I think you summed up my feelings well. If we were talking UA and Stanford - well, they are different. Heck, even our own flagship (UIUC). But in reality, the two schools are fairly well matched and compare pretty directly. It is clear that the two schools have similar growth strategies and are seeking similar student populations. We have a family friend that is a head hunter and specializes in engineers. He said the same thing - take the free option, get good grades, seek out a coop and internship and enjoy your job offers. He was pretty frank that landing a job from either will be quite easy. Unlike 18th century lit grads - engineers of all disciplines remain in high demand no matter the academic pedigree. He was pretty confident that UA grads will not command any more than Ole Miss grads. What matters is exposure and outreach - which both appear to be pretty aggressive with.
He recognizes that at some point finances do come into play. I have told him that it is up to him, but I want him to be aware of all the options that revolve around this very large financial decision. While he has struggled a bit, he stated that he cannot go wrong either way and can see himself being happy and successful at both schools.
My son is downstairs digging through NCES data now. I think he thinks the answer may be int he statistics someplace… Silly him!
I agree that, if he genuinely feels they both offer the same education and experience, it makes little sense to pay more for one than the other. However, it’s a little late in the game to bring that up. He’s already being very frugal in choosing between two very affordable schools for your family, so, personally, I’d allow him have the final say.
Also, for what it’s worth, I would not in any way, shape, or form put your hope to help educate your exchange student on him. It’s just not fair IMHO. And I say this as someone who has an adoptive child and has supported many children overseas over the past 25 years. It’s a very noble cause, but it’s yours, not your son’s–unless he wants it to be. If he makes the more frugal decision, by all means, help her out, because the money is yours, but don’t put that on him if you’ve already offered to pay for any of the schools you allowed him to apply to.
Students who are graduating in May-June 2017 have plenty of time. I hope they are not feeling “rushed” … I know sometimes there’s a sense of “let’s just get that decision made so I can go on with my senior year” – but they really do need to take the time they need to feel comfortable with their decision. Many things can change over a period of just a few months… Best wishes!!
There is two great reasons to consider both. We went to both both schools and found them amazing. Our daughter is STEM and was attracted to both programs. It’s an individual decision at this point. We decided on Alabama but my family wanted to move to Oxford. In short, you can’t go wrong if there is a passion to work hard and succeed. Both have amazing programs.
I can’t speak to the opportunities each school provides for engineering students, but we visited both and D thought socially UA was much more welcoming to a kid from the Midwest. After two years on campus her friend group includes kids from Dallas, Charlotte, Lexington, LA area, St. Louis, and several cities in AL.
There are several kids from downstate Illinois who have migrated to UA and are having a great experience.
One other minor point, the extra travel time to Tuscaloosa vs Oxford is probably under 3 hours.
I am not sure you could go wrong with either schools. My daughter is attending Ole Miss for Chemical Engineering, Chinese Flagship, and Manufacturing Excellence. As an introverted kid, she loves the school because she can disappear if she wants and get involved as much as she chooses. There are so many things to be happy with the school. The Manufacturing Excellence program should be considered an Engineering Management program. The students learn the business side of manufacturing. Something that engineering students will not learn in a Bachelor of Science program. She gained fluency in Mandarin in such a short period of time and loves her time in China. The chemical engineering department is in fact small, but it is an accredited school so I am not sure that matters much.
Now, there are some issues. First, the National Merit Scholarship doesn’t cover dining or extra courses over the summer (such as the Chinese program). Second, The school does not pamper their National Merit Finalists like Oklahoma University. I find that she is on her own many times fending for herself in situations that a school like OU would have an office or individual to turn to. That’s been a big disappointment for us. Third, parking is atrocious and was worse with the recent construction of 2 dormitories.
Overall, if she had to do it all over again, Ole Miss would still be the best choice out of every school in the country for what she wants to accomplish. I hope her siblings will follow suit.
I agree w/what others have said. My husband is an engineer and according to him and his engineering buddies, the only thing that really matters with a BS in engineering is that the university’s program is ABET-accredited. Since both schools fit the bill in that area, then either school would be just fine.
Sometimes when having to make a challenging decision, it can be helpful for the person to make a list of the Pro’s and Con’s of the various options that he/she is facing. Maybe your child could consider something like that. Pro’s and Con’s of attending Ole Miss. Then Pro’s & Con’s of attending Bama. Have him do this on his own and ask him to walk you & your wife through it…this will then show you his thought process…and it would give you & your wife an opportunity to offer your sage advice on stuff like “Have you considered X, Y, or Z?”
Which university your son chooses to attend really should be a decision that is mutually exclusive of the decision you & your wife are tackling re: whether or not to sponsor/pay for any/all of the foreign student’s college education in the US.
I’m going to chime in late here. I live in Oxford and am an Ole Miss grad. My son is a senior and leaning towards Alabama right now, but will apply to both Ole Miss, Alabama, and probably a couple of additional schools.
One downside of Ole Miss for my son is that it isn’t leaving home. We haven’t even talked to Ole Miss yet, but my guess is that he can get a full ride versus tuition only at Alabama. Of course, the Alabama offer is for eight semesters, which with the credits he already has will cover all or part of a masters.
I do think the OP’s son should apply to both schools and make the housing deposit at Alabama. Ole Miss has been getting a much better yield in recent years, but in the past if there was someone they really wanted then in the spring they might offer more money. I plan to encourage my son to go ahead and apply to any school where he is interested so that we can visit early in the spring semester.
Hi all, just wanted to pass along my (our) sincere thanks to all of the UA experts here at CC. We had an amazing week and our son got to really see both schools in-depth. The verdict? Ole Miss!
I guess folks told us it would happen this way, but he told us he just feels it is the right place. He loved the personal approach to almost everything they do - that really went a long way with him. We spent today at UA’s University Days, and I think he knew it most of the day. About 1pm, he was like “Dad, I am ready to commit…I just need to say it quietly” - lol!
Thanks to all current and future Bama families. Thanks for all your advice as it greatly helped us navigate this period with our son.
Roll Tide - except when playing Ole Miss - in that case, ya’ll are on your own!
