In our family, the financial cost comes first. We have been looking at the big merit schools for years, since my S2017. We pretty much knew that it would be hard to beat UA.
My first went to our State flagship for CE with 100% COA. My second went to UF (Go Gators) also CE on the Benacquisto FULL COA when it was available for OOS.
Since then UA held the top spot. We realize with her stats, (1st in class, 4.0/4.8, 36 ACT etc.) she could gain acceptance and some prestigious scholarships possibly full COA at a handful of more âelite schoolsâ.
But, when she considers UA accepts all APâs, allows their NMF Scholarship for 5 years and combines the opportunity for an MBA in the same time frame, even a full COA at more âelite schoolsâ wouldnât sway her.
UA allows one to stack outside scholarships and we expect she will arrive with a substantial one from our state. The freedom this will allow as far as summers and internships/travel etc. is a main factor.
Her plan is CE/MBA at UA. Afterward, she wants to go to Harvard LAW.
Incidentally, my wife and I are both FSU grads. LOL
Computer Engineering and an MBA and then Law school. I downloaded and gave her the LSAT last November. I surprised her with it one Saturday morning. I was curious if her intellectual capacity crossed over into that field. She took it timed and said it was fun. I scored it and was surprised she score a 168 of 180. Since then, after researching it, she decided she wanted to go to Law School.
Her mom was surprised! lol
Itâs nice that Ridgecrest is pretty close to engineering, the dining halls, the student center, etc. It works out very well, I think. The only part far for my son is band and marching band is 5-6 days a week, so thatâs a bummer but the bike has worked really well.
If she wants to do Honors Action, that moves her in early, which is great. We moved him in quite early for band and it was fantastic to be the only one in the suite while unpacking!
Yâall seem like you have your crap together so you might have already looked into the patent bar. Itâs a special bar and you have to have certain tech degrees AND a law degree to even be able to take the test. Law firms (and companies and the government) will throw A LOT of incentives to get a patent bar attorney on their staff because itâs pretty rare/ lucrative. She doesnât even have to go to Harvard Law if thatâs on her radar. She could go full ride to some directional law school, pass the patent bar and go straight to wherever she wanted.
I am sure she would want Honors Action. (unless that other thing is better) lol
She will have a car for Off Campus and a scooter for On Campus. She will have to pay for parking decals with her $. As backups, she will apply to UCF/USF as NMF. (and any free applications that come along, currently MO S &T)
Thanks! We were talking about the possibility of Patent Law with her future degrees. UA has a great Law School already.
She scored a 1570 SAT and a perfect 36 ACT (as in 144/36,36,36,36=36)at 16 years of age.
We were told that a person who can achieve a 1600 and or perfect 36 can score a 180 on the LSAT. She believes she can, with prep, as she thought the LSAT was easy. Because a 4.0/180 can equate to a Full Ride to top Law Schools, she figured Harvard Law was her route or goal. (the top14 fight over the best candidates)
Who knows how the route may change. She actually planned for a perfect 36, NMF and UA in 8th grade. So there is that.
Love hearing about such a bright and goal-oriented kid. As a lawyer myself, there are sometimes some downsides to being in those top law programs, but it all depends on goals and she has four or five years (not sure how long her CS/MBA program is) to figure it all out.
Congratulations on such a successful daughter! I have a senior at Georgia Tech who has had three internships and two of the three he has worked with Alabama engineering students. That has really opened our eyes for this third child about the possibilities for kids coming out of less known engineering schools.
I think Georgia Tech remains my current applicants first choice. He would also get free tuition which would make it really difficult to turn down particularly because he likes the school (but not the footballl team and he is a Bama football fanđ). No guarantees so he is casting a wide net!
Until last November we had no idea about Law. But the LSAT cemented it in. (as luck would have it) She said the Critical Reasoning was fun and thought it was easy. (aged 16) Her ACT Reading scores since Middle School were always a 36. When I ask her to explain how she got to the reading answers (she thinks are obvious) I still donât get it after she explains it.
There must be many high stat kids at UA, based on their NMF counts alone.
When they were kids I would drive mine by mansions and say âhere is where the Ivy League kids liveâ. Then when we would get home, Iâd say this is the FSU crowd. lol
I tried to instill in them the worth of a good education. We raised 4 lifetime straight A kids.
Years went by and I became less enamored with the Ivyâs. We switched to âtry to graduate college with no debtâ as our mantra.
D23 has been accepted into Honors college, paid all deposits. Trying to decide between RRS, Stem to MBA and AMP for CS. She should come in with about 44 AP/Dual hours but I donât think she can make all 3 fit and Iâm not sure its a good idea to try and cram it all in anyway. She has a National Recognition Scholarship now but that will be replaced with the NMF so will have 5 years of tuition. Having a hard time extrapolating which would be the better option long term. For now, I think she will go ahead and apply to RRS and Stem and ponder on it a little longer.
Stem to MBA will probably get an almost immediate acceptance. RRSP is more selective with a finalist weekend and is a more tight-knit cohort of about 40 students per year. Also, you can do both Stem to MBA and RRSP. Iâm not sure but I think you can also add AMP as well. Many of the students in the Honors College are in more than one of the honors programs. I would definitely recommend applying to RRSP. It is a great program. My daughter was in Stem to MBA but dropped it, as did a few of her friends, but she knows a few who are still in it and like it - and these are all students who are in RRSP, Blount, Fellows, or McCollough.
Itâs funny how the world, and our perspectives change. My kids grew up wanting to go to Michigan like their dad, but none of them got in. TBH, he wouldnât have gotten in by todayâs standards, either. They all got into Syracuse, where I went, but who wants to pay that tuition? Not me! My middle daughter was a high stats kid at her high school, and she is at FSU, where her other high stats peers from NJ were denied. FSU has become very competitive. My youngest isnât a very strong student, so sheâs not even applying to FSU. I like the idea of them being in the same region, though, and UA is within visiting distance of her sister, which is compelling.
The ivies definitely open doors for students, but driven students can open their own doors. It sounds like your kids are going to be successful no matter where they go! Congrats!
We have an Honors meeting scheduled Tuesday and then the tour. I believe she can decide about RRS etc. then. It could be that the whole thing is done by then. Then I can concentrate on my S2025.
my kiddo is just starting to learn about STEM to MBA. sheâs interested. We tour next week; not NMF so itâd be a year of grad tuition on our own i suppose. But curious as to why your daughter joined it; and then dropped it. . . . would love to hear more about it from a parent! thanks
Thereâs nothing wrong with the program - sorry if I gave that impression in my earlier response. My daughter is premed, and she is double-majoring and has 2 minors already. The Stem to MBA would have been a 3rd minor, which was doable but not something she was super interested in. She was iffy on the Stem to MBA to begin with, but when she got the syllabus for the first class it solidified that it wasnât the right choice for her. From what sheâs heard from her friends, some love it and some donât; it really comes down to their interests and whether they want to pursue an MBA.
I understand. I donât feel like the information on the website does the RRS program justice. My daughter loves it, and most of her friends are from that program. They are given great opportunities, and the RRSP staff are very supportive of the students. I hope you have a great visit tomorrow!
