<p>bamagirls, as to posting or not posting the list of schools your child applied to…I found it very helpful to see the lists of schools when we were looking. It helped me when I found others with similar lists to ours. If we were all interested in similar schools maybe we were headed in the right direction. We could also discuss our questions about each school along the way. Simply a different perspective.</p>
<p>Theretheygo: If you could get your son to apply now and have his official transcript sent, he should get his acceptance quickly. Then you could make the enrollment deposit (which needs to be done first) and then the housing deposit. I believe that the early deposit for housing will open around Oct 1st. It would be a shame to finally pick Bama, and not get his preferred housing selection -if that is very important to you all. However, You will lose the enrollment deposit of $250 and $25 of the housing deposit if he changes his mind. To many here, that is a small price to pay to get the earliest selection date for housing. Just FYI</p>
<p>DD’s private high school had a tool called Naviance which which a student could sort colleges by majors offered and a plethora of other attributes.</p>
<p>Additionally, the Guidance Counselors populated it with the acceptance rates and GPA/SAT stats of each years’ classes in such a way that DD could see, via a graph, for any college, whether she was likely to be accepted, based on the real outcomes of alumni before her.</p>
<p>It was an amazing tool, and we utilized it while overlaying our own list of NMF-scholarship-granting schools garnered from the NMF forum here on CC.</p>
<p>While many schools such as SMU, Pepperdine, Loyola Chicago, Fordham, Cornell, American, Northwestern, etc., would have been probable acceptances … The BAMA visit sealed the deal.</p>
<p>The campus feels VERY walkable. It is beautiful. It is meticulously maintained.</p>
<p>BAMA faculty and staff made DD feel as if SHE were the ONLY student with whom they had conversed…while clearly they had the same conversation again and again, the very real feeling was that they managed to see the unique character of each potential student, and parent, and thus were able to see them as special. This has remained the case…the level of sincere care is flabbergasting. </p>
<p>An example is the true concern exhibited by the staff at the new Mail Center in the Ferg. The CSR noticed that DD’s package was addressed to a Nickname, and inquired if DD generally used that Nickname. He then annotated her file so that subsequent mail bearing that name would not be turned away, but would be automatically routed to her box. He did this on his own, simply because he CARED that she receive her mail.</p>
<p>THAT is the BAMA way.</p>
<p>THAT is why you should consider UA and why a visit often seals the deal.</p>
<p>DD was accepted to Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, UNC Chapel Hill, Georgia and SMU. UA was always at the top after our Honors College open house visit last fall. The difference for us was just in the attitude.</p>
<p>I remember the Dean got up to speak and to paraphrase. 'All of you here are bright students who will be accepted to most of the schools in which you apply. We want you to attend UA and this is why…" DD felt courted and wanted by the school - during visits with other schools the attitudes were often closer to, “well it is very competitive here…so if you get in…”</p>
<p>Obviously the scholarship is huge - but her academic opportunities have been great. In addition to Presidential, she was invited to Emerging Scholars Research and University Scholars. (Note for parents with kids coming in with credits…UA takes most everything including some dual enrollment) </p>
<p>AND BEST OF ALL - Everyone is just so nice at UA!</p>
<p>I love this thread so much.</p>
<p>Me, too. It’s been very helpful, as have many of the posts on this forum. I must say the “Houndstooth Bra” thread was particularly, um, informative.</p>
<p>Hope I get to meet some of you someday. You’re a fun group, and helpful, too.</p>
<p>I cannot say enough good things about our experience at UA. Our older son is a sophomore in the STEM/MBA program (4 years, 2 degrees, no debt) and our HS senior smarty pants son (2360 SAT) who could go anywhere has already “signed on the dotted line” in Tuscaloosa as well. Our family owes a huge debt of gratitude to M2CK, who spurred our initial interest two years ago when UA was still not even on the remotest fringes of our ivy-tinged college search. Today, well, we could not have imagined a better college experience for our whole family in every way.</p>
<p>I have been reading threads on cc for awhile and I would like to start a new thread and post a question. I have looked for directions on this and found directions for everything else. Can anyone help?</p>
<p>Thanks… sorry to interrupt.</p>
<p>Go to the listing of UA threads. Near the top there should be a “New Thread” button</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Son had acceptances for engineering from Ga Tech, Virginia Tech, Clemson, and U of Tx-Austin. He found UA doing his own research. His favs after visits were VT, Clemson and UA. Three factors for UA winning out: 1) The STEM MBA program, 2) Amount of scholarship $, and 3) conversations with engineering professionals in the field. He debated with himself and us about UA but after visiting and all of above, UA was his final choice. He did his own “investigative interviews” with Engineers locally in Houston (from a number of the schools he was accepted). Most all said that, yes, there are some reputation differences (mostly cache for starting salaries) but all of the schools follow the same ABET curriculum. They also felt like the STEM MBA in 5 years was a huge advantage. In fact, someone he spoke with at BP asked him to check back in with him at the end of the first semester for summer job opportunities.</p>
<p>He participated in Camp 1835? and HC Outdoor Action and has made some great friends. He hangs with a group of guys and gals he met from these programs as well as his residence hall. Doing great academically and loving his engineering and STEM classes.</p>
<p>UA fans, you’ve got my attention. I benefitted from a stellar undergraduate education at UC Berkeley during the 1980’s before the State of California budget imploded. My Ds grew up in Knoxville, TN. My older D is a junior at an in-state college majoring in nursing. My younger D applied to UA for 2014 and qualifies for the full out-of-state full tuition. Additionally she’s applied to LACs (Maryville, Birmingham-Southern, Wofford, Davidson) for the quality of teaching, low student-faculty ratios, and residential college experience. So far, she’s received good chunky scholarships but we’ll still owe about $12K annually. Unfortunately, we do not have a sack of money under the floor boards and yes, she wants to go to med school.</p>
<p>Questions:
- How is UA able to fund these out-of-state merit scholarships? Is there potential for a mid-college downturn in funding or is the endowment bubble- and politician-proof?
- Even though D is a Knoxville native, she’s not culturally southern in the sense of church on Sundays. She’s a serious student and very active in her ECs. Is she the norm at UA or a subset of the overall population?<br>
- Are you considered an outsider if you’re not greek at UA (asks the greek mom)?
- Do upper classmen continue to live on campus or do they drift to non-UA housing?</p>
<p>1) The scholarships are funded by donors and the athletic program. Politicians can’t touch that money.</p>
<p>2) Many students at Bama aren’t “culturally southern,” since many aren’t from the south. OF those that are from the south, many have roots from elsewhere (like my kids). Some students go to church on Sundays, and some don’t. </p>
<p>3) Neither of my kids pledged. Much depends on your major. Some majors seem to have more Greeks than others. STEM majors tend to be less likely to pledge. Business and Communications majors are more likely to pledge. </p>
<p>4) Most upper-classmen do NOT want to live on campus. Because of that fact, Bama doesn’t have enough housing for upper-classmen to live on campus…because those rooms would sit empty…lol. There are many, many, apts and student complexes that surround the campus. I don’t think there are many public univs that have enough housing for upper-classmen to live on campus for that same reason. Smaller privates do, but they often can require 4 years of on-campus living, or their campuses are situated in areas where there aren’t many off-campus alternatives.</p>
<p>"So far, she’s received good chunky scholarships but we’ll still owe about $12K annually. Unfortunately, we do not have a sack of money under the floor boards and yes, she wants to go to med school.
"</p>
<p>Can you clarify…Are you saying that all these other schools have given her full tuition scholarships and therefore you’d have to pay about $12k per year for room, board and books? If so, wouldn’t you have the same situation at Bama with the Presidential scholarship?</p>
<p>What is her major? My son graduated from Bama last May and now is in med school.</p>
<p>Thanks, Mom2collegekids; your reply was most helpful. For Tennessee schools, she’ll be able to use the Hope Scholarship ($5K) meaning UTK, with the Volunteer Scholarship offer of $6K and our college savings, gets her a debt-free undergraduate degree. However, 3 of 4 friends who are professors at UTK are sending their kids to LACS and don’t have kind words for Tennessee’s administration. Tennessee state funding over the next few years will likely decrease. </p>
<p>And yes, it’s amounting to free tuition at other colleges–no full rides. We’d be able to cash flow $12K/year if needed since our house will be paid off March of her freshman year. We want to save as much as possible for grad school without compromising her undergraduate education. I was being whiny; we are completely blessed.</p>
<p>My guess is her major will be something within STEM since she excels at math and science. She participated in a summer engineering program at UTK and enjoyed it a lot, plus, she did governors school in computational physics and loved it. She’ll start out as undeclared.</p>
<p>Knoxpatch, my daughter also attended the summer engineering program at UT this past summer. Which one did she participate in?</p>
<p>She also has full tuition scholarship but still looking at other offers. So far accepted to Purdue and Colorado School of Mines. Older son junior ME also in STEM.</p>
<p>It was the HITES program, July 14 - 19. The Computational Physics Gov School was in June at Austin Peay. Both were terrific. She was also at Girls State immediately before Gov School. We have an acquaintance with a son at Purdue. He had perfect SAT scores and is in some type of engineering field, first year. Austin Peay also has a terrific math and physics program. It’s produced 4 Goldwater Scholars over the last two years. Again, there are lots of opportunities for STEM minded students outside of the high-price highly branded universities. [Austin</a> Peay State University : Two APSU students earn prestigious Goldwater Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.apsu.edu/news/two-apsu-students-earn-prestigious-goldwater-scholarships]Austin”>http://www.apsu.edu/news/two-apsu-students-earn-prestigious-goldwater-scholarships)</p>
<p>Go Bears, Knoxpatch! I’m a Cal grad as well with a liberal son from Hawaii who’s a senior at UA. He loves the school, never had trouble fitting in, does not attend church, is a serious 4.0 student (NMF), is double majoring, has a job, is an officer in his fraternity (after vowing he’d never join a fraternity), and still finds time to play and spend time with his girlfriend. The quality of his education is no less than that which I received at Cal. Seriously.</p>
<p>Schedule a visit with the Honors College, jump in your car, and prepare to be amazed.</p>
<p>And for a really fun time, go online and compare the graduation rates of Cal’s football players to 'Bama’s. ;)</p>
<p>Knoxpatch: If your D selects an engineering major or a computer science major she will receive an extra $2500 per year from the engineering department. Please look at the qualifications necessary on the link below. Good luck in your college search! RTR!!</p>
<p>[Scholarships</a> - Undergraduate Students - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/scholarships/]Scholarships”>Scholarships – College of Engineering | The University of Alabama)</p>
<p>Malanai: Wow. Looks like it’s road trip time in Tennessee. Go Bears back atcha!</p>
<p>Cuttlefish123: that’s a great incentive but I’m pretty certain she’ll go in undeclared.</p>
<p>Merry Christmas UAers!</p>
<p>*We want to save as much as possible for grad school *</p>
<p>If you mean med school, then really most med students take out loans for some/all of the costs. If you do mean grad school, PhD programs are funded.</p>