<p>I'm a Virginia resident. I have a 2000 SAT, an unweighted GPA a little above 3.8, and I have quite a few academic and community service oriented ECs (peer tutor, scholastic competition, church volunteer, etc). I have already applied to 6 schools, but I'm still planning on applying to a couple more. I know that my chances to getting accepted to the schools I've applied to are good (Purdue, Virginia Tech, Binghamton, etc) but I'm also aware that I could get a full tuition scholarship from Deep Southern schools such as the University of Alabama-Birmingham. I'm also planning on going to graduate school, because my goal is a PhD. Would it be better to pay for a school such as Purdue or Virginia Tech, or take the full tuition scholarship from a school like UAB and save that money for grad school?</p>
<p>Depends what your more comfortable with imo, do you feel more comfortable at Purdue or UAB? If it is about equal, I would go for the scholarship… but if you genuinely like Purdue more, then go where your heart tells you.</p>
<p>Have you tried the financial aid estimator on each school’s web site to see what your net cost is likely to be at each school?</p>
<p>VT might be competitive price-wise with some of the OOS full-tuition (which still cost room and board) schools and much less expensive than the OOS little-or-no-scholarships-and-financial-aid schools.</p>
<p>If you are interested in graduate school, especially for a PhD, then look at what research opportunities the schools offer. Usually larger universities have many great opportunities regardless of prestige. If it is the case where you think you’ll be well off at any of those schools, you may want to choose the less expensive one. You won’t have the worry of how you’re going to pay your loans back and can focus on your education and enjoy yourself. </p>
<p>Although, if you move far from home you should also consider airfare to visit home during breaks and holidays, shipping items to/from school at the start and end of each semester, etc. versus a school within driving range. Consider housing costs since they can vary drastically from school to school. Do you think you could end up homesick? I’ve read many threads about students who move far away and spend a whole lot of money flying back home as often as they can because they are not happy where they are, and usually end up wanting to transfer. </p>
<p>If you already have a passion about a specific area in your major, do some research on what schools may have professors with that same interest. Your interests are likely to change as you take more classes and learn more about your field, but in some cases they may not and it is nice to have one or two profs doing work in your specific area of interest. Or if you’re not sure of a specific area in your field, still look at what some profs are doing and see what department has a nice spread of interests.</p>
<p>I feel that as long as the education I receive is good, I’ll be happy anywhere. I’m probably the most easygoing person you could ever meet, so I know as long as the place I go to is also safe, it really does not matter where I go. Personally, I’d much rather only pay for room and board instead of 20k-30k+ (I don’t expect to get much financial aid), and going to UAB would not only save me 60k in tuition, but I’d also get engineering scholarships and possibly some honors program scholarships.</p>
<p>Would you guys think the honors program would make up for the fact that UAB might not be as high quality as VaTech or Purdue?</p>
<p>From what I have heard, UAB is up and coming, the Honors College particularly so. My husband and I both attended Purdue as OOS students, and he is still paying back loans! I would not take the heavy loans needed for OOS students if you can help it, and would at least visit UAB to get a feel of the vibe of the school. If you like it, and can get the money, I would seriously consider it.</p>
<p>Looks like UAB’s full tuition scholarship is for National Merit Finalists:
<a href=“Error 404 | Not Found”>Error 404 | Not Found;
UAB’s OOS cost is around $24,000 per year, with about $14,000 of it in tuition (so $10,000 if you have a full tuition scholarship).</p>
<p>Alabama (Tuscaloosa) may be what you are thinking of in scholarships:
[Scholarships</a> - Undergraduate Students - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/scholarships/]Scholarships”>Scholarships – College of Engineering | The University of Alabama)
Alabama’s OOS cost is about $36,000 per year, with about $22,000 if it in tuition (so $14,000 if you have a full tuition scholarship).</p>
<p>Virginia Tech should be under $20,000 per year as a Virginia resident (they list about $17,000 for tuition, fees, room, and board, but that does not include books and “other”).</p>
<p>Purdue’s OOS cost is about $40,000 per year.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus: UAB actually offers the Blazer Elite scholarship, which is
15k per year for an ACT of 28-36, or the SAT equivalent. Their OOS tuition is just below 15k, so it’s essentially a full tuition scholarship. And when I went to an admissions meeting with a VT admissions dean, he said to expect the yearly COA to be about 20k for in-state students. Thanks for the info about UA, though, because someone else also told me that UA offers full tuitions scholarships to engineering students if they achieve a 1330-1390 on the SAT. I’ll have to consider UA as well.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus… that 24k total cost at uab includes the highest meal plan over 3800 (which they dont need… the dorms have full kitchens so it would be fairly easy to get that down closer to the 20K they also quote (they also have text books calculated at 1K…my son takes org chem, biology etc…highest has been 600 per year) so with blazer elite more like 6-9K left</p>
<p>The scitech honors program at uab not only gets you into research freshman year but will pay for 2 years of your phd. There are seminars and specific classes geared just for the honors students like “public speaking for scientific presentations” Twice a year sci tech students meet with all professors and labs that are doing research, discuss it, see if they want to join that lab and pick and choose who they want to work with. last year son worked in a lab to determine the presence and quantity of meth and cocaine …this year he is in a lab through the school of medicine working on cancer cells. he will stay with this one most likely as he wants to do an honors thesis on this for one of his degrees. He may also use it for his sci/tech thesis… which must be presented and will be published. He is also doing chem research… research opportunities are unlimited at uabAlso the honors programs are a very cohesive group with one class per semester that they all take together. They have peer mentors within the group and tutoring. Lots of backup and support…ie my son has his academic advisor, peer mentor, premed advisor, and the director of the honors program </p>
<p>UA also has honors programs that are very good…but for sciences sci/tech cant be beat imo <a href=“Error 404 | Not Found”>Error 404 | Not Found;
<p>here’s the 2011-2012 catalog description of the various honors colleges at uab</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.catalog.uab.edu/2011_2012UnderGradCatalog/Honors_Academy.pdf[/url]”>http://www.catalog.uab.edu/2011_2012UnderGradCatalog/Honors_Academy.pdf</a></p>
<p>If you were talking about a top 25 college, I might say go for the college and damn the cost (if you can afford it). But if it came down to top 100, i’d go for the money. U of Alabama sounds like a really great school and I’ve heard of lots of bright kids going there.</p>
<p>just a note as it gets confusing UA and UAB are 2 different schools. very different campuses. UA is in Tuscaloosa UAB is in Birmingham. They are both part of the University of Alabama system (as is UAH= Huntsville) My posts were about UAB.</p>
<p>OP, if you get any $ from Purdue it will be minimal. I would drop that one.</p>
<p>As noted by Parent56 UAB is a different school than the University of Alabama. The University of Alabama is a top 100 school (ranked #75 among all national universities and 31 among public universities). It does grant out of state students full tuition scholarships, but the required SAT is 1400 (math + critical reading) or 32 ACT composite. Honors college admission requires an SAT of 1250 (math + critical reading) and does not carry additional scholarship funding. There are additional funds for Engineering students based on test scores ranging from $1500 at OP’s current level to $2500 for higher test scores. </p>
<p>OP is apparently looking at UAB, which is ranked #143 and is a school on the rise. Its special strength is in the health sciences due to its affiliation with UAB Medical School. Its highest level scholarship (Blazer Elite $15,000) covers out of state tuition for ACTs starting at 28 or SAT 1260 Math + Critical Reading. </p>
<p>The University of Alabama offers the traditional big state flagship experience. UAB offers a more urban school experience. Both schools offer outstanding research opportunities beginning in freshman year.</p>
<p>Either would be a good choice for a student who hopes to avoid loans and conserve educational funding for graduate school – but it appears that UAB may be a better choice for OP because while OP qualifies for full tuition at UAB, his or her scores need to increase pretty substantially within the next testing cycle to obtain Alabama’s full tuition scholarship.</p>
<p>well, my math/reading score would only need to increase by about 30 to get a full scholarship from the University of Alabama. Engineering students who obtain between a 1330-1390 get full tuition, because any engineering students with a score in that range are given an additional scholarship to meet the out-of-state tuition cost. and if I went to UA, that’s what I would pursue. I think if I reach the 1330 minimum for the full tuition OOS scholarship, then I’ll apply to both and visit both, and see which one I like better.</p>
<p>my math/reading score would only need to increase by about 30 to get a full scholarship from the University of Alabama. Engineering students who obtain between a 1330-1390 get full tuition, because any engineering students with a score in that range are given an additional scholarship to meet the out-of-state tuition cost. and if I went to UA, that’s what I would pursue.</p>
<p>Right…So are you taking the Nov SAT? If so, good luck! :)</p>
<p>Remember, you have to apply before Dec 1st!</p>
<p>I already took the october SAT, and I get my scores back on the 20th. If I reached the 1330 minimum, then I’ll apply to both.</p>
<p>Don’t forget that Alabama also allows ACT scores to qualify for those scholarships.</p>
<p>You may want to apply to VT as well, since it isn’t that expensive as an in-state resident, so it will give you another option if you happen to not like Alabama or UAB after visiting. But Purdue is much more expensive than any of these.</p>
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<p>I had forgotten that the Engineering Scholarship at Alabama gives full tuition scholarships at 1330 (vs. 1400 for non-engineering students). Given that your focus is on going to grad school, Alabama may just be a no brainer if you hit 1330. Based on the factors U.S. News considers important, Purdue comes in at 62 (tied with several other schools), Virginia Tech is 71, and Alabama comes in at 75. Within that section of the U.S. News Rankings the only numbers assigned are 62, 68, 71 and 75 due to ties. So the schools you are considering are literally separated by two to four points in the factors that U.S. News considers in ranking schools.</p>
<p>Obviously the U.S. News Rankings are not the be all and end all, and you will certainly want to visit, look at facilities, meet faculty and the like, but very few people are disappointed in Alabama once they’ve set foot on campus and seen the commitment to students that the administration displays. Mom2CK can give you the full scoop on how to get set up with a personalized tour.</p>