I was accepted to Bama’s Honors College and the Blount Initiative, and I’m almost positive I want to go there! My one concern is how much of a culture shock it will be, and if I’ll be able to make friends. I’m from Massachusetts and I’m pretty liberal. I love the idea of southern hospitality, but like most people from New England, I’m reserved and not super outgoing around strangers. From what I can tell, there’s plenty of out-of-staters at UA, but a lot of them already come from the south, so it isn’t as big of a change for them. How much harder is it for northerners to fit in at Bama? And any tips for adjusting to the south? Also, I would be studying engineering, if that has any effect.
Congrats, julia16! My son (a current UA student) is from the Midwest; however, we have MANY families from the New England states who have students at UA. Hope a few of them will chime in here…
There are previous threads on this, and most would agree it isn’t going to be the culture shock you think it will be.
When we went for move in and checked in to the hotel, we were told most staying there were from PA, CA, TX and IL.
DS has friends from all these states and more, including AL. I think UA has been a wonderful mix for everyone going there.
Don’t have an answer for you since DS would be coming from Florida, but just wanted to say congratulations! Blount sounds awesome - wish my son wanted to do it.
There are literally thousands of students from northern states, all personalities represented. The only real culture shock is that everyone is nice.
Whether you choose Bama or somewhere else, take the opportunity to get out of your comfort zone a little. Say hi to a stranger in the hall. Join a club or two, whatever interests you, and meet new people. Everyone in that club will be just like you, looking to meet new people with the same interests. My son from NY is graduating now, along with his Bama best friends from Florida, Tennessee, Arizona, California, and Rhode Island. And, of course, his girlfriend from New Jersey. He was very much like you describe yourself, and made all these lifelong friends through different ways.
Hi Julia,
I’m a current sophomore at UA. I’d love to answer any specific questions. In general, yes there is a slight culture shock but not much. I’m from PA so I totally get what your used to. People here say ma’am and thank you a lot. But I’ve grown to love it here. Now the Blount program is by far one of my favorites on campus. I know quite a few blount members and they all love it. It makes this giant university much more personal. They have their own dorm and social events. It’s like making a small liberal arts college into this giant university. Most students here are out of state. It’s always exciting when I find other northerner because they understand more of where I came from. For me I have loved it here and wouldn’t change it for the world. I have plenty of liberal friends but mainly I have a great balance. If you have any more questions or specific things, feel free to PM me(:
@julia16, congratulations! If at all possible, sign up for one of the Honors Action programs:
http://honors.ua.edu/honors-action/
I strongly advised my son to sign up for one of the programs two years ago, based on the many recommendations made here. (He chose Alabama Action.) He was coming from Philadelphia, knew not a soul on campus, and we thought it would be a good way for him to get acclimated. He agreed, even though it meant leaving a week earlier than he would have otherwise and having to say goodbye to his girlfriend (who was headed for MA!) sooner than planned. I think his experience doing that really helped him learn his way around campus, make some early friends, and feel settled in when the bulk of students arrived 10 days later. (A lot of students are on campus early to rush sororities and participate in the Million Dollar Band, etc., so it won’t be completely empty.)
My son (also honors and engineering) lived in Blount Hall his freshman year and made some wonderful friends there (including plenty of fellow liberals). They remain his best friends even though they all scattered off campus sophomore year.
Honestly, aside from it being warmer and people being a bit more polite in general, it wasn’t all that different from our visit to Penn State. (Both campuses are stunning and have a lot of school spirit.)
Good luck with your decision!
The last time I looked (and that was a few years ago), 50% of the freshman class was not only from out of state, they were from Northern states! By now, I’d guess it’s closer to 50% of the entire student body. (It’s easy enough to look this up, if you want to.)
No matter where you go, the atmosphere will be different. I think the north-south divide is a bit overemphasized. Urban/rural may be a bigger gap.
@zzzlc would you describe UA as more urban or rural then?
It’s a little different, since a college will have people from all areas of the state/country, but Tuscaloosa is a college town – pretty small (depending on your perspective).
To me, Tuscaloosa seems pretty suburban. It’s only an hour from Birmingham.
I would not call Tuscaloosa urban. However, I’ve lived in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago (or their suburbs), so that’s my perspective of urban. I wouldn’t call it rural, either. And it doesn’t have the feel of a big city’s suburb, either - too far. I guess college town, or large town/very small city is how I’d describe it.
^^ That’s probably a better description.