Would I fit in at bama?

<p>So I got into bama on the full tuition scholarship, and got into honors college. One thing that I’m worried about is if I will fit in at bama. I am from alabama and live in birmingham and I like it here, but I am middle eastern. Most of the kids in my school are preppy and frat and lots of them are going to bama, but I don’t like hanging around those people . Also I have no interest in joining a fraternity, and I’m not much of a partier. </p>

<p>Some things I like about ua is that the campus is beautiful and I love football. If I go then I will be at every home football game. Also I can challenge myself academically since I’m in honors college. So do you think I will fit in?</p>

<p>What is your major?</p>

<p>I’m in my senior year of high school right now, but I will be majoring in either accounting, computer science, physics, or some engineering major.</p>

<p>STEM majors are far less “preppy” and Greek than some of the other majors. </p>

<p>While there are a number of Greeks in the B-school (and that’s pretty common at MANY schools), I don’t know if acct’g majors would be less so or not. B-school students at many schools just tend to be more preppy and Greek.</p>

<p>What did you put as your major at Bama? Eng’g majors get a larger scholarship. They get an add’l 2500 per year. You don’t want to miss out on that if you decide to go with eng’g. However, you have to START as an eng’g major. You can’t get that money if you start in another major.</p>

<p>I thought the deadline for scholarships was Jan 6? Is it too late for this student to declare eng’g, if they already have Pres? </p>

<p>To the student: I get that you don’t want to be around the same kind of people that you went to HS w/. You are wise to question if you will fit in, because finding the right fit can be very important to your success. How big is your HS? If you have friends in HS and fit in there, then I think you would have no problem at UA. UA is large enough to offer much more diversity than any HS experience, esp since you already come from AL. Good luck!</p>

<p>While many students from your high school may be going to UA, that doesn’t mean that you will have to interact with them as closely or as often as you do now. With over 30,000 students at UA, a vast majority will not have been from your high school or rival high schools. </p>

<p>Keep in mind also that you may become friends with people from your high school that you weren’t close friends with before and you may even make friends from rival high schools. </p>

<p>I highly suggest that you be open to making new friends from all walks of life. Who knows, maybe you’ll make a few friends who are preppy and members of fraternities/sororities. One can still be good friends with a person and not do all of the same activities. Also, people do change once they leave high school.</p>

<p>Also, be aware that there are multiple types of fraternities. Many students join honors or professional fraternities which typically do not have houses and focus more on scholarship and networking events.</p>

<p>Hi Spainpark! As a science/engineering major, I can attest to the fact that Bama is not all parties. I myself go to all of the football games and have the time of my life without having joined a sorority. In addition, having just completed a Sustained Dialogue training weekend through Crossroads, I can tell you that even within the last 24 hours I have been reminded that there are people from all sorts of different backgrounds here, and a lot of them are very open-minded to meeting people of any ethnicity you can think of. Plus, the Honors College is a real gem! You will find an awesome group of friends if you come to Bama!</p>

<p>*Is it too late for this student to declare eng’g, if they already have Pres? *</p>

<p>The deadline to submit the scholarship app has passed, but the student didn’t miss that. There isn’t a deadline to declare eng’g.</p>

<p>The student needs to change his major to eng’g now, unless he’s certain that he won’t be an eng’g major. IF he’s considering it, he needs to go to MyBama, Academics tab, and change it.</p>

<p>I would like to reassure you that UA has such a high percentage of Out of State students that really increase the diversity at UA. This is a big check in the “pro” column of decision making.</p>

<p>*While many students from your high school may be going to UA, that doesn’t mean that you will have to interact with them as closely or as often as you do now. With over 30,000 students at UA, a vast majority will not have been from your high school or rival high schools. *</p>

<p>This is very true. My kids went to high school in Alabama and they did have classmates who attended Bama as well. The ones that they wanted to see, they did. The ones that they were less interested in seeing, they rarely did…maybe just crossed paths once a year. </p>

<p>College is not like high school unless you attend a similarly sized college. </p>

<p>BTW…there are probably some classmates that are saying that they’re going to Bama, but in the end won’t. That happens. For some, the finances don’t work out. </p>

<p>But, I must say, you will probably find out that people who you found irritating in high school may grow up in college.</p>