We visited many schools and my DD’s top four were GT, UA, Pitt and Temple. Full tuition at both Temple and UA. UA was the first to fall off this list. As a kid who grew up in Philadelphia, Tuscaloosa was just too small, too rural and the school was a bit too over the top. The Hotel Capstone is beautiful as are the academic buildings on UA’s campus. We enjoyed a fabulous meal at DePalma’s and folks that we met could not have been nicer, more friendly or more helpful. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the Honors College and the plan they put together for her visit. Unfortunately, my DD was put off at first by the large Greek houses. Then, she quickly noticed that all female tour guides were wearing the required dress, pearls and heels. This was followed by the tour guide’s advice to shop in the boutique section of the Supe for “your dresses for game day”. Looking around the campus, a ton of girls wore the “norts” look and, at one point, my DD asked, doesn’t anyone just wear normal casual stuff? The visit was doomed at that point. She decided before lunch that UA was not for her.
I write this only as a description through the eyes of one 17-year-old Philadelphia girl. As a mom, I was very impressed with the beauty of the school and the commitment of the Honors College to those students. However, a large part of the college decision comes back to “fit” and UA was not right for my daughter.
Thank you so much to all who have posted for UA and helped me gather information along this journey, especially @mom2collegekids and @LucieTheLakie!!
Thanks for reporting back - Good luck to your daughter! (Too bad she didn’t run into more of the non-Greek girls)
Good luck to your daughter. My non-Greek, normal casual dressing girl loves it there, but obviously no school is for everyone. I hope your daughter finds her perfect fit.
Hey, thanks for coming back and letting us know how it went, @PhilaSkiMom!
I had my fingers crossed your DD would like the school, especially since my non-Greek, 18-year-old (suburban) Philly son liked it very much when we visited, but no school is a going to be a great fit for every student.
Best of luck to her! Has she made a final decision about where she’s headed?
@PhilaSkiMom has (thank you!) hit on the head exactly the same things that I noticed (but my son didn’t until later), that yes, this school would not be a good fit for my daughter either. It can be very intimidating to not be Greek, especially for females. Now, before you jump down my throat, I know there are several of your daughters who go there, are hugely successful, dress however they want, and so forth. Roll Tide. But my daughter would have struggled on the social side of UA to fit in. This is an excellent thread for those who worry about similar things.
Good luck to your daughter PhilaSkiMom. That is why visiting a campus is so important!
I don’t disagree @aeromom, but I think the exception might be in engineering, where the students are very busy, and there are tremendous opportunities for young women. I don’t know how many of them rush, but I’m guessing it’s far from a majority.
I can totally understand that @PhilaSkiMom, and I’m from the south! When I was her age I’m not sure I would have been thrilled by all that either (though I did end up going greek ironically).
You’re blessed that she’s decisive and knows what she wants, and doesn’t want.
I always feel badly when someone takes the time to do their homework, plan a visit, and then it doesn’t work out for them: for whatever reason.
FWIW, if memory serves me right, OP’s daughter was intending EE major, and was specifically not interested in exploring Greekdom. It’s a shame that perhaps a COE student ambassador wasn’t her first/main point of contact, rather than a tour guide discussing game dresses. It’s important to turn over all the stones that concern you on campus visits.
We actually thought it was funny that every girl dressed exactly the same in shorts and a long T-shirt covering up her shorts when we toured last week on a Wednesday. Except for the tour guide in her “uniform” everyone else was very casual. ( I thought the uniform was a cool touch, very professional, business like, southern) Most people we encountered were in athletic gear hanging out in the quad, jogging or walking to class. I went with boys with no interest in Greek life so I did like that the houses were on the outskirts of campus and unless you wanted to participate you really had no need to go by them.
I’m glad your D has a clear idea of what she wants- and doesn’t want- from her college experience. Maybe Alabama just wasn’t the right fit for her.
I will say this, though, in defense of schools like Alabama. Many people see them as one thing- the stereotypical “big, football loving, Greek filled, old fashioned in regards to attitudes about women, Southern school”. And there are a lot of students that fit into that box. But there are many, many more that don’t! Greek membership is less than 50% on campus. That means that the majority of students are NOT involved. There are more women than men enrolled, and they are involved in all facets of the school- student government, activism, volunteering, research, honor societies, etc, etc. There truly is a group for every person at a big school like Alabama.
I toured with my D last week and we are from PA (philly suburbs) as well. I have followed your threads and I have learned a lot from your experiences. My D also has Pitt on her short list and I feel that there is a good chance that is where she will land. She is just a Jr. this year so we have some time.
I was worried that D would feel exactly the same as your daughter at UA - especially about the town. It is one of the reasons that we made the decision to go down Jr. year at the beginning of this search – could she see herself at UA so far from home? Her experience was so different from your D - and the reason why the “visit” is so important to this process. We were watching the girls/women as my D was trying to see if she would/could fit in - and whether she would like to go Greek or not. We saw young ladies of all shapes, sizes, and “looks”. It was interesting because we could not determine one specific UA look - we did discuss and try to put it into words and we could not come up with any one word or trend. (each other campus that we have visited had a “feel” and/or a “look” that seemed to jump out at my daughter - she couldn’t seem to come up with anything except “friendly” “diverse” and “spirited” for UA). The first day of our visit was a colder day after their spring break and the next was much warmer — we saw all types of styles of people (clothes, interactions, groups walking, etc…) and everyone just seemed to friendly. It was a surprise and my D could instantaneously see herself in Alabama. I was happy that she was happy but also surprised. It seemed so very different from Pitt - where she also felt that she would thrive (??) It stays on our list and she is looking forward to applying. If she gets accepted we will visit again next year to help make the final decision.
Best of luck to your daughter as she makes her decision and as she begins her journey.
@novicemom23kids we are from Illinois and my sons top choices now are Pitt and Alabama for chemE. Both so different so I’m not sure how he is going to decide. He is a junior . He knows he will get presidential award at UA so I’m guessing it will come down to what Pitt offers.
Interestingly, perch1024, one of my daughter’s classmates from her IL public HS also had Pitt and Bama as her top choices for ChemE. She thought she wanted to go to Pitt because her brother was at Bama and she wanted to go her own way. Pitt didn’t come through with enough money so Bama it was, and she discovered that having her brother on campus was a good thing.
On another note, I rec’d the following in PM on Sunday and Monday… (name hidden for privacy)
XXXXXX April 3
My tour is tomorrow but I got here today and walked around campus, I love it!! I didn’t realize exactly how far it is away from Michigan though
mom2collegekids April 4
How did you like the tour?
XXXXXX April 4
Loved it, I’m definitely going here I love it.
Silly question, but what is the “‘norts’ look”?
My DD ultimately chose Pitt. Unfortunately for mom and dad, it is not free tuition but between her scholarship and in-state tuition, it is affordable for us. Again, I cannot thank everyone enough for their help and input. UA is undoubtedly a great school at which many, many kids are very happy for good reason. My DD will, apparently, be happy in the snow. 
@GnocchiB, yes, the HUGE-baggy-tee-over-“Norts” style (?) is apparently the preferred look for young women on Southern campuses. I’ve been chastised in the past for questioning the look (and rebuked for referring to it as a “uniform”), and many will argue it’s much more modest than a tight tee and short-shorts, but I CANNOT get past the belief that it looks like these young women are cavorting about with no pants on! I understand that this is NOT the case, but my brain still registers “pantless” whenever I encounter the look.
And, for the record, I have no issues with most of the outfits shown, in @dodgersmom’s link because I can SEE their Norts. They do NOT appear pantless!
My issue is with this “style”: http://dailydoseofcharm.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_9415.jpg
@PhilaSkiMom, my son’s BFF from home attends Pitt. Wonderful school and sounds like a much better fit for your DD.
