Alabama vs College of Charleston

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Hi all,

My son’s college application process has been all over the map I feel - he visited Iowa , Alabama, Ohio State, U CONN and some schools local to us in the NY / CT area.

He had narrowed it down to three - Penn State, Tampa, Alabama and recently added College of Charleston to the mix.

While I would prefer him to stay close to home, he feels he would like to go to a school in the south. I would save $$ sending him to a NY SUNY but he’s really pushing to go out of state, so I told him he has to stay in the budget to go out of state.

My budget is up to 45-49K (really want to not exceed 49K) for tuition/room/board & fees

I eliminated Penn State because they gave no Meritt $$ (62 K a year is out of our budget)

Tampa gave him a Spring 26’ admit - we are not keen on him starting in January - feels “remains of the day” ish - because he is a January admit we will get our Merit awards notification later which is not ideal as financial awards will be important

He loved Alabama when he visited it - looks like they did not award him any Meritt $ (which was surprising as all other schools he got in did)
so cost of attendance there would be 49K

College of Charleston gave him meritt of 7K per year which would put us at 45K (right at the top of our budget)

He is going to visit Charleston next week - I have a feeling he is going to love it - despite the fact that initially he wanted a big football school. He said if there are a lot of clubs & activities going on campus it’s ok that the school does not have a football team.

Charleston is on the mid size which I like - he is coming from a smaller school district and gets learning support as he has an IEP. They don’t really have any special education support beyond the basics (additional time, ect., he would just utilize the same academic tutoring centers all students have access to).

I would like to try to do an appeal for additional Meritt (as he got more Meritt $ from other out of state schools) - is this process usually successful? Can I do an appeal to Alabama as it seems as they gave no Meritt?

Thanks for any feedback/advice, Marina

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@tsbna44

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Did you fill out the Bama scholarship app ? If you do, they could give you more money. Without, short of automerit, I don’t think there’s more money.

Was he TO ?

He didn’t meet any of the automerit guidelines ?

Can he appeal? I don’t see guidelines for it but you can find his admission counselor and ask. But you would need to sell them on your son - so what does he bring to the table that Bama would want him? Not just, Charleston is cheaper.

But what does he bring (and if you filled out the Competitive Scholarship App (by Jan 10th), perhaps they can look for something.

But I’d imagine the odds are slim to none and closer to none. Public schools have to be careful, I think, in their processes for audting purposes.

But sell the school on your son and give them the amount of merit you need to enroll him there. The worst they can say (and assume they will) is no.

But you can try.

Charleston is a mid size school population wise - but a very small school campus size wise.

Personally, I think you are making a mistake because you have a budget and you’re going to exceed that budget in both cases - especially at Charleston off campus.

A school like W Carolina is $20K all in - and not in NY. That’s one example of many sub $45K.

I get we love our kids - but if you can’t afford a school (and maybe you can but just don’t want to??) but if you can’t afford a school, you can’t afford a school.

There’s still time to find an affordable school, not in NY.

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Attending college in The South for a Northerner is likely to be the best experience in his life. Go for it !

Charleston, South Carolina is an incredible city and a great way to spend one’s four undergraduate years.

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if affordable :slight_smile:

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For your awareness, this thread is worth reading. It shares a first hand account from a current student.

Seems like he might care about the size and influence of the Greek community.

“Since Fall 2011, The University of Alabama has held the coveted honor of being the largest fraternity and sorority community in the nation with regard to overall fraternity and sorority membership.”

Just food for thought.

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Is your budget of $45-49k for each year of the four years, or is the $49k an absolute max with no room for inflation/increases over the next four years? I would recommend budgeting more for later years, unless it’s at a school that guarantees that tuition will remain the same for four years.

I think that inquiring at Alabama for additional merit would be worthwhile.

If he really likes the idea of a southern flagship, another possibility would be Ole Miss (U. of Mississippi). The cost of attendance at Ole Miss for next year is $42,500, and that includes $3200 for travel and $3500 for personal expenses and $1200 for books/supplies, so below $35k for the “sticker” price that you mentioned you had budgeted for. Additionally, the auto merit scholarships start with a 3.0 GPA (rather than a 3.5 at Alabama) and it says that the deadline is that the tests need to be taken prior to enrollment, so he may qualify for merit aid here which could reduce the price further. Having some financial wiggle room could be very nice, particularly if he might need more time to graduate, wants to study abroad, would like some financial support for an unpaid internship, etc.

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Yep, one of many - and Ms State and more. Full price below budget.

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Reading that your son is not interested in substantial Greek life (at Ole Miss 41% of first year males and 68% of first year women join), another possibility might be U. of Louisville (KY). It has about 16k undergrads and a COA of $51k (which includes over $6k of personal expenses, about $2k for travel, and almost $1300 for books/supplies), which really means a sticker of about $43k. If you live in one of these NY counties, then if he’s accepted he would automatically earn at least $12k in merit from their Regional Scholars program. If you don’t live in one of those areas, he may be eligible for at least $5k in merit (details). The school gets an A+ from student ratings on Niche for athletic spirit and only 15-20% of students participate in Greek life, so much less than at some of the southern flagships. Louisville (the city) gets lots of positive reviews, including for the affordable cost of living, so that could be a boon if/when looking for off-campus housing. And I think those scholarships are applicable for students who either apply or are accepted by May 1.

Just wanted to put out another option for your consideration if the current preferred ones seem like a financially tight fit.

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As a city, Louisville is FANTASTIC - the Louisville Slugger and Muhammad Ali museums, fantastic zoo, river scene - oh, and the best ice cream ever (from Ohio) - Graeters, has shops there.

The university is South of downtown.

And I mentioned on the Charleston comments - the new hoops coach at Lville is Pat Kelsey - and he’s super high energy. His mentor described him as making coffee nervous.

He’s already got the Ville rocking and rolling - and they are ACC too - so you’re going to have great football and hoops - and I’m sure other sports too.

There’s lots of other possibilities for this student - great you are finding them.

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Hi I reached out to Alabama - they will not reconsider merritt without submitting SAT scores - which I find confusing since they are test optional.

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Because they use an automerit system. If you have an SAT score that fits, you’d get what’s on the table.

But outside of that, they made an offer. They could go up if you did the additional scholarship app but they’re not required to. A school doesn’t just hand out money because you ask. They’re a business. That you asked is great but if they said no, then you tried - and you accept the terms, choose another acceptance or if none are affordable, then find another school that is (there are less expensive schools still taking apps).

Crimson Legends 25-26 ACT or 1200-1250 SAT 3.50+ $6,000
Capstone 27 ACT or 1260-1290 SAT 3.50+ $8,000
Collegiate 28 ACT or 1300-1320 SAT 3.50+ $10,000
Foundation in Excellence 29 ACT or 1330-1350 SAT 3.50+ $15,000
UA Scholar 30-31 ACT or 1360-1410 SAT 3.50+ $24,000
Presidential 32-36 ACT or 1420-1600 SAT 3.50+ $28,000
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Hi no Alabama did not give him any meritt so we eliminated it. He did get a little from College of Charleston. They visited it this past weekend and really liked it - although the airfare / Uber rates / hotel rates / food costs while they were there were extremely high. They paid 460. to stay the night in an Hampton inn near the school!

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My kids went to each.

Charleston is not cheap and a little money won’t go a long way because once you move out of the dorm, the price goes up.

But these two schools are so different - Charleston is small in population and even smaller in campus - and of course it’s right downtown.

Uber from Airport is usually $25-30. But it’s like where I live - Uber could be $50 and LYFT $25 or vice versa - at the same time - so you have to check both or sometimes wait a few minutes.

Hotels are pricey - but if you stay by the airport or North, you can find $100-150-ish. Food downtown is very high - it’s a high end tourist zone. If you go to Mt. Pleasant or W Ashley, it is not. A student wouldn’t go to these places but if you have a rental car.

You will spend far more money at Charleston than Bama, unless you got a great merit deal.

If you need a cheaper like school still taking apps, W Carolina is $20K all in and Mississippi State will be closer to Bama - it’s high $30s all in. There’s other schools too.

Don’t look at merit vs. not. Look at overall costs - that’s what matters - not merit.
Best of luck.

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Re reading the thread - if you want mid size and he wants to be in Alabama and you want a nice city but cheaper - then look at UAH - Alabama Huntsville. It is known for STEM but has most majors - and it has an airport - so easier access than Tuscaloosa.

It’s $39K all in - and it’s a very nice city, a very educated city by the way.

If the student has a 3.5 and no test score you’d get $5K.

UAH | Admission & Aid | Undergraduate Admission | Financial Aid | Scholarships | Freshmen | Freshman Out-of-State Academic Scholarships | The University of Alabama in Huntsville

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Thanks for the update! I’m sorry that they didn’t give him any merit aid, but it’s great that you asked. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Are you okay with Charleston at $45k and Alabama at $49k now that you know about the price of items off-campus near the College of Charleston? I don’t know how your family has budgeted (i.e., are y’all willing and able to pay an extra 5% a year for inflation)? Or is this the max, max budget through senior year? With 5% increases each year, this is what the costs might look like senior year…and moving off-campus in Charleston will likely mean added expenses than what is shown here.

Alabama Charleston
SY25-26 Costs $49,000 $45,000
5% increase $2,450.00 $2,250.00
SY26-27 costs $51,450.00 $47,250.00
5% increase $2,572.50 $2,362.50
SY27-28 costs $54,022.50 $49,612.50
5% increase $2,701.13 $2,480.63
SY28-29 costs $56,723.63 $52,093.13

If these prices would make your family financially uncomfortable, there are other options that could meet your son’s desires, if you would like us to brainstorm.

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