Coming from LA, I'm not sure how she'd like Tuscaloosa as it is a lot smaller and has none of the amenities that the LA area would have.

The campus is lovely, and really in the heart of the city, and for that reason any crime is pretty well controlled. Some say that the entire town has been taken over by the U.

I'd say the restaurants are mediocre, more emphasis on barbecue than fine dining. We don't really have a good department store, and people will drive the 50 miles up to Birmingham to do some of their shopping.

There has been a huge upswing in the number of students lately, hence the tremendous building going on, both student apartments and hotels, etc. Townies are complaining that very soon we'll be overrun by apartments that will sit empty. Time will tell.

Football is the big thing here, and the whole town seems to be taken over on football Saturdays. I seldom leave my house on those days.

I haven't lived in a large city for some decades now, so I really can't begin to know a college age girl would view it. Wherever he goes, the loyalty to that school will stay with her forever, and she'll think it's the best place on earth.

If you want anymore specific information, please email me and I'd be happy to help. nmoeller@comcast.net

Nancy

It's spelled Tuscaloosa, should you want to look it up.

Rhizo, yesterday you wrote in the "ticks you off" thread that you get irritated by those who correct spelling or grammar in forums.

This post was edited by snidely on Tue, Oct 21, 14 at 14:52

That was a typo. I know how to spell Tuscaloosa and had already Googled it.

Thanks for the info Nancy. I live in Ames, Iowa, the home of Iowa State U. Ames gets the same way on football home game day. I am sure it gets that way on basketball days, also, but I am at the games. Locals know not to eat out on game days. ISU is growing quickly also. When I moved here 9 years ago, the population which includes students, was just over 50,000 and now it is almost 60,000. The summer traffic is wonderful as so many students go home to work for the summers.

There are a lot of great schools that are in sketchy urban neighborhoods. (In LA, think of USC). Most schools have effective police patrols down the streets and neighborhoods where students are to be found and the risk elements are well managed. By comparison to the locations of many eastern urban schools, Tuscaloosa would seem like a safe and sleepy place, most of the time. Crime rates are usually higher around universities than in neighboring areas anyway, so just being near a school means there's more danger.

Football is huge at 'Bama, that's a big part of the experience of being there. Hopefully she can visit before deciding where to go. An LA girl might find living in a Southern college town to be a more radical cultural change than she's looking to make.

I'm a 1961 graduate from The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa!

Roll Tide

It has grown tremendously since my time, and I was back this past spring on the outskirts of town for a baseball game.

Campus is beautiful! Back then and from what little I saw, last spring, is still beautiful with its growth.

Most major colleges center around their football team, which is part of the spirit of a large university. But that should not be a part though of the decision making factor.

Football was not my decision for my college of choice, although great fun during and after the games.

Received a great education and proud of it.

I'm a Southern gal and love my Southern roots.

This post was edited by glenda_al on Tue, Oct 21, 14 at 23:28

She visited several southern schools this summer. Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Texas, TexasA&M. In earlier years she had been to Michigan and Wisconsin, which are her top choices. She volunteers at USC Medical Center.She has a 4.2 GPA and will be pre-med but still wants to go to a football school.

I can vouch for Wisconsin! Both of my kids are alums and both were actually born in Madison when we lived there. They got great educations, were both in the marching band so got to go to a lot of great places with the football team, and both love Madison and will probably return there someday. Madison is pretty safe, but crime is always an issue on campuses. It's a beautiful city which is perennially on top 10 lists. Football is a struggle this year(:

She wants to go to a football school? Ok. I am not 100% sure about their medical school, however, it seems like it is fantastic--UT Knoxville? I truly know their law school is one of the best in the nation (honestly, I never wanted to attend, but it was on for which many in my class were aiming. That, and Michigan). I, personally, am NOT a fan of UT football. But that is certainly one hugely football oriented university. Almost as much as much as UofA. Roll Tide!

Edited to add this: It's changed. Law is ranked #72 in the nation, and medicine is #55 in the nation. Top 100, competing against private schools is still dang good.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Univesity of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine

This post was edited by rob333 on Wed, Oct 22, 14 at 9:15

linda, I'll share what I learned of the experiences of my kids' friends who wanted to go premed and then to medical or dental school.

Successful medical schools applicants need to show, among other things, that they aced their undergrad science and math classes. It's a competitive thing. It's said that classes like organic chemistry serve to separate the doctors from the lawyers.

The very large public universities have a lot of uber-focused students, often foreign born, who capture the top scores in their classes through sheer hard work. They don't go to football games, nor to beer busts Saturday night, they're studying.

If a med school admission has a higher priority to this young lady than going to football games, she'll do better at a smaller school that can offer smaller classes, a more reasonable opportunity to shine and more access to professors.

A lot of kids start university as pre-meds. Something more than half of them change their majors before graduation. Usually because they come up short with their grades.

University of Alabama Birmingham UAB has a wonderful medical school.,

snidly, it's probably true that kids change their majors even when it's psychology, law, business adminsitration, or, for that matter every other major! Grades or not. Not sure where the basis is for that stat? It's also beside the point if she wants a balance of academics and social. I know kids who pick NYC because they "want to live in a big city". Is that a better basis?

What basis should it be? I assume major is the main deciding factor, but what should the next item be for selection?

I'm relating what I observed from the peer groups of my three kids. Most of the pre-med major changes came from failure to get A grades in the med school pre-req classes, not from a change of heart or a change in academic interests. Med school applicants can have a variety of undergrad majors, even non-science ones, and many schools encourage that.

It's hard for kids to understand that the time spent getting a bachelors degree is only four years (or 5 at some schools) but the lifetime consequences of the choice last much longer. It's really dumb to make a decision based on short-sighted factors if the consequence is unfavorable for the long term.

My recommendation (to my own kids and to others when asked) is that kids need to think hard about where they want to be at graduation time, either from an occupation sense or from a go to grad school sense. When that goal is decided, then the best choice is a school from which that destination is most likely to be reached.

If this girl's family has the money to pay out-of-state tuition at public institutions, that same money is probably better spent at a smaller private school.