Would a shy kid struggle at UA? honest advice needed

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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" the merit at Pitt - we really had hoped for more as well. Did they also tske a while to tell you the merit amount? I think your S will do great at Bama since he is enthusiastic about it. Will he do that honors service thing so he’s at the campus before classes start? "

He only got $5K from Pitt. I have heard repeatedly they are terrible with merit money, and it has proven true, at least for us. We would have needed full tuition to have had any chance to make it work, AND they were very late with the SAR, we actually got a statement in todays mail, though it was on line, I think.

I have suggested he consider one of the pre-semester events, but he doesn’t seem too interested in it. We have a late graduation here, lot of time off due to weather, and with UA starting in Aug, he says his summer is already too short. Also, since we are travelling so far south, I am trying to squeeze in a short family vacation before he starts. It will be a long time before we will all be together again.

His core friends are all going to different schools, though he will be the farthest. So no matter where he ended up, he would have had to make the effort to make new friends.

Here’s hoping they both end up happy with their choices. :-bd

22

My D was shy and quiet in high school, to the point that many people (including her teachers) didn’t know who she was or remember her a year later. She was also not blown away by her visit to Bama - she didn’t feel like she wouldn’t fit in, but she also didn’t come away saying this is the place for me, and she was concerned about going so far from home and going to a warm climate (we’re in the midwest). She wanted a big school so that she could fade into the woodwork if she wanted to (not what a parent wants to hear!) and only applied to large state flagships. I pushed Alabama because it seemed to me to be more student-centric and to have the smallest feel of the large schools D was looking at.

Fast forward a few years . . . D is finishing her junior year at Bama. She’s not as shy as she was in high school, although she’s still not very outgoing. She has a group of friends and a couple activities that she enjoys. She was not interested in Greek life and didn’t join a sorority, but she did join the professional business fraternity and participates in their activities (both professional and social). I’m sure she would have had more opportunities had she been willing to put herself out there more, but she’s doing fine. She did apply to CBH and got in from the waiting list. She did Outdoor Action at the beginning of freshman year and it was one of the best things she did in that it helped her to acclimate quickly and meet people before everyone was on campus. I cannot recommend the Actions (either Outdoor, Alabama or Black Belt) highly enough, especially for a kid who is shy and doesn’t know other kids going to UA. Many of the people she hung out with freshman year were kids she met at Outdoor Action or through the OA kids. She has no regrets about her college choice and has never considered coming home. She doesn’t fit into every group on campus, but she has her niche and she’s happy.

In short, my shy kid is happy and doing well at Bama, and she has not struggled.

23

It’s a big state school. There are many different types of people. Some get along well, some don’t. The key is to just find a good core group.

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@scholarme, sorry to be late to join the discussion, but I wish your DD all the best!

My son was a shy kid too, but he was ready to step out of his comfort zone a little when it was time to narrow down his choices last year (and he’s really not shy anymore, not since heading for Bama).

He ended up not applying to Pitt, but he did apply to Penn State, and I was surprised (and thrilled!!!) when he chose UA over PSU a year ago this week. Some of it was practical (since Bama was half the cost of Penn State for us), but in the end, he just preferred the overall vibe at Bama over Penn State.

He followed much of the advice folks here are suggesting, including participating in Alabama Action. And while he didn’t go Greek, he did embrace the festivities and pageantry surrounding home football games, which he attended with his Blount friends. He’s shared a bedroom with is brother since he was six, so he wasn’t as worried about having a roommate as some kids might be, but it certainly wasn’t his original preference. Nonetheless, it all worked out great.

Living in Blount really has as much to do with his happiness and success this past year as anything IMHO. He also landed a great co-op offer and will begin this summer. There are so many opportunities for engineering students, and the Society of Women Engineers seems like a great group too: http://bama.ua.edu/~swe/.

FWIW, one of his best friends headed to Pitt, also to study engineering. (And another headed to Temple on that great scholarship @laralei referenced upthread.) I think his Pitt friend has had a good experience there, but I know his mom (who’s missed him HORRIBLY) longs for a parent community like I’ve found within the extended Bama community. (She really wanted him to transfer to UDel after his first semester.) My son’s nonstop flights from PHL to BHM don’t seem any more taxing than the drive (or train) to Pitt either.

The ORM thing (it would be URM at Bama, I suspect) is really a tough call. If she’s particularly sensitive about feeling like she fits in, I can see where Pitt might feel like a better match.

25

^ I feel like I should know this, being the hip cool person that I am , but what is ORM/URM please?

26

I think they mean over represented minority/under represented minority. If not, then I have been lacking understanding for quite some time. :slight_smile:

27

Our student has found the Catholic student center very supportive and fun and a great source of friends. He has mentioned that all the other denominations seem active and well attended also. This might be a good way for the less outgoing students to find a friend group.

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@LucieTheLakie

Sorry off topic, but do the Blount courses count for credit? Do they meet any core requirements? or at least count as electives? Thanks.

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@nw2this

I’m not an expert (my son is an engineer), but yes the courses are for credit.

Here’s the website for the Blount Initiative: http://blount.as.ua.edu