University of Alabama or Washington? (Pre-Law)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
1

<p>Hello there! I recently had posted this in the “General College Chances Forum,” but at the urging of commenters, I will be posting it here has well:</p>

<p>I have narrowed down my two choices for colleges to The University of Alabama and the University of Washington, and I was wondering if you could help me with my choice. Currently, I have been accepted to Alabama with full tuition scholarship, but have yet to be accepted to the University of Washington, as their admission notices come quite late, arriving in late March. Here are my thoughts so far:</p>

<p>Alabama: At 'Bama, I would have full tuition, bringing my total expenses to merely room and board, airfare ($ 350 roundtrip) from Tuscaloosa to Seattle (I live in Olympia - about 60 miles from Seattle), and other personal expenses of lesser costs. It is my belief that such a low price, about $10,000 a year, would help me in the financial long run, as I plan to go into pre-law and then law school, which brings me to my next question: Is 'Bama reputable enough for a law school that has a good career turnout?</p>

<p>Washington: At UW, I would most likely receive no aid whatsoever, as I am of a stereotypical middle class family of the cookie cutter variety and they ONLY seem to give out need-based aid. However, considering I plan to go on to law school, it is my belief (tell me if I am wrong) that the UW is more prestigious than 'Bama, and therefore better for Grad-school. I am also in-state.</p>

<p>Well, although I have yet to be accepted to UW, I want to make my decision soon because 'Bama has already opened up their housing application, and from what I have seen from the rowdily rude roommates in such movies as Animal House and American Pie, I want to make sure I get to have a say where I stay.</p>

<p>So what do you think?</p>

2

<p>I posted my answer in the other forum but i’ll repost my link here:</p>

<p>“That being said, info for future plans: Did you know that UA’s Law School is highly ranked and well regarded.”</p>

<p>See link: <a href=“http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20120313/news/120319900[/url]”>http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20120313/news/120319900&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>In addition, let me add that The University of Alabama will prepare you for your future if you do the required work.
Why would you want to take out undergraduate loans when you need to pay for law school?</p>

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<p>Unless you have a low EFC, the chances of getting a large scholarship or financial aid at the UDub are minimal at best. Their honors college is also more selective and not as free-form as UA’s Honors College.</p>

<p>I am also a Washington resident and faced a similar decision between the two schools. I chose Alabama because as much as I love Seattle and the UDub, I wanted to experience something else and I felt that UA better suited my academic needs and desires. I have had opportunities at UA that I would have never had at the UDub, which will help me in applying for graduate and professional schools. To top it all off, UA was a couple thousand dollars cheaper than commuting ~30 miles each way to the UDub and I get to live in a very nice residence hall on top of it.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that pre-law is not a specific major at some schools and that you do not have to major in pre-law or political science to go to law school. </p>

<p>While the vast majority of fraternities and fraternity men are not of the Animal House variety, both schools have strong fraternity systems.</p>

<p>I strongly hope that you don’t plan on commuting from Olympia if you attend the UDub as you’d miss out on a lot of campus life and spend almost as much time on a bus as you would on campus.</p>

<p>Also note that $350 roundtrip is very good rate for Seattle to Birmingham and will likely be more since you will be flying during the summer and peak break periods. When I started at UA, roundtrip airfare from Seattle was $170-$250 roundtrip. For my spring break trip home this year, airfare was $560 roundtrip.</p>

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<p>Some posts from your other thread…</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1449676-university-alabama-washington-pre-law.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1449676-university-alabama-washington-pre-law.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>There you see… I knew that if you moved your question to this forum, SEA_tide would find you to answer, since he is a student from your home area.</p>

<p>Good Luck in your decision.</p>

6

<p>Hey 87:</p>

<p>We are from your neck of the woods as well and have had two kids (one a '13er) apply to Alabama and not to the UDub at all (and they were top applicants). Our D was looking at law when she applied and she got a wonderful letter from Dr. Sharpe (I think that’s spelled right) about all of the opportunities at Bama for pre-law students. It was very impressive. They do have a very reputable law school right there on campus. I believe pre-law students can take some of those courses.</p>

<p>UW does have a good rep as well, but when we went to an info session with our oldest as part of a gifted program they hosted, the rep said don’t choose the U based on the perceived rep of it being the best in the area. It needs to be the right place for you. He said he always wondered if those that dropped out had been pressured to attend by well-meaning parents and if they might not have thrived elsewhere. </p>

<p>We looked into this a lot with D and we have many attorney friends and family. You need an excellent LSAT score and GPA plus recs. Where can you get that? Wherever you are happy and motivated and make good connections with your profs for recs. One of our friends is a judge and he went from a tiny Christian school in CA to NYU law. Another very successful attorney we know went to San Diego State for undergrad. </p>

<p>Plus you will need lots of $$$ for law school. UW will be expensive. You can count on that and rates are only going up! Sounds like Alabama would make the most sense on all fronts, unless you just cannot see yourself happy/successful there. Maybe the UW would be a better idea for law school?!</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Oh…btw D would have loved to attend Alabama. As it turned out she had a couple of great options that came in even cheaper (and smaller) than her wonderful scholarship there and she was fortunate to have a difficult decision to make. She still has a soft spot for the Crimson Tide and encouraged her brother to apply.</p>

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<p>There is a special Honors College admission program at The University of Alabama to its Law school.</p>

<p>see this link: [Honors</a> Admissions Program | The University of Alabama | School of Law](<a href=“http://www.law.ua.edu/admissions/honors-program/]Honors”>http://www.law.ua.edu/admissions/honors-program/)</p>

<p>I believe that this is a very unique program.</p>

8

<p>I agree with focusing on the money issue because both schools could provide strong academics.</p>

<p>On the money side, I think your $10k/yr may be on the low side.</p>

<p>Remember, in addition to airfare, you’ll need $ for shuttle transport from B’ham to Tuscaloosa.</p>

<p>First year students are required to purchase the largest meal plan. If you wish to live in the Honors Suites, the room fee is higher than we found at most schools. Both the room & meal plan can decrease in year 2 with off-campus housing and a lesser meal plan, but please don’t underestimate the cost of the initial year.</p>

<p>A big plus for our family is that the tuition scholarship is a percentage and not a dollar amount. No need to worry about guessing tuition hikes.</p>

<p>Other things we as parents have forced our son to look at is state/local taxes, entertainment costs, etc. Bama always has something going on for great student prices. Other schools my son is looking at may only have 1 event each weekend and off-campus events in some of the cities get expensive.</p>

<p>Housing selection - We did pay the housing deposit early so he would have a good selection (as a Mom, I don’t think Bama will be beat and I was willing to eat the deposit fee). So, you could hook up with a kid like my son to pull you into an earlier housing slot. I wouldn’t sweat the housing deposit too much if you are willing to actively seek roommates by March.</p>

9

<p>I think your $10K figure for Alabama is low; even with the Presidential and an additional scholarship, we’re paying more than that.</p>

<p>In terms of law school, I don’t think it makes any difference whether your diploma says University of Washington or University of Alabama. Either one is “reputable” enough for get you into a top law school. What will matter most is how well you do at whichever school you choose (GPA) and your LSAT score.</p>

<p>So I wouldn’t worry about perceived reputation differences; I’d choose based on whatever other criteria are important to you - cost (obviously important if you’re planning on law school), fit, location, etc. Good luck with your decision.</p>