<p>Hi! I’m trying to decide between UNC (oos), Alabama (oos), and Rhodes College in Memphis. I’m planning on majoring in business. These schools are all very different, making this decision very hard so I was wondering if I could get some more opinions.</p>
<p>I appreciate UNC’s great reputation, the and the school spirit. It has felt a little impersonal to me though, which makes me a little concerned. Also, it is the most expensive since my parents will be paying full oos tuition.</p>
<p>I have a good scholarship to Rhodes, so it’s affordable. I like the small class sizes and strong liberal arts education, but I’m a little worried about feeling claustrophobic there after four years. Even though the campus is beautiful, I’m not the biggest fan of gated campuses and feeling cut off from the rest of the community.</p>
<p>Right now, I feel the most attracted to UA. I’ll be in the honors college, and I’m on the reserve list for the Computer Based Honors Program. It’s the cheapest option with the Presidential Scholarship, and it feels like it has the best of a big school and a smaller community. I also am interested in the MIS major. I’m not sure about how challenging the academics are compared to UNC or Rhodes, though.</p>
<p>Sorry for the long post, but if anybody could offer any insight, I’d really appreciate it!</p>
<p>UA’s MIS program is a very good and has excellent job placement. You’ll get a small-school feel from the program while having all the resources of a large university. Even if you decide to major in something else, UA doesn’t feel like as large of a university as it actually is.</p>
<p>The academics at UA are very high quality and challenging. Also, the school spirit is much greater than that at UNC. UA is second in the nation behind the University of Texas-Austin in terms of sales of licensed merchandise.</p>
<p>This is coming from an in-stater for NC-- I found the cost to be unrealistic for my goals. Considering you’re out of state, I can’t see any reason to foot the bill for NC. </p>
<p>With UNC and UA being such big schools and being the 2nd best (behind Duke) and best in the state, the employment outcomes out of each school for those at the top of the class are going to be similar. Combine that with free tuition at bama, and I’d vote UA every day of the week. </p>
<p>My S is in a similar situation, OP. After much culling, he’ll be choosing between UA, Penn State (our very expensive state flagship), and a selective liberal arts college in the Midwest. During our whirlwind visit to UA over spring break, he turned to me and asked me why we still needed to visit Penn State. He was THAT impressed. </p>
<p>Even without the honors college and the presidential scholarship, I think he might have a hard time choosing between the two schools, but with them? Penn State is going to have to rock his world for him to choose it over what UA is offering. </p>
<p>The LAC is the wild card. That’s what he always thought he wanted, and they’ve offered him some incredibly generous financial aid, so we shall see after we visit for the first time next week. </p>
<p>My advice: Try to revisit the schools if possible, and then go where you feel happiest (with both the fit of the school and the price tag), because all of your choices are excellent ones. You can’t really go wrong! But one thing to think about as you debate the choice: If you choose Bama, and you end up unhappy there, you can likely transfer to UNC or another school. (You will be passing on the Rhodes merit money.) If you pass on UA, you won’t get the chance to take advantage of that free tuition. </p>
<p>Also, as far as business goes, it sounds like Bama’s accounting, public relations and MIS programs are all topnotch. I believe we were told the MIS grads had 100% placement last year. That’s impressive!</p>
<p>Be sure that you touch based with Mrs. B on a regular basis to let her know that you’re still interested in CBH. Also, provide any updates as needed.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the responses! They are very encouraging. I have kept in touch with Mrs. Batson, so fingers crossed there. Also, good luck to you and your son, LucieTheLakie!</p>
<p>Based on your excellent writing and well thought-out post, you’re going to grad school so you’ve got at least six years of college to finance. That makes it easy to cross out UNC. Being in UA’s honors college brings the small school feel to a large college campus with so many resources. Rhodes also is an excellent choice. The business community in Memphis is booming and Rhodes has plenty of connections for internships. My daughter is making a similar decision between Rhodes, the UTK’s Chancellor’s Honors Program, and four (!) other LACs. I’m not going to delve further into the pro’s and con’s of Rhodes vs. UA but I am going to tell you what I tell my daughter: you’ve worked hard to be admitted. You scored serious merit scholarships so each college will provide a high quality education for a low cost. Whichever you choose will suit you just fine. </p>
<p>UNC was never on my son’s radar, but we visited both Rhodes and UA. It really comes down to where you feel comfortable, because they are vastly different schools. My son dismissed Rhodes as an option halfway through our tour; he felt it was far too small (his public high school has about 3,500 kids). That being said, the campus was beautiful and seemed to foster a tight-knit community, and I recommended it to a friend because I think it would be the perfect school for her D. </p>
<p>Son fell in love with Alabama, and it was his first and only choice. I think that via the Honors program, you can have a “small school” experience if that’s what you are looking for, while having access to amazing facilities, athletics, etc., that only a large school can offer. You can make a large school feel smaller, but Rhodes is always going to be a small school. </p>
<p>Good luck as you weigh your options. Your future looks bright, whatever you decide :).</p>
<p>DS was also accepted to Rhodes with generous merit and UA last year. </p>
<p>He choose UA.</p>
<p>Rhodes is an incredible school, but DS did not want to join a frat. Socially, he thought there are far more GDIs at UA and he would feel comfortable. He also changed his focus for a major and UA fit his academic need better.</p>
<p>His decision kept flip-flopping the entire month of April. It feels like such a huge decision while you are in the midst of it, but the truth is, some of you are blessed with fantastic options and neither will be wrong. Just don’t second guess yourself once you make the decision.</p>