<p>Can you all cite briefly a reason why students who look at both might opt for Bama?</p>
<p>GAdad: As an out of state resident (originally from the Northeast) who is trying to understand the SEC even though it is my second language 
I can tell you what made the difference for my D; we didn’t start out with any preconceived feelings against either of the schools.</p>
<p>-D liked the UA campus better; the feel, the buildings, the people.
-Auburn is about 1 1/2 hours farther away & she didn’t feel she’d be gaining anything for the additional distance/travel time.
-Honors housing is readily available at UA while there’s a shortage at Auburn.
-D felt the programs that she was interested were stronger at UA, including the Honors programs.
-UA’s mailings etc. were a little more personal than Auburn’s. She was eligible for the top scholarship at both schools since she was NMF, but UA’s always seemed to have a little something else.</p>
<p>She has friends going to Auburn & we’ve been there for homecoming. We don’t have anything bad to say about Auburn but it just didn’t seem to be as good of a personal fit for D.</p>
<p>RobD, thanks for providing that unbiased view. My S will be considering both. I have degrees from UA, but I have family members who will be promoting Auburn for him. He will, hopefully, be in line for the Honors College so the comparison of the two will also be something we take a look at. We are in AZ so the commute won’t be a factor. Also, I got the impression from CC posters that UA is in an ascending arc with the current president. Not sure where Auburn is with that.</p>
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<p>That’s very significant - thanks.</p>
<p>Gadad: We are also OOS (Virginia). My son selected Alabama as his National Merit school. The package he receives included full tuition, honors housing, a laptop, $2000 for study abroad/summer research and a $1000 NM stipend. </p>
<p>Some of the other reasons include:</p>
<ol>
<li>The honors program: He is in the computer-based honors program at UA. He will be researching with a professor in the econ department this year. During this summer, he is working for our Congressman.</li>
</ol>
<p>My son’s girlfriend is spending the summer doing cancer research. Two of his suite mates are on the UA campus working in research for a chem professor. </p>
<p>You do not need to be in CBH for those research opportunities. But the honors college has plenty of things going on that allow any student, who is interested, in researching or interning.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Generous with AP/IB/Dual Enrollment: My son started UA with 65 credits, thanks to his APs. This allows him to double major, double minor, seriously consider the University Scholars program and earn his masters all in four years. He also is thinking a possible triple major.</p></li>
<li><p>Scholarship money: Auburn has changed its scholarships substantially. Its presidential is 2/3 of tuition. Alabama’s is full tuition. It covers up to 20 credits. </p></li>
<li><p>A willingness to listen and help you pursue your academic dream: My son met one of his advisers at Bama Bound. The two really hit it off – his adviser grew up just an hour or so from where my son went to HS. He also has met with the dean of arts & sciences, who later set up a meeting for him with another department chair. Everyone has been very positive in their discussions with my son about his academic goals.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>BTW, my son had plenty of other offers from excellent schools. By going to Alabama, he should graduate debt free and move onto a solid PhD program.</p>
<p>Bama has the new and growing! state-of-the-art Shelby Science and Engineering building which is awesome for those in various science or engineering programs. </p>
<p>Bama has more money than Auburn.</p>
<p>momreads’s post includes many of the reasons why I chose UA. I did consider Auburn, but it just didn’t seem to be the right school for me.</p>
<p>Of all the schools I applied to, UA gave me the most personal attention and genuinely cared about me and my goals. Due to UA’s generous credit policies, I came in with over 75 credits and started upper division courses my second semester. During my 4 years at UA, I will have the opportunity to double major, get a master’s degree, and study abroad at an institution of my choice.</p>
<p>While it has almost 29,000 students, UA feels like a much smaller school. I can e-mail anyone on campus and get a meeting with them. While a small city, Tuscaloosa offers just about anything you’d need. Since I live in WA, the fact that Birmingham is usually cheaper to fly into than Atlanta (even when connecting in Atlanta) is a big plus.</p>
<p>While I hadn’t actually thought about this until after I had accepted admission to UA, I realized that I ended up choosing a school that uses my favorite color (red/crimson) and has my all-time favorite animal (an elephant), as its mascot.</p>
<p>It’s trivial to some, but it’s really fun, IMHO, to shout “ROLL TIDE!”, especially when “Sweet Home Alabama” is playing.</p>
<p>I’m an alum, so I am biased. But here I go:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Campus is prettier. To be more specific, the architecture of the campus buildings at UA is more traditional, and harmonious, and there is more green space in the central part of the UA campus. The Quad, Woods Quad, the pond on the north side of campus, the Black Warrior River Park, and the new Science and Engineering Quad are truly gorgeous locations for rest or play at UA. </p></li>
<li><p>The new facilities: AU has its own Shelby Complex, but when finished, it will be less than half the size of the UA’s Shelby Science and Engineering Complex, when all of its phases are completed. </p></li>
<li><p>The Honors Program at UA. Others have elaborated enough about it. </p></li>
<li><p>Scholarships. Ditto. </p></li>
<li><p>UA has a much bigger endowment. </p></li>
<li><p>UA has much more campus housing. And it is contuing to expand its housing. Another 900 plus bed will begin construction shortly. </p></li>
<li><p>The Crimson Tide, and its 13 national championships. Enough said. </p></li>
<li><p>Newly expanded Bryant Denny Stadium, with an expanded student section. </p></li>
<li><p>Tradition of excellence: Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird), Hugo Black (Supreme Court Chief Justice in the 30s), Winston Groom (Forest Gump), Sela Ward, Jim Nabors, Howell Raines (former NY Times editor) , Harvard Scientist E.O. Wilson ([E</a>. O. Wilson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._O._Wilson]E”>E. O. Wilson - Wikipedia)), Paul Bryant, etc. </p></li>
<li><p>The high number of National Merit Scholars at UA. 10th in nation among public schools.</p></li>
<li><p>The greater diversity at UA. (racially, politically, religious, social, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>Greek Life (if you are into that, which I am not, but it is fabulous at UA)</p></li>
<li><p>The Recreation Center. </p></li>
<li><p>Campus parking is much more accessible than at AU, though UA is removing more and more campus parking to make way for the pedestrian campus. </p></li>
<li><p>UA has the greater momentum. </p></li>
<li><p>UA is actually more selective than AU, despite what they say. UA rejected 42. 6 % of its applicants last fall, while AU rejected only 20 % of its applicants. However, because a higher number of the accepted applicants choose to enroll at UA, its avg. ACT and SAT for its entering freshmen are a little lower than AU’s. </p></li>
<li><p>Tuscaloosa is small big town, and bigger than Auburn, though the latter is indeed charming. Due to the tremendous growth at UA, Tuscaloosa is undergoing a renaissance. Check out the new ampitheater and the new developments downtown. </p></li>
<li><p>Closer to Bham. Downside is its further away from ATL. </p></li>
<li><p>The Learning Living Communities at UA.</p></li>
<li><p>The new Southern History and African American Art collections. Amazing sets. </p></li>
<li><p>Did I mention the campus? lol</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I also think the responses provided so far demonstrate our deep love for UA and the pride we all share in what UA is, and what it will be.</p>
<p>Sea_tide: You made reference to the color red/crimson. All my sons’ lives, whenever my mom went shopping for clothing for her grandsons, they had to take the red shirt or sweater, because my sister’s three boys are redheads. Frankly, the colors of clothing and hair would clash. BTW, my youngest son loved elephants when he was little. Guess that means he’s heading south for college, too.</p>
<p>We are OOS. Oldest son just completed freshman year at Auburn and absolutely loved it. Auburn treated him very well during his senior year sending him various information, t-shirts, working with him scheduling visits etc. He loved the location of his honors dorms (very close to Jordan-Hare) although the his dorm was older and not in the new village but there is honors housing there. He had no issues getting housing on campus being a presidential scholar. In fact they told him he could change his mind as to what dorm he wanted to live in until very late in the process and they would honor his request.</p>
<p>He loves the layout of Auburn’s campus and finds it extremely easy to get anywhere on foot. He felt at home when he visited campus and felt the facilities were similar to those at other campuses he had visited. As parents we have been very pleased with Auburn. He is a presidential scholar which for him covered OOS tuition and fees for 15 credit hours for 8 semesters plus 1500 for laptop and 4000 between soph and jr yr for research project, travel abroad etc. He can now take up to 18 hours per semester and his scholarship will cover it.</p>
<p>New rec center is supposed to be open at Auburn in 2012.</p>
<p>Now son number 2. He will be a senior so is big time into the college search and says he has narrowed his search to 14 schools. Since we are OOS the AU/UA rivalry does not really matter although I understand college rivalries as there are two schools I would hate to see either of my sons attend The change in the Presidential at Auburn has definitely changed his situation. Alabama presidential will be full tuition (not including fees and no computer or special project money); but as engineering student son would get additional scholarship. With APs through end of jr year he would already have about 24 credit hours that would be usable for his intended major plus another 8 hours that probably will not do any good (major will probably change so who knows). He will likely have more AP credits after next year. </p>
<p>I have not been on Alabama’s campus nor has my younger son. Big brother is doing his best to discourage it. Younger son completed application to 'Bama last week. We need to visit campus, honors college, etc. and see what happens. We have been very pleased with Auburn but are very pleased with what we have learned about Alabama so far.</p>
<p>It really is a personal choice for the student and getting a feeling of home or if its the right place for them.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>auburn SUCKS</p></li>
<li><p>See above</p></li>
</ol>
<p>An interesting sidelight: In the eight hours since I posted this question as well as the “Auburn over Bama” question on the Auburn board, this thread has received testimonials from eight different Bama faithful. But not a single response on the Auburn board.</p>
<p>Just for reference for those that don’t know me. I’m a UA alum myself as well as the parent of an incoming Bama freshman. So my views and subsequent dislike of auburn may seem a bit harsh or juvenile from most of the other non alum parents on here. But trust me, you’ll grow to hate auburn just as much as I do over time :-)</p>
<p>My brother attended Auburn at the same time I attended Bama. </p>
<p>The only thing I “hate” about Auburn, is the inflated perception held by the alumni that I think masks a deeper insecurity among them. For some reason, they feel a need to portray Auburn as the Harvard of the South, and as a big family. Oh, and maybe I hate them a little when they beat Bama. </p>
<p>I know full well, that neither university has a monopoly on “family”, or academic success. I also know that both schools have issues, as do other schools. And even though AU alumni think that UA gets more money from the state, the opposite is true. The funding formula actually leads to an advantage for AU. Nevertheless, UA’s endowment is bigger and the alumni at UA are more generous. I think that says a lot. </p>
<p>Perhaps it is the football tradition, but I think it is also related to the nature of the campus at UA. Auburn folks just don’t take as much pride in their campus as UA people do, though that might be changing. Auburn’s campus does look much better now than in the past. I really like the pedestrian layout of AU’s campus, and am glad that UA is making its campus more pedestrian focused. </p>
<p>I like parts of AU’s campus, and a lot of their buildings, but still think it lacks the harmonious, and grand layout of UA’s campus. </p>
<p>Some wont admit it, but I think a lot of Auburn’s alumni regret that AU is in Alabama. UA alumni, on the other hand, take great pride in being the Flagship university named after the state in which it is located.</p>
<p>Endowment at Alabama is larger</p>
<p>Giving rate by alumni according to US News (2008 last year available) is higher at Auburn (pct of alumni who give)</p>
<p>Last capital campaigns at each school virtually the same (613 m vs 609 m):</p>
<p>[University</a> of Alabama News UA Announces Completion of Successful Capital Campaign](<a href=“http://uanews.ua.edu/2009/07/ua-announces-completion-of-successful-capital-campaign/]University”>http://uanews.ua.edu/2009/07/ua-announces-completion-of-successful-capital-campaign/)</p>
<p>[Wire</a> Eagle - Auburn University’s news wire](<a href=“http://wireeagle.auburn.edu/news/385]Wire”>http://wireeagle.auburn.edu/news/385)</p>
<p>Auburn was the first college we visited and we liked it. It’s nice and the people were friendly</p>
<p>Bama was the 6th college we visited and that was that…no comparison…Bama was just better. Better honors programs, more honors dorms, more expansion/buildings going on. Never gave Auburn another thought after that.</p>
<p>Endowment at Bama is larger, and Bama has a lot more money coming in via football. Millions from TV contracts.</p>
<p>That alumni giving stat from the last US News Rankings was an aberration. If you look at the rankings year to year, UA is usually ranked well ahead of AU in that area. There was a big campaign among AU alumni to change that stat, to improve AU’s ranking in the annual US News report. </p>
<p>Also, that just shows the percentage of alumni who give, not the amount. Remember, until 2006, AU has been bigger than UA since 1948, so it is odd to me that UA has been able to build a much larger endowment, despite receiving less state money per student. I argue it is the alumni of UA that make the difference.</p>
<p>I have a question that I have wondered about for years. In 1955, I attended a cheerleading camp at U of A. There was a paper mill in town and it stunk up the place so badly that it weighed in against my attending graduate school at U of A. Does Tuscaloosa still stink? And, if so, how bad and how often is it?</p>
<p>GAdad,</p>
<p>I think the deciding factor for my d came down to one word, CHOICE. After visiting the four colleges she applied to, she narrowed it down to AU or UA. She liked them both, the NMF packages were very similar (although Auburn has downgraded theirs this year), and we decided to visit them both a second time. I think viewing the schools back to back made it much easier to compare and contrast. For her, Bama was a much better fit because it afforded more selection in the classes she wants, the different research opportunities available and even variety of clubs/student organizations. I recognize that not all OSS can have the luxury of visiting twice, but I would recommend taking your trips around the same time so the details of each are fresh in your mind. The most impressive feature about UA IMHO is the Honors college. Good luck on your search. I don’t think you can go wrong with either school, but one will undoubtedly be better suited for your son.</p>