<p>Looking for some non preppy, liberal, diverse options for kids who are bright, athletic and want to be at a large school without an elitist feel.
Someone suggested NC State and maybe UVA. But another person told us that UVA is actually very preppy and conservative.</p>
<p>Help?
T</p>
<p>Uab is ranked 5th for diversity. Not preppy at all. 6% Greek about 11k undergrads very strong for sciences great automatic merit easy app rolling
admissions
Www.Uab.edu</p>
<p>Penn State-UP
Pitt
UDel
UMd-CP
VaTech
UNC-Chapel Hill
College of Charleston
UMiami
Tulane</p>
<p>I have heard that UAB is very much a commuter school…a good school, but not a great place for out of state freshman needing a campus that caters to residential kids. True?
T</p>
<p>UAB only has about 11% oos students. but i wouldn’t say that it is a commuter school,70% of freshman live on campus. son says the first few weekends, more students go home (in fact he did to get more of his stuff) but as the year progresses fewer go home. There are 5 dorms on campus which means about 2-3 thousand are on campus Alot live in apartments near campus also…</p>
<p>if you think about it, there are a lot of schools (LAC) that have a smaller total enrollment than 2000 and people never question that there arent enough people on campus on the weekends</p>
<p>Virginia Tech, UNC Chapel Hill, Maryland, and UVa are the first that come to mind. UVa is conservative relative to the others, but it’s still a hell of a lot more liberal than Ole Miss or Alabama.</p>
<p>Duke, UNC, UVA, Vanderbilt, Emory and Tulane</p>
<p>UVA is a great place, but it is quite preppy and somewhat conservative.
quakerstake’s list looks pretty good although I think Charleston is pretty preppy? Don’t know about UNC-CH.</p>
<p>Rutgers. Academically it’s better than UDel and on a par with UMCP.</p>
<p>UNC-CH sounds good for you, but it’s very hard to get in to out of state.</p>
<p>Rutgers is costly for an OOS.</p>
<p>Taben - is $ a concern? What state are you from?</p>
<p>travelfun: I was going down the coast from the MidAtlantic. I would have included Rutgers but NJ might be a tough sell for an OOS student. For SC, CofC is urban and less fratty-preppy than USC or Clemson. There are beaches nearby and beach (surfer) types at the school and the M-F ratio is a plus if the OP is male. I almost included Emory for GA but it is a little fratty and has an elitist vibe (Southern Ivy) the OP didn’t seem to want. The OP might want to look at it. Duke or Vanderbilt were excluded for the same reasons. </p>
<p>New College of FL is smallish but is a possibility for far-left. It’s more left than liberal and decent academically.</p>
<p>UVA is large enough to be inclusive of many political and social conventions. My intensely liberal, vegetarian, atheist daughter (who happens to be a jock and wanted a school with big time college athletics) loves UVA. Neither she nor her friends are interested in Greek life but always have plenty of social activities. This weekend, they are taking a university sponsored bus to Richmond to participate in a Planned Parenthood rally. I think you can find like minded people anywhere you choose to look for them. And the academics and reputation of UVA is top notch.</p>
<p>I gather that the atmosphere at U Alabama at Birmingham is very different from that at U Alabama-Tuscaloosa. As stated, UAB has a higher degree of racial/ethnic diversity than Tuscaloosa and the Greeks are not as prevalent as at Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa’s a great environment for the people who like it, but for others (particularly in the sciences) UAB is the right choice.</p>
<p>As for the campus itself, UAB has invested much $$$ into the physical plant for new facilities for students. The new rec center has won a national award. And the Alys Performing Arts Center is highly regarded.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the help. We have 3 teens and are a middle class african american family. They have been raised in the south by northern parents and have been in mostly white Catholic schools (we are Catholic). The oldest wants something VERY different than her non-diverse, preppy, snooty school. She is very strong academically (not so much our other two) and wants, she thinks, a large liberal, diverse school. </p>
<p>Money is a concern, but her happiness is of course our greater concern. The boat she is in now is excellent educationally and she certainly has friends and is involved in sports and band. BUT 99% of the girls look the same play lacrosse or nothing, are from old money republican families and have had no experience aside from the ‘good’ Catholic school system they grew up in (let’s put it this way, they had not idea there was an african american parish in our city and are shocked dd goes to ‘that’ side of town for church). Nothing wrong with that per se. But she is just TIRED of it.</p>
<p>Notre Dame recruits at our school and really wants more southern and black students. Academically she would make it there. BUT it seems far to similar to where she is now.</p>
<p>Hence, our search. We have awhile yet. But since money IS a factor, I am trying to plan some visits around family vacations as time permits. NC State was a thought, but her counselor is telling her that unless she goes into engineering, it would not be a challenging school for her. Their thought is Chapel Hill, Notre Dame or perhaps Rice or Columbia.</p>
<p>Please continue to HELP. You all have a wealth of information!
T</p>
<p>I don’t know about political leanings but what about the University Of Miami?</p>
<p>If you are considering Rice or Columbia, then you ought to look at William and Mary. While I agree with the comments about UVA- its big enough to find whatever you want- W & M is a bit more liberal. Like UC-CH and UVA, its tough to get in from OOS.</p>
<p>Thanks for providing more info. </p>
<p>First, I do want to amend my statement in response to pam-b’s post…I/we are talking in sweeping generalizations. I believe that at almost all universities, especially larger ones, there are lots of kids with a broad spectrum of interests and “styles” - I think almost anyone can find their niche at UVA or most other U’s. I also think that schools do have a feel or culture to them and the best way to get a sense of what might fit is to make some visits. Some of the schools my boys expected to love, they did not, and vice versa. </p>
<p>I totally understand about kids wanting a broader experience if they’ve grown up in a fairly homogenous setting… we are moderate to liberal Jews from the north and our kids have been raised in a smaller, more southern location(VA). As two of only a couple of Jewish kids in their school (DS2 is a senior and the ONLY Jewish kid in his class of over 250), my kids each looked for a more diverse blend of folks and school “feel” - one is at a big U and the senior is looking at smaller to mid-sized schools (but is not applying anywhere south of VA). </p>
<p>What is your home state? Does your D have any idea what she may want to study? Not that she should but some kids know if they are more into the humanities, or business, or engineering, for example, and that can help narrow down potential choices. Also, is mid-atlantic/southeast location absolute? If you have not already done so and cost is a concern, you may want to run some financial aid calculators to see what your expected costs (EFC) will be - it will help determine whether you may be eligible for good financial need-based support or if you will need to focus on merit aid or in-state options. Know how much you can/will spend and factor that into your search. </p>
<p>It is great that you are starting early. I am sure your daughter will wind up with some terrific fits and choices. :-)</p>
<p>Is she sure she wants to stay in the Southeast/MidAtlantic area? There are tons of schools around, and since you’re looking for some specifics (racial diversity, not too conservative, merit $ of financial aid), why not look all around the country? </p>
<p>I think if you took off the geographic constraints, you would get tons of good ideas. Why not explore those options too?</p>
<p>What does she want to study?</p>
<p>well said lakewashington! very different vibes to the two schools.</p>
<p>tabin UAB is 26%AA vs UA is 12%.</p>
<p>UAB has automatic merit it also has full rides for national merit, achievement and hispanic scholars. With a total cost of attendance at 20-24K (tuition, dorm, food). The oos merit for a 28+ ACT and a gpa of 3.0 is 15K per year therefore remaining cost is only 5-9K per year. they also have a 10K and 5K per year award.</p>