Why Bama ? It is ranked 170 and keeps dropping

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hadn't looked at US News in years. Seems like Bama is ranked around the same as JMU, which makes sense. I would probably have seen similar rankings 30 years ago. I don't think the low ranking is as indicative of anything you might be thinking, OP. The difference in schools in these rankings are so marginal and meaningless and the magazine is infamous for rigging the rankings to make it look like schools are moving up and down in order to sell more editions.

Bama does have a certain culture attractive to certain students. Does it bother me? No.

Me neither, to each his own, but I would hope this would shut up the ridiculous troll who keeps insisting that high stats kids are ditching the Ivy + and applying to 'Bama

I am an actual parent of a Bama NMF and I can tell you that my child and most, if not all of their friends were accepted into T10s-T25s at the lowest (for those who are ranking obsessed). Bama offers an excellent education and tons of opportunity - very small class sizes, research for undergrads, job placement. They routinely beat T25s in robotics competitions, model UN, etc... out of all the schools we visited ... Bama was the ONLY school that seemed to be hyper focused on the student experience/opportunities and job placement (vs. fancy buildings, chairs in this and that, etc. -- ie. they are not chasing prestige, or rankings).

Best example I can share is that one program head told us that they had been given a several hundred thousand dollar grant from the university to do with as they pleased...and do you know what they did with the money? Divided by the number of students in the program and gave everyone a scholarship towards the cost of the program.

Granted, it's not for everyone. For the student who plans to coast on the "name brand" of their college and not take advantage of or seek out opportunities, Alabama might not be the right fit. But for bright go-getters it's a no brainer. Bonus - the campus is beautiful and the people are friendly.

So where do all these kids eventually land? If you go to NYC for any number of finance jobs or SV, you still aren’t running into many Alabama grads…and in NYC they are likely back office type workers. It’s not a target school for many of these employers.

I just can’t see the logic to passing up say Brown if you intend to work for the top coastal employers.

It doesn’t actually seem like a “no brainer” to me…but makes sense for certain paths.

DP. “Top coastal employers”?

Honestly, does anyone outside of NYC strivers actually GAF about that?

Plenty of $$$ and better QOL via every other avenue and/or location.

Sure there is…so where exactly?

Actually…tons of people GAF which is why NYC is the #1 college grad destination by far, followed by LA, SF, Chicago and other cities kids actually want to live.

Birmingham doesn’t even register.

The vast majority of grads don't end up in NYC.

I don't doubt there is a steady pipeline of Bama business degree grads to analyst and consulting roles in Atlanta and Charlotte and other southern cities. Back office, second tier markets maybe, but it's a decent route to a comfortable six figure income and corresponding lifestyle in a nice suburban colonial and weekends playing golf. Which is exactly what these grads want. Great for them!

Indeed, they don't end up in NYC but many grads from the south do want to be in NYC. Someone posted a thread about what cities most grads *want* to work in, and NYC was top.

Top 5 NYC, Chicago, DC, Boston, SF

Handshake looked at full-time job applications from Class of 2025 students in their senior year to gauge candidate interest in locations across the US.

For the Class of 2025, 59% of applications, on average, have been submitted to jobs outside of the state where the candidate’s school is located.

Of all applications from Class of 2025 students at schools in the South, 54% went to jobs in that region. New York City again was the top city drawing applications from candidates in the South, accounting for 12% of all applications.

https://joinhandshake.com/blog/employers/where-are-college-students-going-after-they-graduate/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hadn't looked at US News in years. Seems like Bama is ranked around the same as JMU, which makes sense. I would probably have seen similar rankings 30 years ago. I don't think the low ranking is as indicative of anything you might be thinking, OP. The difference in schools in these rankings are so marginal and meaningless and the magazine is infamous for rigging the rankings to make it look like schools are moving up and down in order to sell more editions.

Bama does have a certain culture attractive to certain students. Does it bother me? No.

Me neither, to each his own, but I would hope this would shut up the ridiculous troll who keeps insisting that high stats kids are ditching the Ivy + and applying to 'Bama

I am an actual parent of a Bama NMF and I can tell you that my child and most, if not all of their friends were accepted into T10s-T25s at the lowest (for those who are ranking obsessed). Bama offers an excellent education and tons of opportunity - very small class sizes, research for undergrads, job placement. They routinely beat T25s in robotics competitions, model UN, etc... out of all the schools we visited ... Bama was the ONLY school that seemed to be hyper focused on the student experience/opportunities and job placement (vs. fancy buildings, chairs in this and that, etc. -- ie. they are not chasing prestige, or rankings).

Best example I can share is that one program head told us that they had been given a several hundred thousand dollar grant from the university to do with as they pleased...and do you know what they did with the money? Divided by the number of students in the program and gave everyone a scholarship towards the cost of the program.

Granted, it's not for everyone. For the student who plans to coast on the "name brand" of their college and not take advantage of or seek out opportunities, Alabama might not be the right fit. But for bright go-getters it's a no brainer. Bonus - the campus is beautiful and the people are friendly.

So where do all these kids eventually land? If you go to NYC for any number of finance jobs or SV, you still aren’t running into many Alabama grads…and in NYC they are likely back office type workers. It’s not a target school for many of these employers.

I just can’t see the logic to passing up say Brown if you intend to work for the top coastal employers.

It doesn’t actually seem like a “no brainer” to me…but makes sense for certain paths.

The NMF kids who take the full ride and the other kids there on big scholarships are super smart kids who take advantage of being big fish.

This Bama senior is a Rhodes Scholar
https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholar-community/rhodes-scholar-bios/rhodes-scholars-class-of-2025/kate-herndon/

One of Alabama’s top programs is the Randall Research Scholars Program and they produce competitive graduates who go on to elite schools.

https://rrsp.ua.edu/about-rrs/external-awards

Yes, these kids are the minority at Alabama but they maximize the opportunities and value of a free education at an R1 university

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just find it hard to understand that DCUM is so rank obsessed but then bottom of the barrel schools like Bama get recommended.

Only very certain ethnic tribes are rankings obsessed; didn't Tiger Mom's second book detail it's largely Asians, Indians, Nigerians, and Jews? Majority of the confident UMC and rich white families don't give two shits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:only strange dcum parents care about rankings. kids want to have a good time and great weather.

+1. Sun Belt is also booming economically, while Northeast, New England, and the upper Midwest are all dying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hadn't looked at US News in years. Seems like Bama is ranked around the same as JMU, which makes sense. I would probably have seen similar rankings 30 years ago. I don't think the low ranking is as indicative of anything you might be thinking, OP. The difference in schools in these rankings are so marginal and meaningless and the magazine is infamous for rigging the rankings to make it look like schools are moving up and down in order to sell more editions.

Bama does have a certain culture attractive to certain students. Does it bother me? No.

Me neither, to each his own, but I would hope this would shut up the ridiculous troll who keeps insisting that high stats kids are ditching the Ivy + and applying to 'Bama

I am an actual parent of a Bama NMF and I can tell you that my child and most, if not all of their friends were accepted into T10s-T25s at the lowest (for those who are ranking obsessed). Bama offers an excellent education and tons of opportunity - very small class sizes, research for undergrads, job placement. They routinely beat T25s in robotics competitions, model UN, etc... out of all the schools we visited ... Bama was the ONLY school that seemed to be hyper focused on the student experience/opportunities and job placement (vs. fancy buildings, chairs in this and that, etc. -- ie. they are not chasing prestige, or rankings).

Best example I can share is that one program head told us that they had been given a several hundred thousand dollar grant from the university to do with as they pleased...and do you know what they did with the money? Divided by the number of students in the program and gave everyone a scholarship towards the cost of the program.

Granted, it's not for everyone. For the student who plans to coast on the "name brand" of their college and not take advantage of or seek out opportunities, Alabama might not be the right fit. But for bright go-getters it's a no brainer. Bonus - the campus is beautiful and the people are friendly.

So where do all these kids eventually land? If you go to NYC for any number of finance jobs or SV, you still aren’t running into many Alabama grads…and in NYC they are likely back office type workers. It’s not a target school for many of these employers.

I just can’t see the logic to passing up say Brown if you intend to work for the top coastal employers.

It doesn’t actually seem like a “no brainer” to me…but makes sense for certain paths.

The NMF kids who take the full ride and the other kids there on big scholarships are super smart kids who take advantage of being big fish.

This Bama senior is a Rhodes Scholar
https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholar-community/rhodes-scholar-bios/rhodes-scholars-class-of-2025/kate-herndon/

One of Alabama’s top programs is the Randall Research Scholars Program and they produce competitive graduates who go on to elite schools.

https://rrsp.ua.edu/about-rrs/external-awards

Yes, these kids are the minority at Alabama but they maximize the opportunities and value of a free education at an R1 university

So…grad school is the answer? BTW I think the Ivy+ produced 80% of the Rhodes Scholars just eyeballing the full list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:only strange dcum parents care about rankings. kids want to have a good time and great weather.

+1. Sun Belt is also booming economically, while Northeast, New England, and the upper Midwest are all dying.

CA is in fact booming…SF is again the hottest place to be and the most distressed housing markets are in places like Austin as everyone is moving back to CA.

See PP showing that the top destinations for college kids are the “dying” cities of NYC, Boston, Chicago et al.

[Anonymous]

Is anyone rejected from Bama?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:only strange dcum parents care about rankings. kids want to have a good time and great weather.

+1. Sun Belt is also booming economically, while Northeast, New England, and the upper Midwest are all dying.

This.

Plus the astronomical cost of housing, childcare, etc. in DC, NYC, Boston, etc. are prompting college kids to explore other areas for jobs as well as putting down roots.

My kids from Dcumlandia opted for southern schools for college and they aren’t planning to move back home. They aren’t interested in scrambling to save up for a million dollar home with a brutal commute…surrounded by people who will make assumptions about them for living in the south or attending a southern school. They are over it. They remain liberal, but they aren’t interested in the DC rat race and small-mindedness. I don’t blame them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:only strange dcum parents care about rankings. kids want to have a good time and great weather.

+1. Sun Belt is also booming economically, while Northeast, New England, and the upper Midwest are all dying.

This.

Plus the astronomical cost of housing, childcare, etc. in DC, NYC, Boston, etc. are prompting college kids to explore other areas for jobs as well as putting down roots.

My kids from Dcumlandia opted for southern schools for college and they aren’t planning to move back home. They aren’t interested in scrambling to save up for a million dollar home with a brutal commute…surrounded by people who will make assumptions about them for living in the south or attending a southern school. They are over it. They remain liberal, but they aren’t interested in the DC rat race and small-mindedness. I don’t blame them.

I don’t know where they are…but many housing markets are starting to converge.

You aren’t finding a sub-$1MM house in a nice part of Raleigh or Atlanta.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:only strange dcum parents care about rankings. kids want to have a good time and great weather.

+1. Sun Belt is also booming economically, while Northeast, New England, and the upper Midwest are all dying.

This.

Plus the astronomical cost of housing, childcare, etc. in DC, NYC, Boston, etc. are prompting college kids to explore other areas for jobs as well as putting down roots.

My kids from Dcumlandia opted for southern schools for college and they aren’t planning to move back home. They aren’t interested in scrambling to save up for a million dollar home with a brutal commute…surrounded by people who will make assumptions about them for living in the south or attending a southern school. They are over it. They remain liberal, but they aren’t interested in the DC rat race and small-mindedness. I don’t blame them.

They are going south because they are priced out of the better cities like NYC, Boston, Chicago. That's it. It's not because they love the south.

See up thread of applications to jobs by college graduates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:only strange dcum parents care about rankings. kids want to have a good time and great weather.

+1. Sun Belt is also booming economically, while Northeast, New England, and the upper Midwest are all dying.

This.

Plus the astronomical cost of housing, childcare, etc. in DC, NYC, Boston, etc. are prompting college kids to explore other areas for jobs as well as putting down roots.

My kids from Dcumlandia opted for southern schools for college and they aren’t planning to move back home. They aren’t interested in scrambling to save up for a million dollar home with a brutal commute…surrounded by people who will make assumptions about them for living in the south or attending a southern school. They are over it. They remain liberal, but they aren’t interested in the DC rat race and small-mindedness. I don’t blame them.

The south is cheaper for a reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:only strange dcum parents care about rankings. kids want to have a good time and great weather.

+1. Sun Belt is also booming economically, while Northeast, New England, and the upper Midwest are all dying.

This.

Plus the astronomical cost of housing, childcare, etc. in DC, NYC, Boston, etc. are prompting college kids to explore other areas for jobs as well as putting down roots.

My kids from Dcumlandia opted for southern schools for college and they aren’t planning to move back home. They aren’t interested in scrambling to save up for a million dollar home with a brutal commute…surrounded by people who will make assumptions about them for living in the south or attending a southern school. They are over it. They remain liberal, but they aren’t interested in the DC rat race and small-mindedness. I don’t blame them.

I don’t know where they are…but many housing markets are starting to converge.

You aren’t finding a sub-$1MM house in a nice part of Raleigh or Atlanta.

Right…which is why they are casting a wider net and keeping an open mind rather than summarily ruling out certain states and entire swaths of our country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:only strange dcum parents care about rankings. kids want to have a good time and great weather.

+1. Sun Belt is also booming economically, while Northeast, New England, and the upper Midwest are all dying.

This.

Plus the astronomical cost of housing, childcare, etc. in DC, NYC, Boston, etc. are prompting college kids to explore other areas for jobs as well as putting down roots.

My kids from Dcumlandia opted for southern schools for college and they aren’t planning to move back home. They aren’t interested in scrambling to save up for a million dollar home with a brutal commute…surrounded by people who will make assumptions about them for living in the south or attending a southern school. They are over it. They remain liberal, but they aren’t interested in the DC rat race and small-mindedness. I don’t blame them.

The south is cheaper for a reason.

Yes and no. It depends on the area.

Regardless, there are many areas on the rise. The trick is to get there before they become too hot.

Bottom line: follow the jobs/money. Certain less desirable/less resourced areas (as compared to northern urban areas) are starting to takeoff. Everything will follow.

Heck, the outer burbs in the dc metro area were mostly farms before the houses and resources came. Things have changed dramatically in 20 years even around the dc metro area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:only strange dcum parents care about rankings. kids want to have a good time and great weather.

+1. Sun Belt is also booming economically, while Northeast, New England, and the upper Midwest are all dying.

This.

Plus the astronomical cost of housing, childcare, etc. in DC, NYC, Boston, etc. are prompting college kids to explore other areas for jobs as well as putting down roots.

My kids from Dcumlandia opted for southern schools for college and they aren’t planning to move back home. They aren’t interested in scrambling to save up for a million dollar home with a brutal commute…surrounded by people who will make assumptions about them for living in the south or attending a southern school. They are over it. They remain liberal, but they aren’t interested in the DC rat race and small-mindedness. I don’t blame them.

They are going south because they are priced out of the better cities like NYC, Boston, Chicago. That's it. It's not because they love the south.

See up thread of applications to jobs by college graduates.

Newsflash: NY, Chicago, and Boston aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.

We have relatives in all three cities. We like visiting. None of us would ever want to live there. All three are too cold. NYC isn’t a place I’d want to raise kids.

We also know a lot of younger couples who have left to head south. These are people with big salaries (and family money). They want more space, better weather, outdoor activities, etc.

Assuming kids who opted for school in the south are “less than” because they don’t opt for a few cities is interesting…and speaks volumes about you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:only strange dcum parents care about rankings. kids want to have a good time and great weather.

+1. Sun Belt is also booming economically, while Northeast, New England, and the upper Midwest are all dying.

This.

Plus the astronomical cost of housing, childcare, etc. in DC, NYC, Boston, etc. are prompting college kids to explore other areas for jobs as well as putting down roots.

My kids from Dcumlandia opted for southern schools for college and they aren’t planning to move back home. They aren’t interested in scrambling to save up for a million dollar home with a brutal commute…surrounded by people who will make assumptions about them for living in the south or attending a southern school. They are over it. They remain liberal, but they aren’t interested in the DC rat race and small-mindedness. I don’t blame them.

The south is cheaper for a reason.

Yes and no. It depends on the area.

Regardless, there are many areas on the rise. The trick is to get there before they become too hot.

Bottom line: follow the jobs/money. Certain less desirable/less resourced areas (as compared to northern urban areas) are starting to takeoff. Everything will follow.

Heck, the outer burbs in the dc metro area were mostly farms before the houses and resources came. Things have changed dramatically in 20 years even around the dc metro area.

The jobs and the money are primarily in established markets. Again, even in the south, most of the jobs and money are in Atlanta, Research Triangle, Florida cities, Texas cities…none of which are not partcularly cheap anymore and many have far worse commuting and other problems.

What less desirable areas are “taking off”?