At Alabama, in the humanities, at least history, the most powerful professors (including head of department) are Ivy League phds from the north, particularly New York. Well-run school with a lot of money for research (they use sports money) so they attract really good professors. Amazing school.

Anonymous wrote:Great school! As good as any in the Northeast. Don't let the anti-South bias on this forum get to you. Roll Tide!

+100. This board largely doesn’t get the University of Alabama. Great school, fantastic opportunities.

Probably not an issue for OP because it sounds like they have a high achieving kid but when I looked into 'bama a couple of years go, less than 50% of kids graduated in 4 years. That was concerning to me. It looks like they made progress and it is now 53% that graduate in 4 years. We were chasing merit and I dont know what drives this % - partiers, classes not available that force you to stay on, credits not transferring?? No idea but was a red flag for me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there now on a full ride as a NMF, also a city kid. Not rushing but has joined tons of clubs!

He is in the Blount Scholars program, a cohort within the Honors College. It is run by a U Chicago PhD who is fabulous, Dr. Whiting.

Other options are Bama include Witt Fellows and Randall Research Scholars.

https://blount.as.ua.edu/

https://honors.ua.edu/apply/witt-university-fellows-program/

https://honors.ua.edu/apply/randall-research-scholars-program/

https://manderson.culverhouse.ua.edu/stem-path-to-the-mba/

https://history.ua.edu/history-major-named-a-rhodes-scholar/

University of Alabama senior Kate Herndon, a History major, is one of only thirty-two students in the nation to be named a Rhodes Scholar, the most prestigious academic award given to American college graduates and the oldest award for international study.

Herndon is a University Honors Program student majoring in criminal justice and history, with a concentration in legal history, and a native of Newburyport, Massachusetts. She is the fifth History major* and seventeenth UA student to be named a Rhodes Scholar.

https://history.ua.edu/history-major-named-a-rhodes-scholar/

Amherst 21
Bowdoin 22
Middlebury 16
Wesleyan 14
Williams 35

Nuff said…

Now show us how many of those winners were from the last 15 years.

Please do so for Bama....Amherst, Middlebury and Williams all have at least one winner in the last three years.

Did you not read the original post? Bama has a 2024 Rhodes Scholar. And now has 17 total so it’s clearly producing a competitive number of Rhodes Scholars.

There are also 15 Fulbright Scholars at Bama this year. I get that it’s not for everyone but high achieving kids with full rides can absolutely have an amazing experience there.

https://news.ua.edu/2025/06/ua-students-offered-u-s-fulbright-program-awards-for-2025-2026/

Anonymous wrote:this is for a city kid with zero interest in sports. but great SATs and plans for masters/phd in a humanities subject and would one day like to buy a house?

Go to a top15 private or WASP for the best chance at all of your goals. If they want to live closer to a city or in a city then half of them are out due to being rural.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not Alabama?

Because you could spend $300k+ going to some northern SLAC where the weather is cold and gray, the women are LGBTQ+, the men are trans (except for the lacrosse team), the students are socialists, and everyone is miserable.

Or you could save the dough, have a great experience, and be happy in normal in the southern sunshine.

The choice is yours. Roll Tide!

Just went to the Bama game this weekend in Tuscaloosa. The campus is beautiful, the place is absolutely stocked with smoking hot young women who know how to dress and attractive, preppy well-mannered young men. Everyone smiling and having a good time, clearly on their way to a prosperous, well-adjusted and successful lives.

Why anyone would want to pass up this Elysian vision in favor of some cold Northern hell of neuroticism and wokeism is beyond me.

I don't have any issues with Alabama, but the comments from people who love it are always so weird.

Beyond weird. Creepy AF and frankly, isn't doing the school any favors when it comes to its reputation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not Alabama?

Because you could spend $300k+ going to some northern SLAC where the weather is cold and gray, the women are LGBTQ+, the men are trans (except for the lacrosse team), the students are socialists, and everyone is miserable.

Or you could save the dough, have a great experience, and be happy in normal in the southern sunshine.

The choice is yours. Roll Tide!

Just went to the Bama game this weekend in Tuscaloosa. The campus is beautiful, the place is absolutely stocked with smoking hot young women who know how to dress and attractive, preppy well-mannered young men. Everyone smiling and having a good time, clearly on their way to a prosperous, well-adjusted and successful lives.

Why anyone would want to pass up this Elysian vision in favor of some cold Northern hell of neuroticism and wokeism is beyond me.

First I assume you’re a middle aged man and calling college students “smoking hot” is creepy. They don’t want you drooling over them.

Second, the weather is MISERABLE. The town sucks. And most of the students are low achieving. They will go back to their southern hometowns, get married young and start families. That’s not the life I want for my kids.

Exactly. And I'm not going to lie. The idea that the place is stocked with hot young people is a total lie. We've been there. Blondes and white, yes. But blonde and white don't equate hot. Sorry to hurt middle aged man (or woman's) feelings.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there now on a full ride as a NMF, also a city kid. Not rushing but has joined tons of clubs!

He is in the Blount Scholars program, a cohort within the Honors College. It is run by a U Chicago PhD who is fabulous, Dr. Whiting.

Other options are Bama include Witt Fellows and Randall Research Scholars.

https://blount.as.ua.edu/

https://honors.ua.edu/apply/witt-university-fellows-program/

https://honors.ua.edu/apply/randall-research-scholars-program/

https://manderson.culverhouse.ua.edu/stem-path-to-the-mba/

https://history.ua.edu/history-major-named-a-rhodes-scholar/

University of Alabama senior Kate Herndon, a History major, is one of only thirty-two students in the nation to be named a Rhodes Scholar, the most prestigious academic award given to American college graduates and the oldest award for international study.

Herndon is a University Honors Program student majoring in criminal justice and history, with a concentration in legal history, and a native of Newburyport, Massachusetts. She is the fifth History major* and seventeenth UA student to be named a Rhodes Scholar.

https://history.ua.edu/history-major-named-a-rhodes-scholar/

Amherst 21
Bowdoin 22
Middlebury 16
Wesleyan 14
Williams 35

Nuff said…

Now show us how many of those winners were from the last 15 years.

Please do so for Bama....Amherst, Middlebury and Williams all have at least one winner in the last three years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there now on a full ride as a NMF, also a city kid. Not rushing but has joined tons of clubs!

He is in the Blount Scholars program, a cohort within the Honors College. It is run by a U Chicago PhD who is fabulous, Dr. Whiting.

Other options are Bama include Witt Fellows and Randall Research Scholars.

https://blount.as.ua.edu/

https://honors.ua.edu/apply/witt-university-fellows-program/

https://honors.ua.edu/apply/randall-research-scholars-program/

https://manderson.culverhouse.ua.edu/stem-path-to-the-mba/

https://history.ua.edu/history-major-named-a-rhodes-scholar/

University of Alabama senior Kate Herndon, a History major, is one of only thirty-two students in the nation to be named a Rhodes Scholar, the most prestigious academic award given to American college graduates and the oldest award for international study.

Herndon is a University Honors Program student majoring in criminal justice and history, with a concentration in legal history, and a native of Newburyport, Massachusetts. She is the fifth History major* and seventeenth UA student to be named a Rhodes Scholar.

https://history.ua.edu/history-major-named-a-rhodes-scholar/

Amherst 21
Bowdoin 22
Middlebury 16
Wesleyan 14
Williams 35

Nuff said…

The University of the South, despite only having 1700 students, has had 27 — more than every one of these schools but Williams.

Nuff said . . .

PP: We were discussing Bama but as long as you brought it up I love Sewanee. It is an underappreciated gem of a school and I do not understand why it does not get the attention that it deserves. You just provided yet another example of the superior quality of the SLAC model when it comes to undergraduate education.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not Alabama?

Because you could spend $300k+ going to some northern SLAC where the weather is cold and gray, the women are LGBTQ+, the men are trans (except for the lacrosse team), the students are socialists, and everyone is miserable.

Or you could save the dough, have a great experience, and be happy in normal in the southern sunshine.

The choice is yours. Roll Tide!

Just went to the Bama game this weekend in Tuscaloosa. The campus is beautiful, the place is absolutely stocked with smoking hot young women who know how to dress and attractive, preppy well-mannered young men. Everyone smiling and having a good time, clearly on their way to a prosperous, well-adjusted and successful lives.

Why anyone would want to pass up this Elysian vision in favor of some cold Northern hell of neuroticism and wokeism is beyond me.

First I assume you’re a middle aged man and calling college students “smoking hot” is creepy. They don’t want you drooling over them.

Second, the weather is MISERABLE. The town sucks. And most of the students are low achieving. They will go back to their southern hometowns, get married young and start families. That’s not the life I want for my kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not Alabama?

Because you could spend $300k+ going to some northern SLAC where the weather is cold and gray, the women are LGBTQ+, the men are trans (except for the lacrosse team), the students are socialists, and everyone is miserable.

Or you could save the dough, have a great experience, and be happy in normal in the southern sunshine.

The choice is yours. Roll Tide!

Just went to the Bama game this weekend in Tuscaloosa. The campus is beautiful, the place is absolutely stocked with smoking hot young women who know how to dress and attractive, preppy well-mannered young men. Everyone smiling and having a good time, clearly on their way to a prosperous, well-adjusted and successful lives.

Why anyone would want to pass up this Elysian vision in favor of some cold Northern hell of neuroticism and wokeism is beyond me.

It’s like the Annapolis boating crowd, except the Alabama crowd wears pink belts with golf club insignias whereas the Annapolis crowd wears pink belts with whale insignias.

Has its appeal, but also rather stultifying.

Give me UCLA any day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not Alabama?

Because you could spend $300k+ going to some northern SLAC where the weather is cold and gray, the women are LGBTQ+, the men are trans (except for the lacrosse team), the students are socialists, and everyone is miserable.

Or you could save the dough, have a great experience, and be happy in normal in the southern sunshine.

The choice is yours. Roll Tide!

Just went to the Bama game this weekend in Tuscaloosa. The campus is beautiful, the place is absolutely stocked with smoking hot young women who know how to dress and attractive, preppy well-mannered young men. Everyone smiling and having a good time, clearly on their way to a prosperous, well-adjusted and successful lives.

Why anyone would want to pass up this Elysian vision in favor of some cold Northern hell of neuroticism and wokeism is beyond me.

I don't have any issues with Alabama, but the comments from people who love it are always so weird.

Anonymous wrote:DC is at a different SEC school and loving it. These schools have great Honors programs for high stat kids.
I would suggest you visit it and make sure he likes it before going forward. These schools are so big that nearly everyone can find their people.

100% true!

If your DC wants a large, public school, and they either love Univ Alabama, in particular, or it's meaningfully better for your family financially (which I think is what you're getting at with the "want to buy a house someday" part?), I wouldn't hesitate.

At a large public school, there's enough diversity that everyone can find their people. They may not be in the majority, but they'll be there! Plus, they'll be living and learning with a super diverse group of classmates. This experience can be mind-opening and life-expanding if a kid wants that.

Also, this should be 100% obvious, but do not sterotype all southerners as racists.

As someone whose entire family lived in NY/NJ/Long Island since arriving at Ellis Island back in the day, I happily went to a southern university and learned so much about myself (including the positives and limits of my upbringing) and other parts of our country, including what it's like to grow up in a very rural or big city environment at all socio-economic levels. Excellent experience all-around.

Anonymous wrote:Why not Alabama?

Because you could spend $300k+ going to some northern SLAC where the weather is cold and gray, the women are LGBTQ+, the men are trans (except for the lacrosse team), the students are socialists, and everyone is miserable.

Or you could save the dough, have a great experience, and be happy in normal in the southern sunshine.

The choice is yours. Roll Tide!

Just went to the Bama game this weekend in Tuscaloosa. The campus is beautiful, the place is absolutely stocked with smoking hot young women who know how to dress and attractive, preppy well-mannered young men. Everyone smiling and having a good time, clearly on their way to a prosperous, well-adjusted and successful lives.

Why anyone would want to pass up this Elysian vision in favor of some cold Northern hell of neuroticism and wokeism is beyond me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there now on a full ride as a NMF, also a city kid. Not rushing but has joined tons of clubs!

He is in the Blount Scholars program, a cohort within the Honors College. It is run by a U Chicago PhD who is fabulous, Dr. Whiting.

Other options are Bama include Witt Fellows and Randall Research Scholars.

https://blount.as.ua.edu/

https://honors.ua.edu/apply/witt-university-fellows-program/

https://honors.ua.edu/apply/randall-research-scholars-program/

https://manderson.culverhouse.ua.edu/stem-path-to-the-mba/

https://history.ua.edu/history-major-named-a-rhodes-scholar/

University of Alabama senior Kate Herndon, a History major, is one of only thirty-two students in the nation to be named a Rhodes Scholar, the most prestigious academic award given to American college graduates and the oldest award for international study.

Herndon is a University Honors Program student majoring in criminal justice and history, with a concentration in legal history, and a native of Newburyport, Massachusetts. She is the fifth History major* and seventeenth UA student to be named a Rhodes Scholar.

https://history.ua.edu/history-major-named-a-rhodes-scholar/

Amherst 21
Bowdoin 22
Middlebury 16
Wesleyan 14
Williams 35

Nuff said…

The University of the South, despite only having 1700 students, has had 27 — more than every one of these schools but Williams.

Nuff said . . .