<p>^^^</p>
<p>What state are you in?</p>
<p>(How wonderful that your school hands the PSAT score sheets out so early! My kids school waits til about Jan 9th/10th to hand them out. Ugh!</p>
<p>/\ /
For those parents who are want to know the PSAT score as soon as they are available, can’t they call and get it for $8?</p>
<p>Mom2Collegekids. We’re in TN. Score needed has been a 213, but it went down to 212 last year. I’m hoping she gets 215 + to be on the safe side. </p>
<p>No, Hondu. There is no way to get PSAT scores until the school hands it out.</p>
<p>Am so so so bummed for S…just got PSAT back today and S’s score inexplicably went DOWN 12 points from last year (he had a GREAT score last year with no studying) so there is absolutely no chance for NMSF/NMF. Ironically sophomore S2 who is only interested in schools with NO NMF scholarships got a killer score. Oh well…best of luck to all of you who are still waiting!!</p>
<p>^^^
oh…so frustrating! :(</p>
<p>Since it sounds like your kids have the ability to score high, they can still get big merit at various schools.</p>
<p>Mom2ck–as i mentioned in another post, S1 is my high test/low GPA (3.4UW/3.9W) kiddo. I was so hoping he could get this so that he could gain a little bit of confidence in himself as a student, you know, with an accolade everyone knows about and kind of fusses over. (S2 gets a lot more attention from people outside the family for school+sports). Well, hopefully he will get something out of the SAT prep class he’s signed up for in preparation for the March SAT I, which is probably more important anyway. I will just continue to research schools and pray that he ends up at exactly the school he’s meant to…I am reminded of a quote I read somewhere that says “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.”</p>
<p>What is the general “personality” at University of Alabama.</p>
<p>I am not from the south and don’t think I would fit in well, but I could be wrong, I suppose.</p>
<p>So how would you describe the students? The honors students?</p>
<p>maybe23:</p>
<p>I am from Cincinnati, Ohio and just went down to visit the University of Alabama. I will be attending the university in the fall as a mechanical engineering student under the National Merit scholarship. I found that everyone I talked to - literally everyone - was exceptionally receptive and friendly. I loved the atmosphere. Granted, if you’re not used to “the South” (as I was not), you’ll notice a few idiosyncrasies but nothing major. </p>
<p>I also had the chance to talk to a foreign exchange student (from China) who is working on his Ph.D in mechanical engineering. He only had praise for the university, the program, and Tuscaloosa.</p>
<p>I’m a native Californian, and I can tell you that there is nothing odd at Bama. </p>
<p>My SIL and nephew (from Calif) visited the campus yesterday and they were very impressed. </p>
<p>38% of the students are from out of state. </p>
<p>When hanging around Bama, you realize that this campus could be anywhere. When I was at the Bama/Penn St and the Bama/San Jose football games, I had many opportunities to talk to fans from these visiting schools. They loved the campus, the area, and the people.</p>
<p>I think if you visit, you’ll be impressed.</p>
<p>Hi I’m a junior from a competitive VA school who just got a 231 back from the psat… I had assumed that William and Mary was the best choice instate given my premed ambitions. But I stumbled across the list of schools offering full rides to national merit finalists and Alabama seemed to have a lot of passionate advocates. Can anyone point me to statistics on alabama students getting into med school? And would this liberal from northern virginia fit in at alabama? I’m trying to convince my parents that the generous financial incentives make alabama worth a visit</p>
<p>@chay, … what else are you bringing to the table other than NMF? Are you a straight A student? Have you taken the SAT? Why would a high achieving VA resident “settle” for a lower ranked school when you have UVA and W&M at instate rates? If you are bringing more than just NMF, you may receive MANY great offers from some of the very best schools in the nation.</p>
<p>[National</a> Universities Rankings - Best College - Education - US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/page+2]National”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/page+2)</p>
<p>@plumazul…While I can’t answer for Chay I can answer for why my son (with matching credentials) is seriously considering such a “lesser school” as Alabama.</p>
<p>1 - Even with in-state tuition you can’t beat getting your undergrad with no cost. This is even more important when you are almost sure that you will go on for a higher degree. Dollars saved now are dollars that you can invest later.</p>
<p>2 - We visited a few of the higher ranked schools on the US News list, and for the most part they didn’t really seem to care, during the visit, if he went there or not. When we visited Alabama (amoung a few others) they went out of their way to make sure that he felt wanted and to ensure that all of his questions were answered. These kids are 17 or 18 years old, you can’t place too much importance on making them know that you want them there.</p>
<p>3 - Alabama offers research opportunities as a freshman. For many fields that chance for more research as an undergrad is more important than the name recognition on your undergrad degree.</p>
<p>I guess our basic thoughts are that there is much more to consider than name recognition when it comes to picking out where you will attend, and this is even more true from your undergrad degree.</p>
<p>Exactly what MemphisGuy ^ said!</p>
<p>Why are still so many kids trying to get into top rank universities these days? Recognition, Opportunities, Networking…</p>
<p>gongho: Asking why kids today do anything is a dangerous question…why are they so into piercings??? Everyone has their own reasons.</p>
<p>I know at one point my son had basically decided that Harvard was where he needed to end up, this was at a young age before he truly understood the process. But it does show that name recognition is a big part of the equation. All he would have known at that point (about 9 years old) was what he would have heard from others. At this point in his life he has re-prioritized and is looking at things differently.</p>
<p>As for your three potential reasons:
Recognition - I will never argue that a HYSP student will get more peer and family recognition than somone attending a “lesser” school. I really don’t know that it buys you much beyond that.</p>
<p>Opportunities and Networking - You will gain some and lose some. As I said Alabama offers research for freshmen, that is an opportunity that you will not get at one of the big name schools. Will you have more opportinities post graduation from an HYSP school?? Probably, but as I memtioned in my previous post. From an undergrad viewpoint that is not important. Get the undergrad degree at the lower cost then put your money into a big name grad degree. Besides from a networking viewpoint they will then have two groups to network with.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If things don’t work out, it sounds better to say you dropped out of Harvard than having to say you dropped out of Faber College.</p>
<p>Seriously, my D had a chance to go anywhere she wanted. We visited 15 colleges, private, public, small, medium, large, rural, suburban and urban so she could get the feel for them all. She is gonna live somewhere for 4 years and the best things for studies is to feel comfortable and be happy. Her favorites kept changing as we progressed through the process. Some privates bit the dust early like Yale, Princeton, Vanderbilt, Emory, Washington & Lee as did some publics UGA, UVA… until we got it down to Stanford, Duke, Rice, Davidson, Clemson, Auburn. </p>
<p>In the end what hurt the elite privates was they wouldn’t take many (if any) of her dual enrolled college credits she had 41. She already sat in a college classroom taking English Comps, Histories, World Literature, Political Science, Micro Economics… they were going to force her to take them all again from their school. </p>
<p>Auburn is her #1 right now simply because of being comfortable and flexibility: she could graduate in 3 years if she wanted. She can double major plus get a minor in 4 years averaging 4 classes a semester for 4 years (plus a lot of time for research) if she wants. She can take a semester off for travel abroad, and another for an internship is she wants. She can concentrate hard on Rhodes scholarships and make sure she has a light senior schedule. She can even get a pilots licesne at their University airport facilities. And to top it off she can do any of this without owing a penny to anyone. </p>
<p>These publics allow almost all the merit scholarships to stack. Presidentials, National Merit, Elites, Departmental scholarships and external ones, they stack. Is she doesn’t study-abroad she will have at least $ 20,000+ towards her masters to start. In addition many publics are allowing underclassmen to take graduate courses that count towards both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Sme of these publics aren;t like they were 20 even 10 years ago. UGA is ranking up with the big boys with Rhodes Scholars in the last decade or so. </p>
<p>Lot’s of options. She’s still waiting to see final offers from the others and then she’ll make her decision. Going to Auburn won’t preclude her from getting a Masters and Phds from a Stanford, Duke, or Yale. And I agree, if someone is planning on graduate degrees, it greatly lessens the importance of where you earned your undergraduate degree. I guess it might matter to a few or be given a little more weight by some, but a fully paid for undergraduate degree with lots of options and flexibility and no debt carries heavy weight in consideration of how someone wants to start out their young professional life.</p>
<p>Each family has different taste, options. Some family like to drive a Benz, Lexus or BMW, others want to drive Ford, Toyota… and for sure Lexus drive is much more smoothly, powerful and comfortable compare to Toyota even though both cars will get the person to the same destination.</p>
<p>For anyone considering med school, there are many reasons to select a mid-tier school with a big scholarship if you’re a high stats kid.</p>
<p>1) The savings will mean less debt for med school. Parents can put undergrad money towards med school. No debt for undergrad.</p>
<p>2) The grading curve is less harsh. When you look at the Pre-med forum here on CC, you’ll see some smart kids who are attending elite schools who are upset because their GPA isn’t as high as it needs to be for med school. Pre-ned students should have at least a 3.7 GPA (overall and science). </p>
<p>3) Med schools don’t give you a “pass,” if your GPA is lower, but it’s from an elite school.</p>
<p>* Can anyone point me to statistics on alabama students getting into med school? And would this liberal from northern virginia fit in at alabama? I’m trying to convince my parents that the generous financial incentives make alabama worth a visit *</p>
<p>Bama has a high admission rate to med school. My son is pre-med at Bama, and I have no fear that he’ll get into med school. I will try to get the exact number for you, but I think the number that the Director of Pre-Health Advising told me is 70-80% - which is much higher than the national average of 50%.</p>
<p>Bama does use the Med School Admissions Committee system that private schools use. </p>
<p>Bama’s politics run the spectrum of very liberal students to conservative. I would say that most of the students are “middle of the road.” </p>
<p>It was Obama-land during the last presidential election. </p>
<p>The profs tend to be liberal with a few moderate/conservatives…but mostly liberal. </p>
<p>This year 43% of freshmen are from out-of-state. The school is about 38% out of state (which will grow each year). </p>
<p>Bama has over 500 National Scholars on campus.</p>
<p>Gongho: Each family has different budgets. Some people can write the check for the Lexus, and some can’t. Many could take out loans for the Lexus, and pay it off for years. Some may get the Lexus handed to them, yet can’t afford the gas and insurance to really enjoy it. Many could take out loans for the Lexus, and pay it off for years, putting off other wants and needs.</p>
<p>Many people see that by taking the free Toyota, they can buy younger siblings Hondas or Fords and all will have transportation or buy the Lexus four years later, when the kid has more travelling to do.</p>
<p>Don’t forget that many of the elite universities offer complete financial aid for those families making less than 60K, 75K, even 100K. Even families with larger incomes barely pay anything if they are admitted. </p>
<p>We aren’t making a decision until we receive financial aid packages. While having a full ride from the wonderful universities that recognize NMFs is great, we’re willing to pay a little if the fit is better somewhere else.</p>