Why Roll Tide?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
121

@jazzman9366 DD2018 was just offered $5500 annually Academic Excellence scholarship at Ole Miss and $3335 annually Texas Tigers Scholarship at LSU (these are examples of public schools that are very similar to Alabama). I have (and so have others) mentioned other opportunities throughout the thred.

Bless your heart @laralei, I suppose the “end game”, not that there was one, was that I am genuinely curious why families are choosing Alabama and why it is often the first school that posters seem to think of with regard to generous merit. Yes, I can see there is a HUGE benefit to the transparency in Alabama’s merit system. Hopefully, a bonus to my creating this thred is to raise awareness that there are opportunities (academically/merit/student life wise) at many schools that are similar to Alabama. FYI, I did not post this thred in the University of Alabama school forum , it was moved here by a moderator (why it does not show that anywhere in this thred is beyond me). I previously posted, in this thred, that I had hoped to spark conversation about other opportunities out there, especially for B students, who sometimes feel that they are “screwed” and that their options are limited in the whole admissions process. I have never said there is no point in choosing Alabama. @laralei there is no ulterior motive.

I don’t know how many times I have to say it…Alabama is a fine choice.

122

@1917souci Appreciate the insight. I am not sure I would consider your list of Arizona State, University of Kansas, University of Missouri as comparable to UA as in my kids case she is looking at Southeast state schools. I would agree with @labegg that LSU, Old Miss, etc. are more comparable. Definitely, FL State, USF are cheaper even without merit. My original point that we were wresting with back and forth was that schools like UA, LSU, Old Miss, UGA, etc. as long as you get some scholarship (my kid got similar ones as @labegg), we are trying to determine if the ~$12K more than our NY in state schools is worth the premium. Personally I see the value because of what I mentioned earlier (campus size, location, weather, more diverse student population, etc.) …

123

FSU is cheaper out of state than Alabama with a scholarship? It looks to me like even with the smallest award from UA (the Capstone @ $5,000 a year) it’s close to the same price.

And the top three Bama scholarships would make UA the same price or less than South Florida.

UA COA (OOS) = $44k
FSU COA (OOS) = $38k
USF COA (OOS) = $32k

At that point, I would think for most families it really comes down to which school your student prefers.

124

Not sure where you got the FSU and UCF numbers from but COA is about $33K directly from their websites http://admissions.fsu.edu/freshman/finances/ and http://admissions.ucf.edu/cost/. Agreed with any scholarship from UA it is pretty close to FSU and UCF (assuming you don’t get anything from FSU or UCF either) and comes down to whatever school your kids prefers

125

@jazzman9366

https://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=817
https://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1647
https://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=469

There’s a lot more data available about each school on that site, FYI.

ETA: You mentioned USF originally. Maybe you meant UCF? They’re closer in price to FSU than USF, which is cheaper.

https://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1455

126

I’m an in-state UA grad with a kid who’s a UA grad. I agree - if you have a 30+ ACT, it’s wonderful, but for the rest of us…personally I don’t think it’s worth the OOS tuition. Unless, of course, your kid wants that experience and you can afford it. I know kids who wound up hating being so far away, and I know kids from Tuscaloosa who had the same experience whether they were 5 miles from home or 500 miles. It is what you make it.

127

I think the assertion that posters on CC are pushing Bama on prospective lower stat students looking for financial aid or merit scholarships is a straw man argument. I have never seen anyone do this. For an average student the best option is likely to be a college in your own state. If your child is determined to attend a college out of state, cost is only one thing to consider. LSU and Mizzou for example have funding issues that bear investigating before any commitment is made. Here is some background information.

http://www.nola.com/news/baton-rouge/index.ssf/2014/04/disrepair_at_lsu_arts_building.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/09/us/university-of-missouri-enrollment-protests-fallout.html

128

I do not have the impression that posters on CC are pushing Bama on prospective lower stat students looking for financial aid or merit scholarships, rather posters are pushing Bama as providing great merit scholarships, hence Bama may very well be a financial safety for many, say a recent poster asking about strong CS program, http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/2040226-strong-cs-program-in-ny-nj-pa.html someone would bring up Bama about their scholarship. But what I have learned from this thread and threads from other colleges is that there are comparable options out there, in particular, for kids with “higher stat”

However, in asking myself “why Roll Tide”, I do think Bama provides a great option for “lower stat” kids who look for the type of experience provided by Bama and may otherwise not able to get scholarship in-state (again, I am thinking of my school district and my state, NJ) Our district calculates weighted GPA, includes PE and chorus, adds 1 point for Honor and AP, it is not difficult to obtain a 3.5 wGPA. but this same kid may not even be able to get into Rutgers NB (a disappointment for a kid who wants to attend big colleges) and may not get decent amount of scholarships from our in-state TCNJ or Rowan. I think a major reason is that Bama does not consider course rigor in awarding scholarship, hence it benefits “lower stat” kids to some extent.

129

I think this is true (Florida State for example) and it would be a valuable service to prospective students if the posters who are aware of these options are prepared to frequent CC and suggest them. People tend to recommend colleges they know and love, and there are many Bama parents here which is why it comes up so often I believe.

Bama is more lenient in considering GPA but does not superscore SAT and ACT which some “more prestigious” colleges do.

130

I think we have to define what “know” is (LOL), I think many, myself included, would repeat what they heard and read. I “recommended” Bama before I set foot on campus and, in this case, before I thought hard about the real cost, When I began to look into in-state tuition, I found out Ohio is around 10K, is it worth traveling to Bama if the difference is around $7K in tuition? not counting higher cost of room and board in Bama and the travel expenses…(again, thinking straightly by the number)
the LOVE is contagious :slight_smile:

I don’t think many colleges superscore SAT and ACT for scholarship (as far as I know, not for my state flagship)

131

@annamom I don’t see how my post could be construed as an attack? I am just surprised, after 120 posts in, the original question seems to have been answered a number of times already, yet the thread continues.

And bless your heart @labegg, I hope you find all the answers you seek.

132

@annamom

FSU superscores the SAT and ACT for merit scholarship. The only downside is they don’t publish what score(s) qualify for this year’s admission - they will share last year’s metrics though as a guide. For an applicant with a superscored 30 ACT, FSU wins on cost (based on last years number). With the 33+ Bama likely takes the prize.

Bama gets a lot of credit for clearly stating their scholarship requirements. Oddly enough, my D is considering both Bama and FSU. Personally, I think they are both very generous and we’ll visit both in February.

We are from California where merit scholarships are pretty much nonexistent with public options. Both FSU and Bama are well below our instate costs given the merit.

133

Certainly this is something you should consider as one university will never be a good fit for everyone. Although cost of attendance is an important consideration it is crucial to dig deeper. For example, is the university well funded?, what programs of interest do they offer?, what is the reputation of those programs independent of the ranking of the university?, are students getting co-ops and internships when they apply for them? what is the cost and quality of housing if/when students move off campus?

Bama has delivered on all these fronts for our family, another family may have a different mix of desires and scholarship opportunities. Those who feel strongly that other universities might be a better fit for students posting here are free to state their case.

134

I still think UA is very hard to beat for the high school student who is targeting a name-brand, Public University, given that the student’s HS academic stats are very good

i.e. 3.5 GPA, plus or minus 30 ACT

And here are the reasons why -

(1) Size-able Merit Scholarship
(2) Honors College acceptance
(3) One of the highest out-of-state student / in-state student ratios (60/40) for a name-brand public university
(4) One of the fastest-growing, name-brand, Public Universities
- new buildings (Performance Arts, New Business School, and new dorms)
- a hiring spree for Senior Professors.
- a huge growth in student population (see #5)
(5) An academically improving student body profile exemplified by a record 40% of the incoming '17 students scoring 30 or better on their ACT

Can a 30 ACT, 3.5 student possibly get an equal-to-better academic merit scholarship at other similar state universities? Absolutely - FSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Ohio State, etc. - but, on the margin, UA immediately offers more in addition to the merit scholarship: (see #2 - #5 above).

Is UA worth it for an OOS B student with a 26+ ACT looking at similar OOS schools but receiving little-to-possibly-no merit? Yes. I think so, given #3-#5 above - plus the fact that UA also offers:

(1) high profile sports and school spirit
(2) a very proud and loyal alumni base
(3) an incredible Greek and / or campus social life
(4) a beautiful campus with new dorms
(5) a very positive, can-do attitude which seems to resonate through the student body and administration

Given the growth and investment in UA, and the fast-changing, undergraduate student body profile, I think that over the next decade (if not sooner) UA will be one of those Universities rising quickly in these US News rankings) which typically lags 5-10 years for stats.

135

I have been watching this thread with a lot of interest. I think this post hits a lot of my conclusions. I would note a few things, but don’t want to get side-tracked. It is hard to compare Alabama and FSU fully as FSU shares its engineering school with Florida A&M. From a STEM standpoint, Alabama is better than FSU. Texas A&M is better than Alabama, but given the vagaries of auto-admit laws in Texas (top 10% in Texas in each high school class are admitted to Texas and A&M), getting admitted to A&M from OOS is hard, getting merit aid is harder (if you get the NMF award, by all means, that is awesome). OSU’s published scholarships don’t compare. So, that leaves you with South Carolina and Ole Miss. I know a lot of Ole Miss grads. I am not considering Ole Miss.

136

I have two kids and each has a best friend at Alabama.

1st best friend. Took ACT 5 times and never got above a 20. At Alabama as full pay. Loves it and is not finding it challenging (except for O Chem)

2nd best friend. Just had a long conversation with him last night. Higher stats kid. Merit scholarship (although not full). Loves Alabama and wouldn’t change his choice although he says it is VERY EASY. He said, as a junior he has yet to be challenged in any class he’s taken. He says his high school was much more challenging than Alabama. He is in line for three different internships for this coming summer so that’s good.

My take is Alabama won’t hurt anyone for finding jobs or being successful. But anecdotally speaking if your student wants to be challenged it may not be the best. If they want to maintain high GPA’s for grad schools or med schools it could be a great choice.

137

@1917souci Some of those claims are completely false. Just off the top of my head, the top ASU scholarship is $15k, per year, which is less than the top UA scholarship of $25k.

And FSU is $21k per year in tuition. Yes, that’s $8k cheaper than UA. But their top merit scholarship is $17k per year. Which is more than UA. Plus, you need to me national merit to qualify for it. (My D19 will qualify for the $25k/year UA scholarship despite not being NMF).

As for “accepting everyone”, their admission rate is 53%.

Their 110 ranking is the biggest issue for me. But, once you get below a certain number, the actual ranking is pretty meaningless. E.g., no one cares if the school is #110 or #115 (ASU, in case you’re wondering). I don’t even know if people care if the school is #90 or #110.

Of much bigger concern is their fall in the rankings. They were in the 70s a few years ago, and have been dropping since then. It went up because their selectivity went up. But why is it falling.

138

What is his major? If he’s finding upper division classes in engineering/math/physics very easy and has a 4.0 GPA I’m impressed. Although I would have thought someone that bright would have qualified for the full scholarship.

139

@bhs1978 I have to wonder what courses they are taking. My ds would never state that Alabama is “VERY EASY.” This is a kid who graduated from high school with credit for numerous 300 level math and physics courses. He entered AL taking 300 and 400 electromagnetic wave theory EE courses his freshman yr. He has maintained a 4.0(+), but he will share that he has had to work for his grades. He is currently a sr and has taken numerous grad level courses (none a walk in the park). , I know for sure that he said quantum was a tough course for him.

140

Yes, I’m curious, too, what the majors are of the two “best friends” referenced in #135, especially the one who never got above a 20 on the ACT. That’s low even for Alabama. (The average is 27, and a 20 is below the 25th percentile, I think.)

@bhs1978, are either of them STEM majors?

I have no doubt there are “cupcake” majors, as there are at most public universities (and many privates - even elite ones), but that doesn’t oblige the student to choose one. If you want to be challenged, take some challenging classes and choose a challenging major!