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<p>The age of majority in Alabama is 19 except for voting and being tried as an adult, so most freshmen aren’t adults until the spring semester or even sophomore year. I have two friends who started college at UA just after they turned 17 and I often forget that they are 1.5 years younger than other freshmen. If your son isn’t planning on going to bars to listen to music or picking up a tobacco habit, there isn’t much he can’t do that those aged 19-20 can. Granted, if a club decides to rent a mechanical bull or bouncy house, he would need a parent or guardian’s signature to participate.</p>
<p>Provided that one can find a supportive group of friends or is reasonably self sufficient, there is really no difference in sending them 20 minutes away to live at college or 20 hours away. Tuscaloosa has all the amenities of Northern or Midwestern cities apart from snow plows as it rarely snows and even then it’s usually 1" or less. I like to point out that those of us from larger states can spend roughly the same amount of time and money travelling to one of our in-state universities as we do UA. </p>
<p>I would also caution against pledging freshman year, especially if he tends to go along with whatever others are doing. This is not to say that there aren’t similarly aged people at fraternity/sorority events as many invite high school aged siblings of members and other prospective pledges to events. </p>
<p>Confusing UA, UAB, and UAH is like confusing UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and UCLA in that the only thing they really have in common is their name and part of their governing body.</p>