Hi, we live in Connecticut and have flown to Alabama twice. The campus is beautiful. The flights back and forth
are expensive, so that might be a deciding factor for you. good luck!
Salesboy, pretty impressive that your son would pass on SMU and Tulane. Iâm assuming he was a great deal at Alabama.
I agree with you up to a point. The profs and teaching levels at most schools that a lot of people would consider very âordinaryâ are quite competent to teach their subjects, and the books, etc. that are used are often the same, or at least certainly equivalent. But I think there is a real difference in going to a school where nearly every other student was top-flight academically vs. going to a school where a lot of your classmates were in the middle of their high school rankings (or would have been if they ranked). It is not only a different experience, but it really does affect how far the prof gets in the material they teach. It also can make a difference in how motivated the student is to study, if it is too easy to be the ace in the class.
Of course there are real differences to some students if the school is very large or much smaller, if the profs are actually accessible, opportunities to do cutting edge, publishable research, etc. So I donât think universities are as cookie cutter as your statement makes them sound, even once you get to whatever that certain level is.
My daughter passed on Auburn, Ga, NC ST, and LSU, We are still waiting for UVA and Tulane to process. U Alabama by far was the best tour, best follow up, and most welcoming so far. Every facet of the application process was very proactive on Bamaâs part. Every school had its positives but overall Alabama we rate an A.
I passed up on the following schools:
- CSM
- CU Boulder
- Colorado State
- CU Denver
- SDSMT
- Lousiana Tech
- Wyoming
- NMT
- Georgia Tech
I applied to all these schools because I thought they would give me good merit aid since I was in-state Colorado or that they were âcheapâ out-of-state (at least that is what I thought). The reality hit hard when the in-state gave me poor aid ($10,000 CSM, $12,000 CSU, $30,000 Boulder, $10,000 CU-Denver) even though I had a 4.3 w and 32 ACT. I needed to get enough to almost cover all tuition but the amounts I got left me in the hole. The out-of-stateâs ultimately did not make enough of a dent eitherâŠexcept Louisiana Tech but I was not impressed by the isolation. I felt lost until I found Alabama. The massive scholarships for engineering, the campus life, and the pride of the school made me feel welcomed. I donât regret not being able to go to a state school I wanted. Alabama made me feel special and actually wanted. My room is already filled with Bama banners and pennants 
Canât wait to go in 6 months! Roll Tide Roll!!!
Thank you for this comment - I went through basically the exact same thing as a Colorado student. Roll Tide!
@munisfun Colorado representation!!! Roll Tide Roll!!! B-) B-) B-) B-)
I was chatting online the other day with a mom whose daughter turned down MIT for UA. The daughter was ambivalent about MIT, due to a lack of clarity about the FA being offered, and the parents were UA alumni so they were OK with whatever choice their daughter made.
Itâs not that they didnât wonder âwhat if,â but they were very happy not to be worrying about servicing debt to pay for their daughterâs education.
I just heard back from another college that I applied to before committing to Alabama. So, here is my list as of now:
Boston College
Northeastern
Pitt
Temple
My main reason for choosing Alabama over these other options is due to the financial aid along with the similarly strong Civil Engineering programs. Also, I live in the northeast, so the weather and football is an added plus.
Lehigh, Bucknell, Lafayette, College of the Holy Cross, University of Oklahoma
Having a really hard time choosing between Tulane and Alabama 
@gearsstudio My D is in the same situation, she was at Alabama yesterday and drove down to New Orleans today of attend Top Scholars weekend at Tulane tomorrow and Monday.
D will be attending Alabama- she turned down UNC Chapel Hill and Case Western. Deciding factors were merit money, Honors College, awesome dorms, and engineering major.
S turned down Purdue, Virginia Tech, RPI, WPI, Clarkson, UNH. ME major - Amazing merit money, honors college, beautiful campus, better weather than NH and big sports were the factors.
@nh3guys, I just sent you a PM!
I passed on UT Austin. Factors were scholarships, dorms, CBHP acceptance, and overall atmosphere.
D Decided last night that UA would be where she spends the next 4, in doing so passed on these schools:
U Michigan, Case Western, Tulane, UMD CP, U Miami, George Washington U, SUNY Binghamton. In the end it came down to Tulane and UA with Binghamton a distant 3rd. Very happy that she had so many great schools to choose from. She is ready to put this part of the journey behind her and is looking forward to the adventures that the next 4 bring. ROLL TIDE ROLLâŠ
Son passed on Wake Forest, U of Miami, Northeastern Honors, Bentley, Babson, Quinnipiac, U of South Carolina Honors, and Arizona State Barrett Honors. Deciding factors for him were National Merit Finalist Scholarship, Dorms, Honors College, and the beautiful campus and wonderful people we met on our visit. Roll Tide!!
Sons passed on Beloit, Temple, Gustovus, Michigan State, Univ Oklahoma, Univ Minnesota, Tulane and a few others between them. Some had generous offers but not as generous as UA. National Merit Scholars going where the money is. We are Proud & Grateful Parents Indeed!!