<p>Lucie - Fascinating article. I’ll definitely pass it along to the DH. It does sum up the way we’ve felt about dealing with UA. We felt like DS was being recruited, instead of feeling like he should be grateful to get into any of our state schools - which are enormously competitive. Every year there are stories about the number of local kids with 4.0+ GPAs, outstanding ECs and test scores who are turned down by UVA, VA Tech, W&M etc. Our state schools need OOS students to help pay the bills - but are getting a lot of push back because of the number of qualified in-state kids who can’t get into their school of choice. I’m thankful for the very strong local high schools here, but it is a shame. Of course, there are “less prestigious” in-state schools which would have room. Thanks for the input on Bama’s view.</p>
<p>I will second Atlanta68’s comment above and put in a plug for the National UA Alumni Association and their generosity and kindness. For a certain ACT score, there is a $1000 scholarship available for sons/daughter or grandsons/granddaughters of UA grads who are members of the association. My mother was the grad and was proud to support her alma mater & her granddaughter. She unfortunately passed away suddenly last summer. I called the association to let them know that my junior DD would no longer have an eligible UA association member to sponsor her. The representative offered her condolences and said not to worry that the scholarship would continue until DD graduates and we were not even to send in the annual membership fee. She went on to say the association’s policy is to support legacys and scholarships have been awarded in some case even when the grandparent/parent UA grad pre-deceased the student’s freshman matriculation. I hope UA is not the only alumni group to have this policy. For me that day, it was lovely to hear that the student’s connection to UA was more important than a fee.</p>
<p>Hope this link works if not look up A Vision Becomes Reality by The University of Alabama
<a href=“A Vision Becomes Reality by The University of Alabama - Issuu”>http://issuu.com/universityofalabama/docs/visionreality</a></p>
<p>We MUST credit Dr. Robert Witt, current Chancellor of The University of Alabama System (former President of The University of Alabama). He is a man of great foresight, an inspirational leader and one heck of a businessman. I applaud him.
Roll Tide forever Roll!</p>
<p>The log scale gets even steeper when one considers that the pricier schools probably have alumni giving more $$$ per donor than the less-pricier, public schools on that list. The graph only shows % of who donates - it does not take into account how MUCH alums donate. For purposes of illustration, in other words, if 60% donate $100 each, that is significantly more $$$ in the pot than 40% donating $10 each. </p>
<p>@SouthernHope, @malanai, I just set up our visit using these instructions earlier this week and Susan was very quick in getting back to me. She did require the High School name, date of graduation and a contact cell number in addition to the other information listed. </p>
<p>I also forwarded the information to our local recruiter who also responded right away offering to meet my daughter and I for coffee to answer any questions she may have both before and after her visit. </p>
<p>I should have clarified that UA is tops among public schools in alumni giving rate. And yes, Auburn has loyal alumni as well. </p>
<p>^^^ Oh, and, I should have caught my own error in statistical judgement: in terms of #s of donors, 60% of a ‘smaller’ school alumni givers can be equivalent to (or even less than) 40% of a ‘larger’ school’s alumni…so, that particular chart is now REALLY meaningless…</p>
<p>@southernhope, my D applied to Tufts as well. She was waitlisted but it seems odd to me now that she could see herself there (it was the first college we visited). She is so happy at Alabama and has flourished in ways that I really didn’t dream of. We can’t imagine her anywhere else. </p>
<p>Like other stories you’ve heard, she visited at her parents’ request. We knew of the high merit scholarships and had seen several high caliber students from her HS attend (with several as UFEs and in CBH), so we were aware that it attracted students who might otherwise end up at more highly-selective colleges. She actually fell in love during her visit (with the school, not another student, ha). </p>
<p>You owe to yourselves to squeeze that visit in. Even if it’s not the school for your student, there’s no harm done. It will just perhaps affirm another decision. My daughter and I visited quite a few schools around the country and I don’t regret one minute or mile of dollar of it. Especially now that my minutes with her are limited. </p>