Long post. Sorry in advance. Took my son for a tour of Bama this week. Sports stuff first:
Did you know that Bama has the capability to simulate heavy rain and wind in their IPF? And man do they like to measure their pecker against anything Auburn. The student tour guide was a 8.75/10 - definitely in the Marry Zone of the hot crazy matrix. She continually kept talking about how they (UA) had the #1 or biggest (insert ranking/object/whatever we were passing in the tour bus) in the state among public universities. Basically it was code for “We don’t care how we rank nationally, but we are better than Auburn.”
So anyway, scholarships. He is a high achiever. Looking like he will be a NM Finalist (find out for sure later this year, but 99% positive he will make it.) He missed a 36 ACT by one question, so he is pissed and going to take it again (or until he gets it.) He is by far the smartest person in the house. Has been for about 10 years.
Assuming he gets his NMF,
State offers
* $40,000 - essentially 4 years tuition (8 semesters)
* 4 years housing
* $500-3,000/year stipend (not specified yet)
* One-time undergraduate allowance of $2,000 for use in summer research or international study
Alabama offers
* Tuition for up to 5 years or 10 semesters for degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate or law studies
* Four years of undergraduate housing - 70+% of their dorms are newer and have 4 single rooms with 2 bathrooms/kitchenette/living room
* $3,500 per year undergraduate supplemental scholarship - stipend for four years
* One-time undergraduate allowance of $2,000 for use in summer research or international study
* $500 per year undergraduate book scholarship for four years
He will likely start a with around 36-42 hours dual credit, so we expect him to get his BS in 2.5-3 years. He currently thinks he wants to go to law school (and would go to UAt for law school also), so 2(+) years of law school looks like it would be covered under the NM scholarship ($86k worth). Interestingly enough, Alabama has a top 25 law school in most all categories. I didn’t realize it ranked that high. Ole Miss and LSU are both ranked around the top 100 +/-5.
It has been 27 years since I went to a preview day at Bama. It has changed drastically. They really are reaping the increased enrollment benefits of football success. Out of the approximate 30 kids there for the tour, only 1 or 2 were from Alabama. The rest were from VA, NY, NC, CA, ND, TX, TN, and a few more I forget. Man, it is nice. The layout, architecture, amenities, etc. Taking off my maroon colored glasses and my MIATM tee, it is shameful that we have a much better engineering program, but the facilities doesn’t match.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Starkville, Mississippi State, our campus, and (most of) our fans. I would love for him to keep the State legacy going. Although I couldn’t wait to graduate and leave, now all we are doing is planning our eventual permanent move back so we can catch all the baseball midweek games & weekend series, and some of the other non revenue producing sports. However, from a financial standpoint and the opportunity to be in all these new facilities with nice labs, I can’t make the case right now that State is a better fit for him. Maybe one of you guys can pint out something I’m missing.
He loves State and (if he goes to Bama or anywhere else), he will wear the M over S as much as whatever institution he is attending. FYI, there is NO scholarship on earth that would put him in Oxford or make him say HT.
We are planning on touring LSU next.
Anyone have a kid that goes or recently graduated from Bama or LSU? Or any other universities in the Southeast with a law school that has a strong feeling one way or another? OM responses not needed. They’re a non-starter. He will likely get his undergrad degree in engineering. Says he’s unsure, but he is clearly a Computer Science or Computer Engineering major.
If any of you guys have done a similar track (engineering & law), I’d like to maybe talk with you about how to best prepare him. Like are there classes he should take to be better prepared for his first year of law school, should he major in engineering at all or take an easier path, etc.
TL;DR: son may become a bulldog, a Gump, a corn dog, or something else. But never a bear.
Did you know that Bama has the capability to simulate heavy rain and wind in their IPF? And man do they like to measure their pecker against anything Auburn. The student tour guide was a 8.75/10 - definitely in the Marry Zone of the hot crazy matrix. She continually kept talking about how they (UA) had the #1 or biggest (insert ranking/object/whatever we were passing in the tour bus) in the state among public universities. Basically it was code for “We don’t care how we rank nationally, but we are better than Auburn.”
So anyway, scholarships. He is a high achiever. Looking like he will be a NM Finalist (find out for sure later this year, but 99% positive he will make it.) He missed a 36 ACT by one question, so he is pissed and going to take it again (or until he gets it.) He is by far the smartest person in the house. Has been for about 10 years.
Assuming he gets his NMF,
State offers
* $40,000 - essentially 4 years tuition (8 semesters)
* 4 years housing
* $500-3,000/year stipend (not specified yet)
* One-time undergraduate allowance of $2,000 for use in summer research or international study
Alabama offers
* Tuition for up to 5 years or 10 semesters for degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate or law studies
* Four years of undergraduate housing - 70+% of their dorms are newer and have 4 single rooms with 2 bathrooms/kitchenette/living room
* $3,500 per year undergraduate supplemental scholarship - stipend for four years
* One-time undergraduate allowance of $2,000 for use in summer research or international study
* $500 per year undergraduate book scholarship for four years
He will likely start a with around 36-42 hours dual credit, so we expect him to get his BS in 2.5-3 years. He currently thinks he wants to go to law school (and would go to UAt for law school also), so 2(+) years of law school looks like it would be covered under the NM scholarship ($86k worth). Interestingly enough, Alabama has a top 25 law school in most all categories. I didn’t realize it ranked that high. Ole Miss and LSU are both ranked around the top 100 +/-5.
It has been 27 years since I went to a preview day at Bama. It has changed drastically. They really are reaping the increased enrollment benefits of football success. Out of the approximate 30 kids there for the tour, only 1 or 2 were from Alabama. The rest were from VA, NY, NC, CA, ND, TX, TN, and a few more I forget. Man, it is nice. The layout, architecture, amenities, etc. Taking off my maroon colored glasses and my MIATM tee, it is shameful that we have a much better engineering program, but the facilities doesn’t match.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Starkville, Mississippi State, our campus, and (most of) our fans. I would love for him to keep the State legacy going. Although I couldn’t wait to graduate and leave, now all we are doing is planning our eventual permanent move back so we can catch all the baseball midweek games & weekend series, and some of the other non revenue producing sports. However, from a financial standpoint and the opportunity to be in all these new facilities with nice labs, I can’t make the case right now that State is a better fit for him. Maybe one of you guys can pint out something I’m missing.
He loves State and (if he goes to Bama or anywhere else), he will wear the M over S as much as whatever institution he is attending. FYI, there is NO scholarship on earth that would put him in Oxford or make him say HT.
We are planning on touring LSU next.
Anyone have a kid that goes or recently graduated from Bama or LSU? Or any other universities in the Southeast with a law school that has a strong feeling one way or another? OM responses not needed. They’re a non-starter. He will likely get his undergrad degree in engineering. Says he’s unsure, but he is clearly a Computer Science or Computer Engineering major.
If any of you guys have done a similar track (engineering & law), I’d like to maybe talk with you about how to best prepare him. Like are there classes he should take to be better prepared for his first year of law school, should he major in engineering at all or take an easier path, etc.
TL;DR: son may become a bulldog, a Gump, a corn dog, or something else. But never a bear.
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