’s no great shakes to get a job with a “Big 4” accounting firm. They hire bajillions of grads every year. I’m talking “real” Wall Street: Goldman, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, etc.” </p>
<p>Apparently you are not an accounting major and know very little about which you are speaking. No great shakes? Bajillions? The pass rate for the CPA exam is far lower than most other professional certifications, including and perhaps most notably the bar exam. An accounting grad with Big 4 experience literally writes their own ticket should they decide to leave public. A visit to Wall street is an option, usually helping reign in and clean up the mess created by those super smart overachievers. </p>
<p>I have absolutely no concern that my S, going to UA on a full scholarship and majoring in accounting will have nothing short of a spectacular future. And to many of us - that is really all that matters. Don’t you have anything better to do with your time? </p>
<p>Roll Tide (and there is alot to be said for a warm welcoming community full of pride and spirit)…</p>
<p>This is exactly is incorrect perception that we are talking about. Students do turn down excellent colleges (and that are higher ranked) to choose Alabama. Believe me, there are plenty in my home state of Texas who were rather speechless that my student would choose Alabama over the University of Texas. You’d have to read what people are posting in this forum with an open mind to understand why. Words like those above are “the look”.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at Bama. We are from a Chicago suburb that is consistently ranked as one of the wealthiest cities in America. When people think of my town they think of mansions, country clubs, snobby people, and Ivy league educations. WRONG! There are more modest homes than mansions, more health club memberships than country club, and more state school educated doctors, lawyers, engineers, business people, CEOs. CFOs, and entrepreneurs than Ivy grads. I know this because I’ve lived here for over a decade and was very involved in my kid’s schools and in the community. I know a lot of successful people who have done spectacular things despite their “scrappy” state school degrees.</p>
<p>Perceptions and ignorance of what people don’t know or understand is what started this thread. </p>
<p>The few “looks” and comments ( our pastor made the most offensive comment) my son and I received were generated from ignorance and inaccurate perceptions. Our answer to stupid comments was always as follows. </p>
<p>Have you ever visited UA? The answer was always no. Then I gave them the “look.” and asked them why they assumed what they had just said. It was amazing how quickly they changed the subject. </p>
<p>I’d like to say that those who come to this board dishing out their uninformed and ignorant comments about UA, job prospects for our UA students ( hubby is a Morgan Stanley exec and laughed at the comments about Wall Street jobs), and comparing UA to other schools need to ask themselves why they feel the need to do so. Insecurity or envy perhaps?</p>
<p>lvmk2 … you are SO correct. As a matter of fact, I’d venture a guess that in most communities you’ll find a higher correlation of relative success in the regional flagships. Here in IL on Fall Saturdays the colors of Illini, Iowa, Purdue, Indiana, and Wisconsin fly proudly. We have a place in Indiana and the UM, MSU, OSU flags are the norm. Flagship institutions, top 100 ranked, are ALL excellent choices. It is the very rare occasion that we encounter anyone who attended the Ivys out east.</p>
<p>My D has already landed her paid, local Internship for this summer (after her Soph year). Last semester she was on a team working for a Capstone Project making real impact on a real business. This semester she’s working on a project benefiting those in need of Alabama social services, assisting to deliver a new application for the entire state.</p>
<p>All those with the gloom and doom opinions simply just don’t know what they’re talking about, period!</p>
<p>"I’d like to say that those who come to this board dishing out their uninformed and ignorant comments about UA, job prospects for our UA students ( hubby is a Morgan Stanley exec and laughed at the comments about Wall Street jobs), and comparing UA to other schools need to ask themselves why they feel the need to do so. Insecurity or envy perhaps?’<br>
lovemykids2</p>
<p>THIS! </p>
<p>Very good friend landed one of those “Wall Street” jobs working for a major player. It was not grunt work either. He had “the dream job”. No Ivy grad. No UA grad. He graduated from a school in Texas that most outside of the state have never even heard of. It is one of those schools that if you are breathing, you get in. To say that a UA grad has no chance of landing a job on “Wall Street”… hahahahahaha! Thanks for the good laugh karen! He did that for a few years and realized that NYC was not the place to raise a family. Moved back home and is doing very well for himself. Let me just say, some of those Wall Street people would kill for his life. </p>
<p>My D had UCLA as one of her top 3. We were told flat out that being OOS her chances were slim even though her academics were strong. Some kids from OOS would get in ahead of Cal kids IF they went solely on academics. Alas, they do not. Being OOS hurts ones chances to get into UCLA. So, schools like Bama are willing to take these top students from OOS and they will be the ones better for it in the long run. </p>
<p>By the way, I was trying to find another schools thread to go rain on their parade. Tell them what a horrible choice they made by chosing to attend such a crappy school. I’ll make sure to let them know that because of their decision they will never land a great job </p>
It was amazing how quickly they changed the subject. </p>