<p>Anyone out there trying to make a decision between UA Univ. Fellows and acceptance to a “top rank” school? i.e. Emory vs. UA-Univ.Fellows?</p>
<p>Zilch$ to us from Emory. Lots of $ to us from UA.
Is Emory worth a quarter million bucks more?</p>
<p>No?</p>
<p>I would definitely go to Bama. Obviously if you are like a Kennedy or something, go to Emory, but Bama seems to make more sense.</p>
<p>My son had to make a similiar choice last year. He decided against Alabama's Honors Programs and the University Fellows offer for an elite school. He has never looked back. I have. But he & my wife haven't. Did you get a substantial stipend for University Fellows? I believe that the top amount last year (offered to about six or seven students), the first year of the program, was a full ride, a laptop and $7,000 per year plus some other benefits. Although, I will share that he refused to fully & properly fill out any more college applications after his September acceptance to Alabama's Honors College.(He had already applied ED to his first choice school in late August.) I am familiar with both schools, but need to know more about you & your interests before commenting. Alabama is great for study abroad. And I have never seen nicer dorms--and my son was placed in the best dorm during his summers at Harvard. Feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>My d is a University Fellow at UA and she is very happy. She chose the program rather than accept a 3/4 tuition offer from Vandy and has never regretted her decision. In the Fellows program a student interacts with the best and brightest on campus, both students and faculty. Fellows meet often with the Dean of the Honors College and each Fellow has a personal mentor in their field of study. I'm sure you know all this since your child has been offered a Fellow position, but I guess my point is that instead of being just another student at Emory, your child could feel "special" at UA. The personal attention is invaluable. My d couldn't justify us having to pay the difference of 3/4 ride at Vandy versus having a full ride, plus housing, plus study abroad stipend, plus computer, etc. at Bama, even though we were willing to pay for her to go anywhere she wanted to go. Her justification was that she had worked too hard in high school (top classes, lots of APs, ECs, grades, etc.) to have her parents pay for college. She didn't feel like she "deserved" a free college education, but since she was offered one, why not make the best of it. She is having a blast, very involved in campus and community activities, and banking lots of money for grad school. Most importantly, she is getting a quality education. She can hopefully be admitted to grad school anywhere she wants to attend--either an "elite" school or Bama. All this being said, your child should go where he/she feels most comfortable. I know it's difficult to turn down admission to a university like Emory, but if your child likes Bama it can work out nicely, especially with the Fellows program.</p>
<p>I was curious, what kind of computer is given to the Honors College students that are NMF? What operating system and programs are pre-loaded on it? When do the recipients receive them? Have there been any problems with the current students that received one? If so, how do students get repairs completed?</p>
<p>One of the older posts(fall/winter) said that they were about $2500 Dell's.</p>
<p>The only problem with Dell's is that battery life sucks, although that probably depends on usage. My roommate's battery went dead before the end of the year and only works when plugged into the outlet. My battery just went dead a few months ago. We both received laptops Fall 06. Besides that, they are great. They were virtually top of the line when we got them, although a top of the line cpu becomes obsolete 2 weeks later nowadays. I am still using mine and hopefully I won't have to buy another laptop before I graduate. My next cpu will be a MAC though.</p>
<p>In response to the actual thread question. I didn't apply to any super elite schools because I knew I didn't want to go to school too far from home (Huntsville, Al). I did however get accepted to GaTech, which is probably the premier engineering school of the south. I got about 3/4 paid for, with my freshman year being covered due to one-time outside scholarships. At times, I do feel like I should've went to a more prestigious university but then I realize what I have been given. I have a more than full ride at UA and it is great knowing that my first career paycheck will be all mine because I have no student loans. Furthermore, because I receive refund checks from excess scholarships I was able to purchase a new car. Can't beat that. I am an engineer major and realize that engineers are engineers wherever you graduate from and that a lot of your opportunities come through networking. Join organizations and go to conferences/convetions and career fairs and start preparing for your future that way as well. </p>
<p>Here is a perhaps little known fact. If you study abroad, you can use your tuition scholarship to pay for your study abroad tuition. Whatever your value of tuition is will be allotted towards the study abroad costs. For example, I am in-state so my semester tuiton scholarship is valued around $3K. If I study abroad this semester I can use that $3K to pay for it. If you are out of state than you are a lucky bastard because your tuition is valued at $8500 which means you get $8500 to pay for study abroad. My roommate from California will be in Austria or Hungary (can't remember) this fall and then in the Czech Republic in the spring...all paid for?</p>
<p>I can see that UA is out to change their image of just another state school. Our historical football program has granted us publicity so I think that people across the country have at least heard of us, but now we are out to become a flagship institution not just in Alabama or the South but the entire country.</p>
<p>Ultimately, it is your decision and you must decide where you will be most comfortable. I, however would say definitely go where the money is.</p>
<p>uaprophet, im in a similiar situation about choosing a presidential scholarship at Alabama as an out of state student from north carolina or going to Georgia Tech, Clemson or NC State for chemical engineering. I really like UA and the money as im probably not going to get much from the others. However how would UA's repuation in the job market around north carolina be compared to Tech or State. Alabama's engineering program seems to be regarded as lower compared to my other schools but i doubt that it would end up making much difference in either the job market or med school admissions.</p>
<p>Could i send you a PM regarding some questions about your experience with UA engineering.</p>
<p>UAProphet, how do you think a student from the Pacific Northwest would feel at Alabama? The scholarship opportunities are hard to disregard, but my D thinks she might feel uncomfortable in the south.</p>
<p>amkesler</p>
<p>From what I am learning, engineering is engineering no matter where you go. My sister's bf graduated from Auburn with a Civil engineering degree. It took him about 7 years and his GPA was just enough to graduate. He still had a great job waiting for him a semester before he graduated (a company named Fluor, located globally but he works in SC). </p>
<p>Engineering is a major that few can handle and we are in high demand. Networking is a term that become part of your vernacular when you get to college. Working hard is not limited to studying and making good grades. When it comes to your career, if there is something you seriously envisioning yourself doing then you must take advantage of every opportunity to network and make yourself more marketable. </p>
<p>Feel free to send me a PM and hopefully I can help.</p>
<p>jaf1991</p>
<p>There are plenty of out of state students. I don't know many from your area, but I think I know more students from Texas than I do that are actually from Alabama. Granted, Texas may be considered the south, but when you are from huge metropolitan areas such as Dallas-Ft. Worth, San Antonio, and Houston then I think it is safe to say that is not the same as Alabama south (our largest city is Birmingham and even it may only have a population of 1 million, almost 2 if you count the surrounding areas as a metropolitan area).</p>
<p>My roommate was from LA and he can notice differences in our culture and lifestyle but it is nothing that he hates. It is merely a new perspective. It isn't as extreme as relocating to another country but she will be able to tell she 'isn't in Kansas anymore'. My roommate did say that we truly do have that Southern Hospitality. Many people think the south is still racist, but we are as racist as the rest of the country (it still exists but isn't nearly as rampant and a problem as it used to be). </p>
<p>The biggest challenge she might face is being such a long way from home. I am only a 2 hour drive from my house and though I don't go home often, if necessary, I can.</p>