I’ve seen a couple of other threads addressing this question, but they are getting kinda outdated… So… Why did you or your kids choose the University of Alabama? What other schools were they looking at? And, how did you/are you liking it? Thank you 
I have a sophomore DD who is loving it. She chose it due to a combination of the fact that a good friend was attending and was trying to talk her into it for months and the fact that when she applied, she qualified for a OOS scholarship. It ended up being the most money offered by any of the colleges she had applied to. After a visit to the campus, it was a done deal.
I have a DD who is also loving UA. TBH she initially looked at it b/c of the scholarships. I had read about it here on CC and so many seemed passionate about their child’s choice, so I encouraged her to take a look. We made a spring break visit in her jr. year and from that moment she dropped most of the schools she was interested in applying to and set the bar very high for what she wanted/needed in a school.
She was looking for great school spirit, a big school with many opportunities to reinvent herself or regroup if she felt the need, a strong commitment to academics, a strong and vibrant honors college, a school where her ECs were active and strong, a school with many different majors in the event she changed her mind, a school where she felt valued (they wanted her), a school with a large alumni network and positive brand recognition, a school with a strong track record for internships and job placement, a school without a huge graduate school influence so that her classes were taught by professors not just Grad students, a beautiful campus, and a school that fit her budget. She wanted a school with housing for all freshman on campus, a single campus, and decent dorms. She also was looking for a school that was not too instate heavy. She didn’t want to feel like an outsider or a curiosity.
She chose Bama because it exceeded all expectations. She turned down great schools to attend and didn’t apply to many others on her list. Once she toured Auburn and Bama she dropped any school that didn’t measure up. After her visit, subsequent school visits seemed impersonal, cold, disorganized, haphazard, or lacking enthusiasm for their school in her opinion. Each school visited after just reinforced that UA was the place for her. We were worried that she was blinded by the packaging of the school, so we visited several times before decision day and turning down her other offers Turns out is was not a sales pitch, it has been everything she expected and much more. She personally knows people who turned down ivy and other top 20s who are also thriving at Bama.
Her experience has been overall outstanding. She is in an elite group of scholars but is not an outlier. There are thousands of top students. She has had great classes and is learning so much. It has not been easy and she works hard to maintain her GPA. Everyone she knows is fighting to earn the coveted red graduation cap (for a 4.0) but it is tons of work. She attends office hours and finds her professors approachable, knowledgeable, and helpful. She has met amazing people from all of the country, has formed deep friendships, is learning every day, and is preparing for her future. She has an industry mentor set up through the school that she communicates with regularly. She is thriving in her ECs, has a vibrant social life in her sorority, volunteers on campus and in the community, has traveled representing UA, has a coveted internship for this summer, and is already being contacted and has interviews set up for NEXT summer. All of this and she is well under her budget so she has money set aside for future needs.
She has had some disappointments so it has not all be unicorns and rainbows. She has interviewed for clubs/positions and was not chosen, had one less than stellar professor (although the bright side is that she met her classmates and they formed a successful student group who now socialize regularly), did not rave about the dining hall on campus, and knows friends who are transferring to schools closer to home. These are not unique to UA but are a reality at most big schools. Asked if she would do it again she would give you a hearty ROLL TIDE!
@bamamom2021 - thanks for this great overview…we’re looking to visit UA & Auburn in June with our rising senior and would love to hear what factor(s) ultimately led your daughter to choose Alabama over Auburn (you indicated that those were her two favorites.
I was going to send you a PM but felt that this might help other future applicants.
I have to admit that Auburn was a beautiful school with outstanding faculty. We met the nicest people, had great tours, and loved the school. While they were not as “polished” as Alabama we were able to set up an honors meeting as well as some other extras that Alabama offered. They could not have been nicer and we were impressed. Auburn had a better reputation in our area and most think it is a private school outside of Atlanta -people had no idea it was a public in Alabama. She received merit money at both schools and both schools came in under her budget. Auburn would have been more expensive and Alabama’s full tuition offer left her with a sizable nest egg for future needs.In the end she felt they were very similar but Alabama just shined a bit brighter for her and she felt it was hard to pay all that extra money for a similar or slightly less experience. Alabama had great marketing and they got their message across in a very unified way across all platforms and every encounter.
She felt wanted at both but felt that Alabama had an edge in communicating and dealing with out of state students. She like the first year initiatives and special orientations set up just to get freshman plugged into campus - they have an entire division in student life devoted to first year experience and there are many initiatives to connect students to the campus and community right away.
We visited both campuses. There was not a single time on Alabama’s campus where people did not go out of their way to be nice:students and staff held doors, asked if we needed help finding someplace, chatted with us in line at Starbucks, asked us where we were from, and were genuinely nice people. We were at Auburn as class was changing and the sidewalks were instantly packed and people were all hurrying along because it was unusually cold and very windy for a spring day. Very few were interacting with each other and no one stopped to ask us if we needed directions or help. Other than our guides or set up meetings we didn’t really talk with anyone on campus. It was an unfair comparison because of the weather but it did leave a different impression.
She was worried about guaranteed housing at Auburn since not all freshman live on campus - it didn’t help that our tour guide had decided Auburn late in the cycle and DID NOT get on campus housing (BUT she was and awesome guide and really sold her school). Conversely, she was wowed by the Alabama dorms (not a huge deciding factor but when deciding between two great choices she could get into small stuff) and she liked how you had a hand in choosing your dorm instead of a lottery or up to chance. She loved the location of Alabama next to the river and at each visit we were down on the riverwalk (watching the crew team or just walking the trail), and she felt there were more shopping/entertaining options in Tuscaloosa and Northport. Auburn won on proximity to Atlanta but the town was small.
She felt both schools would have similar teaching and class offerings. She loved hearing about the specialized clubs for her major and ended up meeting someone in one of the clubs who really sold it at Alabama. She realized another activity that she had been doing in HS had a strong (and funded) group at Bama and was much smaller at Auburn. This became really important to her and factored into her decision (she is now an officer in this org.). At Alabama they set her up with an honors student to take us to lunch and my daughter clicked with this amazing young woman right away. They could have talked for hours and did end up going over the allotted time quite a bit. I could not get over all that she was involved in while keeping her grades. It was eye opening the quality of students that they were educating and pushed out any ideas that my daughter had that she would be the top of the heap and not as challenged. She learned about internship opportunities and heard all about the internships that the guide’s friends/classmates had set up for the summer. She also heard about industry mentors that were matched with students. While walking on that beautiful campus the banners “where legends are made” really stirred something in her, she wanted to be part of it. (Great marketing!!!)
Alabama has strong and active fb groups and she “met” some great prospective students on the fb pages who helped her feel connected while still making her choice. It build excitement and community early in the process, so she started imagining her life there. While on those fb pages she learned of so many people from the Northeast who were also heading there so it didn’t seem as much of a crazy idea. Of course all fall/winter there was talk of Alabama football on the TV so it increased the name recognition (for her and for her peers who had scoffed at her for considering UA) and built excitement. There were not the televised football games for most of the other schools on her list and every time we watched a game we would see the Alabama student sections and the Alabama marketing commercial and it would get her excited.
I know that I have written a lot. It is hard to be brief when there were so many good things and many that are hard to determine from websites and online brochures. We felt that she could have been happy and thrived at any of the schools that she applied (7-8?) but we also had to admit that Alabama just sold itself a little better all around. As parents we had our reservations: Was it all hype/talk? Was it too far? Would the rankings hurt her career choices? Was it too Southern? Were we putting too much pressure to stay in budget that we were limiting her? Should she try for more prestige? - Two years in and we couldn’t be happier. Not one of those things is a concern now and she is thriving.
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@bamamom2021 - Thank you so much for taking the time and sharing this extremely thoughtful insight (!). I realized after I hit “post comment” that i may have unintentionally opened the floodgates to a series of “Roll Tide” and “War Eagle” chants but your post was anything but. The fact that you’ve taken the time to organize your thoughts in this way speaks more to you & your daughter’s positive experience than anything.
We are also out of state as well, so getting the perspective of another OOS parent/family was excellent. I do think there’s a bit of legacy snobbery re: the national profile of Alabama but more and more people we speak with/posts I read paint a very different picture.
We’re visiting both in the coming months so she’ll ultimately form her own opinion, but this context has been great.
One question (if you don’t mind my asking): did your daughter join a sorority? I read that Alabama is roughly 40% Greek but didn’t know if the experience of non-Greek students is the same/different as those who are in a sorority or fraternity.
Thanks once again and best of luck to your daughter in her final years at Alabama.
@projectmgr My dd did have people questioning “why Alabama” while turning their noses up quite a bit right after the May 1 “decision day”. She was ready and she had a planned answer. She was fond of saying there were more National Merit Finalists at Bama than at Harvard and then she went into the average ACT of the Honors College (and that there were mores students in the honors college at Bama than there were on the entire campus at most Ivy Schools), the number of Goldwater Scholars, the beautiful campus, the fact that so many industries are relocating to the south, then she finished with the merit scholarship and being at a school with Bama Football. She may not have changed any minds but each time she said it, she was reminded about what a great opportunity she was being given. People really know nothing about Auburn but there was always an admiring “oh” and “ahh” and “what a great school” whenever she mentioned visiting or getting in there. It was often followed by “where exactly is it located” and then she would delight in saying “it’s another public university in Alabama”. They had no idea.
My dd did go through recruitment in the fall before freshman year. She is pretty outgoing and actually liked the recruitment process. She met so many great women and is still friends with several who ended up in different houses. She was on the fence about going Greek but felt that it would help her get connected socially and give her a sense of belonging at such a big school.There is a spot for everyone and in every house there are all types of girls. As long as the potential new members keep an open mind, the placement rate is extremely high with almost every girl who wants one receiving a bid. She is in a well regarded house and she likes her sisters but as she has become more involved in other organizations and clubs she is finding less and less time with her sorority. She has made some amazing friends with some sisters and is simply friendly with others.
It was extremely helpful freshman year as there were tons of supports. They paired the new sisters up with upperclassman who showed them around campus, helped them with their schedules, and introduced them to many friends. There were mandatory study hours, scholarship check ins, and tons of mixers/social events that were SAFE and fun. The sorority GPAs are unbelievably high for groups of 400. The cost is high but when you factor in the meals (and the refund from the school meal plan), it was not as bad. There is the WOW factor of those beautiful houses and being a part of something so grand.
With all of this, 2 of her suite mates did not rush and were not Greek. Many of the people that she socialized with freshman year were from her dorm - some Greek, most not. They had game nights and movie nights and communal meals. They hung out in the lounges and went to sporting events together. It takes more work without the sorority but there is socializing happening. Getting into the fraternity parties is more challenging for the non greeks or those who are not friends with Greeks. My dd has invited some of her non Greek friends along on occasion but she is not a big drinker/partier so visiting the fraternity houses regularly is not her thing.
Now she spends most of her time with people who are NOT in her house or in social sororities at all. There are co-ed fraternities in engineering and business that are very active and also play a part in the socialization. These co-ed groups are much less expensive but still have formals and social mixers. Students can rush these organizations freshman year or later. I also believe they recruit both semesters. There are active clubs and groups of all kind on campus. There are study groups for classes. There are very active service groups on campus. The honors college has a lot of social activities. The school has “get on board day” a few weeks into the semester for students to connect with organizations. There are AMAZING special orientation weeks before classes start (Camp 1831, Honors Action, Outdoor Action) that connect students to the campus and to other students before regular move in. The office of student life hosts all types of activities for students. You have to know your child and how comfortable they are getting out and finding their people. Going Greek can be like an insurance policy but many don’t need that built in group. They do need SOME group to associate with especially in that first year but it doesn’t have to be Greek.
I imagine that Auburn is similar in their offerings and their percentage of Greek life. At times it will seem as if everyone is part of Greek life but it is really not the majority. I am sure Auburn has just as many opportunities for non Greeks on campus but it is good to inquire with the student guides while on tours. I remember our Auburn guide talking about her sorority but she was also in the co-ed business fraternity and spent equal times talking about both.
Wow, thank you so much for your insight!! May I ask where your dd lived that her dorm was so involved and socializing? @bamamom2021
@collegeparent957 She was in the suite style Ridgecrest Dorms. These were the honors dorms the year she was there so all students were part of the honors college. They worked really hard at getting out and getting to know each other. A student and her roommate came around on day 2 or 3 and knocked on doors handing out popsicles and inviting everyone to the floor lounge to meet. Then my dd and her suite mates baked cookies in the communal kitchen - the smell brought out all sorts of people. Someone else posted signs in the elevator and hallway walls that they were going to be ordering pizza at 9:30 and there would be plenty to share. Lots of people showed up and they ordered more. Many of these students had been in leadership roles in HS, some had been camp counselors, and lots of experiences mixing with other schools through their ECs/camps. They knew how to break the ice and try to get others involved. The suite dorms are a lot like hotels or apartments and it is easy to stay inside and not see anyone. A few started the ball rolling with food and it took off. It didn’t always end in great friendships but it did foster connections. My dd had met a nice group of people at Camp 1831 prior to school starting and they started hanging out right away, inviting others as they met new people. Several were in her dorm or the other Ridgecrest dorms next door so it was easy to congregate.The first 2 weeks are key to making those connections and not feeling “weird” about approaching people or telling them about yourself.
The traditional dorms, especially Tut, are also VERY social dorms.The year she was there, the Presidential suites were known as party suites with everyone welcome. I am sure this changes each year with new students moving in. With so many students coming from out of State you have to stretch friendships far and put yourself out there. The campus is not emptying out on weekends with people going home like schools where her friends attend.
@bamamom2021 - outstanding points (!)…it’s easy as a parent to forget how much peer input or perceived value judgements of a school choice might play on a teenager’s thought process. They’re intelligent and capable of strategic thinking, goal-setting, etc. but there’s a lot of emotion in the mix as well. Kudos for your daughter for being able to differentiate between the opinions of her high school classmates vs what was right for her. Easier said than done sometimes - especially with girls.
Our older daughter will be entering UGA in the Fall and she’s pretty set on Greek life, but I’m not as certain about our younger daughter (the one with UA & Auburn on her list). We heard from multiple girls during a recent visit to Athens that even though they ultimately decided not to accept an invite at the end of the process, consensus was that they strongly recommend Freshmen participate in Rush week: if for no other reason than they would have the shared bonding experience and meet a ton of their fellow classmates their first week at school that they might not otherwise have interacted with. For that reason alone, I think we’d encourage D2 to participate in rush week. We’ll see!
Your comments that the various chapters put an emphasis on academics is great to hear as adopting the time-management skills required to adapt to college life can be tough for some students away from home for the first time.
I’ve read elsewhere that the main difference between sorority life at UA vs Auburn is that Auburn doesn’t have standalone houses for their chapters but rather dedicated dorm blocks (more common at some of the private universities in the Northeast).
I’d say the only statement you’ve shared that I found somewhat surprising was the comment about the quality of the dining hall on campus (?) I only mention because it seems that the overall quality & variety of options available at most universities these days are so far and above what we had when I was in college. Add to the impressive level of investment in facilities UA seems to continuously be making and it’s something I wouldn’t have necessarily expected.
Either way - sounds like visiting both schools will absolutely be worth the trip. Thanks once again for sharing your perspective!
Have a great week!
While the percentage of Greek students is rather high during freshman year, that percentage drops for the entire student body to closer to 33% Greek. It’s also less influential later in one’s school career. I’ve had studnets on both campuses, and I feel there is less emphasis on Greek life at Auburn due to the absence of sorority houses. The lack of houses also makes it much cheaper at Auburn! You will also find more students in service and major-related sororities and fraternities, and many of these fulfill the same things that a social group does. Greek life is not for everyone. It can greatly enhance and round a students experiences, but it’s not necessary for a successful college career.
If a student chooses not to go Greek (neither of my kids pledged), then it’s important that they get involved in other ways. One son joined the College of Engineering theater group. COE does ART is the name. Other majors are are also permitted to join.
My other son belonged to two intramural sports groups and he managed both of them. Basketball and Volleyball.
I also think it matters what your major is. Some majors have more Greek members.
Very true that Greek participation drops after the first year. The cost is often the reason, plus as students get more deeply into their majors, they often don’t have time.
I have a “parents of preprofessional students” group on FB, and many of the prehealth students don’t have the time to be Greek.
Bump