<p>Everyone that I have talked to outside of this website has said that Alabama is a culture shock and they think I will hate it. I am an African-American woman and I live in the Bay Area currently but I grew up in the midwest, middle of nowhere. I was wondering if anyone can vouch for their experience of moving to Alabama from out of state and how they dealt with being so far away from home.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s a culture shock. People are actually nice and the campus is beautiful. Do the people who are telling you this have any first hand experience with UA? </p>
<p>Me and my son are from Indiana. He’s now in his 3rd year at UA. I attended Indiana U in Bloomington and I think there are MANY parallels between UA and IU. I’m not sure where in the ‘midwest’ you are from, but Tuscaloosa is very similar to a college town environment like Bloomington. There are also A LOT of Illinois students at UA because of the costs of the school in Illinois. My son’s freshman year when he chose random roommates for his super suite since he didn’t know anyone else, he was placed with 2 students from Ohio (and one from Florida), the midwest is well represented at UA and in my opinion the ‘feel’ of the environments is very similar.</p>
<p>The biggest culture shock my D had was that people in Tuscaloosa were so much friendlier and nicer than what she was used to - and we’re in the midwest, which I’ve always found to be “nicer” than the east coast, where I grew up. On the day she decided to go to Bama she told me she’d have to work on getting “more nice” before she went to school in August. Remember also that most of your interactions are likely to be on campus and that over 50% of the student body is from out of state.</p>
<p>the other major concern I have is that there’s nothing to do? because it’s in the middle of nowhere? and the people who are telling me this (my parents) have never even been to UA (neither have i and I would love to visit but I don’t think they’re up for it)</p>
<p>PLENTY to do!!! You don’t have a town of 100k + a university w/ 35k and have nothing to do. It is not in the middle of nowhere. Compared to Bay Area, yes, Tuscaloosa is more rural than that. But it is not no-where, IMO.</p>
<p>Speechprincess, what do you like to do for fun? Perhaps that will help know if you will enjoy UA. </p>
<p>You’re two hours drive from Atlanta, a few hours more to NOLA, and then the Gulf Coast beaches are close by. Other cities (Memphis, Nashville, are all within a few hours’ drive). Do you like football? No other college, NONE, can beat UA for the college football experience. </p>
<p>@atlanta68 I like to do speech (reason I want to join the UA Forensics Council) I mainly just like to hang out, watch movies, eat and shop (which I know I won’t be doing much of when I am in college) I’m not too into going out and partying. And I really do like football (especially college) but that’s hard for my dad to believe even though I watch games with him every saturday. I also had another question when it comes to just getting to UA. What exactly are the logistics of getting there? Is it like to Birmingham and then you have to drive an hour? But that’s good to know its only two hours from Atlanta since I do know people near there.</p>
<p>Tuscaloosa is a large ‘college town’ environment. As I said above, it’s very similar to Bloomington, Indiana or the Urbana-Champaign, Illinois area. There are A LOT of restaurants - although most students, especially freshman with the unlimited meal plans or on tight budgets probably don’t go to many of them. There is a mall - it’s not as big as you’d find in a larger city, but there is a mall. There are also many additional shops near the mall and in the downtown area. If you like outdoors activities - you can walk, jog, or bike along the river or many students sit or gather on the quad. There are occasional events at the Tuscaloos Amphitheater. There is a movie theater, but they could use another that is much more convenient to campus. But the benefit of a college town is the activities on campus itself. There are 2 rec centers with a wide variety of intramurals, there are student activities for literally every interest (see <a href=“- My SOURCE”>https://ua.collegiatelink.net/organizations</a> and/or find UA’s ‘The Source’ facebook page (which state there are over 450 registered student organizations), there is Greek life for those that are interested. There are sports events to go see - even aside from football - there is basketball, and baseball, and softball, and gymnastics…</p>
<p>My son comes from Southern California and has adjusted with no trouble at all. He did say he found it hot arriving in the summer, but not hot enough to put him off attending every single football game LOL! If you like college football UA is definitely the place for you.</p>
<p>If you decide to come I would highly recommend taking part in Alabama Action which is a service project that takes place just before the term starts. Groups of students help to paint and landscape Tuscaloosa elementary schools and it is a great way to meet people and make friends. It is also a good way to get to see some of Tuscaloosa as the groups have evenings where they go out to dinner at local restaurants. My son was pleasantly surprised by what Tuscaloosa had to offer.</p>
<p><a href=“Alabama Action 2013 | A Few Extra Steps - YouTube”>Alabama Action 2013 | A Few Extra Steps - YouTube;
<p>Another good way to find entertainment and cultural events in the university and city is to take the “Arts of Tuscaloosa” class offered by the Honors College. This semester students taking this class will see all of these productions except the Andrew Jackson musical. </p>
<p><a href=“Productions – Theatre and Dance”>http://theatre.ua.edu/productions/</a> </p>
<p>I know they also went to the symphony last week.</p>
<p><a href=“http://music.ua.edu/ensembles/instrumental/huxford-symphony-orchestra/”>http://music.ua.edu/ensembles/instrumental/huxford-symphony-orchestra/</a></p>
<p>I honestly think you’ll have plenty to do at UA.</p>
<p>^^ You need to be in the Honors College to take part in Alabama Action or to take Arts of Tuscaloosa. I believe the Honors College requires a 28 ACT.</p>
<p>There is the new Camp 1831 that is similar to Alabama Action and I believe that is open to all students. (It was started after my son was already on campus, so I don’t know much about it)</p>
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<p>I knew OP had the GPA requirement covered but had forgotten about the ACT/SAT. Still, she would have another chance to join the Honors college if she achieves a 3.3 GPA at UA. This would allow her to take “Arts of Tuscaloosa”. </p>
<p>Nothing to do?!? T-town is a good-sized city. The campus is not stuck in the middle of nowhere. It is sitting in a good-sized city. </p>
<p>I think you are confusing campuses that literally are “the town” with nothing much else besides a few shops/homes nearby. That is not Tuscaloosa.</p>
<p>Tuscaloosa is a one-time Capital of the state, so it has a long history and is good-sized. </p>
<p>My junior son from NY will agree with all the above. There really is no culture shock besides the friendliness. </p>
<p>Logistically, it will be a pain for you to get to and from UA, but you do it only a couple times a year. You would fly to Birmingham (often with a connection) and drive an hour to campus. There are shuttle buses for school breaks (if the times work with your schedule), or private limos. Some also get rides with other students driving home through BHM. You could also fly to/from Atlanta, but you need to arrange your own rides (difficult). BTW, driving to Atlanta in two hours requires bail money. It’s 200 miles away.</p>
<p>UA is one of the best in the country for forensics and debate. Last Spring, two UA students took very top honors at the National Individuals Events Tournament. AS a team, UA placed 9th in a field of 83 universities competing. There is a nice article in the Alabama Alumni Magazine this month, OP.</p>
<p>I think my parents main concern is that i want to go to a school with such a good speech team and im making that a huge part of my decision process. I understand their concern because I want to major in biology and speech doesn’t realy translate to my major but it is my passion after science. </p>
<p>Being able to make coherent understandable presentations can be a big part of any science. Your speech experience will be very useful! Another outlet for excellent public speakers is the Capstone Men & Women program. These students lead on campus tours and have other responsibilities to represent the university. The application for this program is in January each year.</p>
<p>As others have mentioned, Tuscaloosa isn’t a small town, but it isn’t a huge metropolis either. I’m originally from the Seattle area and didn’t find it to be much of a culture shock. There are many flight options from the Bay Area to Birmingham with just a single connection. The drive to Tuscaloosa is very easy and takes just over an hour or you can take a shuttle.</p>
<p>Combining speech with a science major is a great idea. There is a big need for people who can communicate technical topics to non-technical audiences. </p>
<p>It would really help for you and your parents to visit campus and see that their daughter has found a place where she can thrive. With a scholarship, UA might be more affordable or at least comparable in cost to attending a school in California. </p>
<p>Would your parents be interested in attending a UA football watching party in the Bay Area? UA has at least one alumni chapter in the Bay Area which hosts meetups at a local restaurant to watch UA football games. UA also hosts official recruiting events in local hotels and at local high schools. It appears that your regional recruiter is based out of Sacramento <a href=“http://gobama.ua.edu/recruiters/scottmackey/”>http://gobama.ua.edu/recruiters/scottmackey/</a>.</p>