<p>Do whatever you have to do to visit. If you contact the honors college they will set up an amazing day for you. BTW, my D had slightly better stats than you and she is not having any trouble meeting like minded kids. So, visit the school. You won’t believe it until you see it for yourself! Roll Tide</p>
<p>No the prickly term was directed mainly at aeromom, but I do think everyone can be a touch kinder on these boards when responding to students looking for information. Alabama is a great school but like any other school it’s not perfect and the responses are less than hospitable if anyone brings up perceived shortcomings whether real or imagined. It is the only board where people have sent me private messages regarding being attacked for bring up something about Alabama. Not quite the southern hospitality one would expect.
Also there are plenty of crazy kids and parents posting on CC’s various forums but I don’t think OP fits that mold. She honestly just wanted some quick info.</p>
<p>USChopeful, have you been to visit USC? It was high on my DS’ list to visit and we are only a couple of hours away so we went to see it. He did not like the campus and really didn’t like the area it was in although the bookstore was fabulous. He has classmates who loved it though so like most places it is one of those things you have to see for yourself. </p>
<p>I am also surprised at the tone of responses on this board at times. While many go out of their way to provide information and insight, there can definitely be a bit of an inferiority complex as well. I continue to come here to get valuable information and it is one of the 5 schools where my son has applied, simple questions are sometimes greeted with a bashing. </p>
<p>I think it can get old to answer the same questions over and over again. So I would cut the responders a little slack. If kids or parents searched the threads they would find hundreds of replies to their questions. </p>
<p>No one is forcing them to respond to any posters on these boards. Not like it’s a paid position.</p>
<p>I think the tenor of the question is important. A polite request for information about the programs, student body, campus etc is quite different from asking “would I be settling if i went here?”. The latter comes across as arrogant even though it may have been unintentional. </p>
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Well, judging from your name you should see how USC works out first.</p>
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<p>I think the student knows that even if she were accepted to USC, her parents won’t pay for it. Her high-income parents have already said that they will pay $10k, they won’t co-sign loans, and as we all know, she can only borrow $5500. That wouldn’t make a dent in the $60k+ COA. Her stats won’t garner a merit award from USC, so she would be a full-freight payer. Her USC app will simply be a “in case a miracle happens.”</p>
<p>That said, no one should wait until getting the results of a dream school. At that point, scholarship deadlines are often past. </p>
<p>This student has the stats and interest to do well in her chosen major. If she has creative writing talents, they will get acknowledged and opportunities for her to showcase those talents will be available. I suggest that she contact Dr. Deborah Weiss with her questions and concerns.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.english.ua.edu/user/127”>http://www.english.ua.edu/user/127</a></p>
<p>Email: <a href=“mailto:dweiss@ua.edu”>dweiss@ua.edu</a></p>
<p>A member of the English Department since 2008, Deborah Weiss specializes in the long eighteenth century and the history of the novel. She received her B.A. summa cum laude from Washington University at St. Louis and her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. In her research, Weiss focuses on the engagements of eighteenth-century women novelists with the social and economic ideas of the Enlightenment. Her current book project is a study of representations of the female philosopher in late-Enlightenment fiction. Weiss teaches courses on the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century novel, British literature in the Enlightenment, sexuality and gender in the long eighteenth century, and Jane Austen. She is the co-coordinator of the English Honors Program with responsibility for overseeing students writing their senior honors theses.</p>
<p>At least posters are allowed to use the term “like-minded” now. Not long ago that would have been grounds for bashing.</p>
<p>To the OP, many of our families had your same concerns when first considering Alabama. Searching this board can be helpful for finding success stories but can also be off-putting when the defensiveness rears itself so often. I can add my OOS UA student to the list of those who had very high stats and continued to thrive in Tuscaloosa. Feel free to PM me if you would like any details. </p>
<p>I don’t think you’d be “settling” at Alabama unless you’re looking for something completely different from UA, such as a small liberal arts college (although you could sort of find that in Blount if that’s your thing). My daughter was looking for a large state flagship, so Alabama was a wonderful choice for her - it’s a large school with a huge range of majors, lots of course selections, lots to do, yet of all the large state flagships we visited it had the smallest feel in that the professors and administrators seemed very student-centric. It was the only school we visited where my daughter got personal attention. She has reasonably good stats (33 ACT), but honestly never worried that academically the school wouldn’t be good enough. She was more worried about distance from home and the weather. And it’s lucky she didn’t worry, because she is surrounded by a LOT of very intelligent students. She does very well, but is by no means an academic superstar - there are many kids who are academically superior to her. </p>
<p>Beyond academics, she has found plenty to do in Tuscaloosa. Student football tickets are affordable at $10 (most other sporting events are free for students), and the Honors College and other organizations host tailgates. My D has also been to tailgates of parents of friends who live in Alabama and come to the home games. Sure, there are people who look at top high school students who choose to attend Bama and ask “Why there?,” but if you’re willing to ignore people who don’t know any better, it could be a great choice. You need to visit and see if you could see yourself thriving in Tuscaloosa. My D is very happy there. </p>
<p>@USCHopeful2015</p>
<p>I would highly recommend you attend one of the local recruiting events in your area and, if at all possible, visit UA when you get a chance. </p>
<p>In our case we waited until fairly late in the process (long after our son had an acceptance there), so he could compare it to the other (more selective) schools that were still in the running. My son applied to and was accepted into the engineering school, but we arranged to also meet with someone from the College of Arts & Sciences because the liberal arts were important to him as he was evaluating his options. The representative from CAS was a wonderful guy who’d originally come to the university to get a master’s in English (if I’m recalling correctly).You might want to try contacting him to discuss your interests. His name is John Wingard (<a href=“mailto:jmwingard@as.ea.edu”>jmwingard@as.ea.edu</a>).</p>
<p>FWIW, I’m a former English major myself from the Northeast, and I think I could have been very happy at the UA of today. My son has been very impressed with his classmates in engineering and the other students living in Blount Hall (home of the Blount Undergraduate Initiative, which may also be of interest to you): <a href=“http://blount.as.ua.edu/”>http://blount.as.ua.edu/</a></p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
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<p>All the more reason to be polite when you ask for information. </p>
<p>@USCHopeful2015 </p>
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<p>Are you into watching sports or participating in intramural and club teams? Bama can offer you all of these activities - plus many others.</p>
<p>Tell us what you like to do and we’ll tell you more.</p>
<p>OP, I have one at USC and one at Bama. Bama is not the school for my USC student, nor would USC be a good fit for my Bama girl. I suggest you visit both. Our initial visit to Bama sold my daughter and she hadn’t even started her Junior Year. DS was a NMF and while Bama would have given him a full ride, he felt that USC had more to offer him in his intended majors and minors. Both are very happy with their decisions. </p>
<p>UA also has a solid Theater and Dance Dept, and a great Music School, so if the OP likes performing arts, she will have many opportunities to enjoy the various cultural offerings at UA. A new expensive performing arts center will be built in about three years on the land acquired in the Bryce purchase. New green and recreational space will also be available as the Bryce land is re-purposed. If the OP is into nature, Alabama has many beautiful state parks, and at least two national forests, even mountains in the north. Little River Canyon’s hiking trails are gorgeous this time of the year as the leaves begin to turn. Just some additional facts for the OP to consider. </p>
<p>By the way, I agree with Mom’s points, and don’t think she intended to disrespect the OP. And sometimes, we are a little defensive, because too often, national media focuses only on the problems at UA. AND, though I don’t think the OP is guilty of this, the condescension and even anti Southern bigotry from those putting UA on the defensive, gets tiring. </p>
<p>^^
Unless this student gets an agreement that her parents will pay for USC, doing a campus visit will not likely be productive. Frankly, I doubt her parents would pay the $1000+ for her and a parent to visit when they have no intention of paying for the school nor cosign loans. The family’s income is over $200k. USC will expect them to pay all, nearly all costs. Her parents will only pay $10k and they become annoyed/upset at any comments surrounding the amount that they should pay or savings for college.</p>
<p>I do think that the OP should visit Bama because it is a viable option. The family could justify the cost of the visit because it is affordable for them.</p>