I wasn’t even making a case. I felt the need to respond because you were linking me to comments I had no part in. Again, please show me a comment section that is pure of vitriol and meanness. I was also just sharing something with ucbalumnus that was relevant to the experience of White Democrats in Alabama. If you are honest with yourself, you will admit that the national media is not likely to cover reverse racism in Alabama. I didn’t bring up the race thing, he did, and I responded. I don’t enjoy arguing either, but please realize that some of us Alabamians are tired of the stereotypes and the constant negative attention. Its not fair, and not true to who we are. Hope you have a great day too!
OP, I think your original question is totally understandable. I, too, was skeptical about the scholarship offer because it did all sound “too good to be true.” It wasn’t. Too tired to go into all the details, but I will refer you to our son’s experience in choosing UA, which I wrote about at length here once the decision was made:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/17182029/#Comment_17182029
Also, if you have the time, do watch the video referred to up-thread. (I’ve linked directly to the video below.) And keep in mind that UA Chancellor Dr. Witt was educated at Bates College, Dartmouth, and Penn State. So, in addition to being a brilliant administrator, I believe he has some legitimate bona fides that will impress a lot of out-of-state families, particularly those in the Northeast, who may be considering UA for their children:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrV8g7kxJps
http://uasystem.ua.edu/profile/office-of-the-chancellor/
My son has only completed a year at UA, but he has had a very good experience so far, which includes a great co-op opportunity I’m not sure any of his other college choices could have matched so early in his education. With the money we saved on one year of education, we also could afford to buy him a very car to get him to his co-op. 
^^^ That was supposed to read “very nice car.” (In a lovely shade of crimson, I might add.)
The catch is that we all may end up moving to Alabama after discovering what a gem it is!!!
You have no idea what the reasons are. You are also wrong about the quality of the education staying the same. Brighter and more engaged students will lead to a better education even if the professors stay the same. There is also the likelihood that the professors will actually improve as better profs start applying to a school with more prestige.
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Are there significant numbers of white Democrats or non-white Republicans in Alabama?
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I know a lot of white Dems in Alabama. I don’t know the “numbers” in the state. This state has a lot of transplants from the NE, Midwest and West Coast, so there are white Dems here. As for non-W Republicans…Since the predominant minority in AL is AA, and nationally AA folks tend to be Dems, then there probably aren’t huge numbers. But, since there is a large AA population, and even if a small % are GOP, the total number may be significant when compared to other states with similar sized total populations.
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The catch is that it's less about wanting to give to high achieving students and more about trying to climb the rankings and appear as more prestigious when the quality of the education is the same whether they are ranked at #88 or #28.
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@CaliCash This is not true, for the following reasons:
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When the strength of your students changes, your teaching style changes.
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When a student body consists of stronger students, you can attract better profs. Bama has over doubled in size during this growth, so Bama has had to hire a lot of profs. Luckily, this was at a time when other “better” schools weren’t able to hire or were even having to cut back because of economic freezes…Bama was able to grab some amazing profs during this time.
When my son was being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, there were 3 profs sitting to the left of me. We were chatting and the fact that I’m from Calif came up. The profs said that they were from Calif as well. They had been at Berkeley but because of promotion freezes, they had to start looking elsewhere. They were skeptical about Bama at first, but they interviewed, were very impressed, and accepted their positions. They also LOVED the house prices! lol
did they get the, “You’re moving where???” ?? Yes, they did. But, I’m sure that in the time that has since passed, they have lured a few others away from pricey, stagnate, Calif.
Anecdotal of course, but my whole family on both sides (with the exception of my dad, lol) consists of white Democrats. Both sets of grandparents, my mom, aunts and uncles, and cousins. If you look hard enough you can find x type of person anywhere.