shiggins2011

Hi, I am going to be a senior this next fall, and plan on applying to UA when the time comes. I would appreciate it if someone could answer a few of my questions.

1. I am from South Dakota, and I dont think UA has many people from SD. Would UA give scholarships based on geographic diversity?

2. Also, I have heard from people up here that Southerners arent very friendly to people who come from the north. Personally, I dont believe them. Am i right?

3. Does UA have a good political science or journalism department?

thanks for your time,

sean

parent56

ua scholarships are based on gpa and test scores and there are also some additional scholarships based on your program, ie engineering. or offered by the department.
Best is to apply as early as you can once into your senior year but definitely before the priority date of dec 1.

southerners are in fact quite friendly...we are originally from canada..and have found the people here friendly and courteous. In the smaller towns it is sometimes harder to form a close circle of friends as friendships tend to be generations old, and not quite as open to letting people into the social group. However larger cities and certainly at the university that wont be a problem. There are quite a few oos students at UA.
No idea of the journalism or pol sci program.

Atlanta68

Recently the poli
science dept established a combo law and Phd program which should greatly improve its attractiveness to grad students

Atlanta68

School of communications at ua is one of its better colleges

mom2collegekids

Also, I have heard from people up here that Southerners arent very friendly to people who come from the north. Personally, I dont believe them. Am i right?

First of all, southerners are very friendly. I think that myth is from old movies where poor rural people don't like "Yankees" coming into their area. That is just for old movies.

Secondly, many of the instate students at Bama aren't from rural parts anyway. Many are from larger cities and don't even have southern accents.

Thirdly, many students at Bama aren't southern by birth or their parents aren't southern.


For instance, we live in Alabama, but we're from California. There are many transplants who live in Alabama and many of us send our kids to Bama.


So, you'll feel very welcome at Bama.


As for scholarships....many are "automatic" - which means if you have the stats, you get the scholarship if you apply on time (by Dec 1st).

What are your stats? GPA, ACT or SAT (including SAT breakdown)?

shiggins2011

mom2collegekids:

I am from Brookings, SD and my GPA is in between a 3.7 and a 3.8. i have only taken the ACT and received a 27. I have a ton of EC's, including student council president.

mom2collegekids

While Bama doesn't have scholarships specific for students from a particular state, I could see Bama putting together an attractive package for a student from a state where Bama doesn't have many students. Bama likes having kids from each state.

However, I would imagine that you would need good stats.


edited to add.

I see that you've posted your stats.

Your GPA is fine. You need to get your ACT up. Take the SAT, too. You might do better on that and Bama only considers the Math + CR sections for scholarships.

ECs aren't going to make much difference for most scholarships. Your stats are what's going to make the difference.

Get some practice books (for both the SAT and ACT) and practice over the summer.

Sign up for the October exams. Bama won't accept an ACT score after October for scholarship consideration, but it will accept a SAT from November.

shiggins2011

I will make sure to take your advice! I could get in, couldnt i?

mom2collegekids

Oh, yes, you'll be accepted with your present stats. But, you won't get accepted to the Honors College without an ACT 28 or equivalent SAT. And, you won't get much money with an ACT 27.

So....practice, practice, practice!!!


What was the breakdown of your ACT? If you didn't do well in the Science Reasoning, then you'll be happy that the SAT doesn't have that section! And, Bama doesn't count the Writing section of the SAT.

SEA_tide

Sean,
1. UA would be very excited to have a student from SD. While geographic diversity isn't a requirement for merit scholarships, it could give you a leg up when it comes to other programs.
2. Southerners are some of the most polite, friendly people you will meet, though I know that is also said of mid-westerners. Apart from the occasional "Yankee" reference (usually in conversations about the Civil War), rarely ever does anyone make a distinction between North and South. As long as you are willing to experience new things, you'll be fine. Coming from WA, people told me that there would be a lot of differences. Honestly, the differences proved to be small and more entertaining than anything.
3. I know quite a few people majoring in Poli Sci, including some on CC. I'm not too familiar with the Journalism department other than knowing that the associated PR department is highly-ranked and well-liked by students.

As m2ck says, retake the ACT and also take the SAT (don't forget to study, lol). I don't know if SD or a neighboring state has the September ACT, but it might be a good idea to sit for that and possibly the October sitting too.

Out of curiosity, what made you decide to apply to UA? I'm always interested to hear people's responses.

Best of luck in your college search and feel free to ask us any questions that may come to mind.

*A Non-UA Related Tip: If you haven't already, take a look at the WUE program that's for residents of Western States (SD is one of them).

mom2collegekids

^^^^

SEA_Tide is from the state of Washington.