<p>Auburn seems to have this mentality that they are “a family”, as opposed to Alabama being a boorish Mongol horde, apparently. :P</p>
<p>mom2collegekids:</p>
<pre><code>You state that the reasons UA middle ACT range is lower is because it is more inclusive of minorities and others who may not have had the best education and/or don’t have the best scores. If that is the case, Why is UA admission rate 23% lower than AU ? Is UA denying admission to the students with good act scores and grades?
Auburn is not rolling admission but early action. The first decisions come out Oct. 15 and are strictly based on grades and ACT or SAT scores. Students who meet the Early Action criteria will be accepted on a weekly basis from October 15 to February 15.Admission decisions made based on criteria other than Early Action criteria are determined in three rounds beginning November 15.
The last time I checked, AU was southern public university. Our you saying they are closing their doors to URM?
</code></pre>
<p>Idinct:
I used the ACT scores because almost 80% of students applying to both schools submitted them. Here are the 50% middle range for both schools for SAT:</p>
<pre><code> UA: CR 500 - 600 Math 500 - 620
AU: CR 520 - 640 Math 540 - 660
</code></pre>
<p>I’m with mom of four. My D needs a MS degree for certification, and several honest professors assured her that her undergraduate degree would basically be identical from any accredited university program. They all reiterated that it was far more important where she went for her advanced degree. Bama’s generous scholarships will afford her more choices when she’s deciding where to go to grad school. </p>
<p>Although she had the necessary stats to go to a more ‘prestigious’ school, the opportunities available at UA were much more attractive. Even without CBH, she was sold on the Honors program and the perks it entails. She was also impressed with the numerous organizations that are student led. It was refreshing to have people that were interested in my D as an individual and her talents/goals as opposed to just being a statistic.</p>
<p>There is no perfect school. That being said, there will certainly be ones that are a better fit for you than others. Definitely do the a tour w/Honors College as I’d be amazed if your dad doesn’t have a change of heart afterward. Good luck on the search!</p>
<p>I have a freshman D at Auburn. We have been very pleasantly surprised with how well she has adjusted to the south–except for the excessive perspiration problem! Both UA and AU abound with quality students, nice honors perks, and a rivalry that keeps both schools trying to get better all the time. We didn’t visit UA, but from the people we’ve met during our travels to and from Auburn, we would probably have loved that environment just as much. I’m in Northern California, and was at a Starbucks this morning. I had an Auburn hoodie on, and a gentleman with a University of Alabama Alumni license plate holder drove past. It might have been my imagination, but I swear he gave me the stink-eye! This rivalry is new to me, but it really does seem to motivate both schools to try a bit harder, which is a great thing for all of the students. </p>
<p>Follow your gut and enjoy your time in Alabama. Our family has been really impressed so far.</p>
<p>I think Mom2collegekids is right to a degree about the reason for the lower mid range of ACT at UA vs. AU. Many rural white and black and inner city urban high school students simply do not have the best educational advantages. I know a very smart white college teacher, who grew up in the backwoods of North Alabama, who scored a 19 on the ACT. He was not exposed to a rich vocabulary, nor was he exposed to a rich library of books. But after going to college in the 80s, not at UA, but AU, he increased his intellect level, and is definitely a very intelligent person. He is not an intellectual, but he always impresses me with his wisdom, and insight. So Mom is right that an ACT score does not always reveal lower intelligence. However, I do think that given the right support, most of the kids who score a 20 or 21 at UA could probably raise their score if they knew they had to. I also think African Americans do feel more comfortable at UA, because it has traditionally had a larger AA student population than AU, and perhaps because AU has been and is in a more rural context. </p>
<p>However, I am not sure that her explanation points to the majority of the differential. I think the larger reason for the difference is two fold. First, UA has a much higher yield rate than AU, meaning that a much higher percentage of accepted applicants actually choose to enroll at UA. Last I checked, AU’s yield rate was around 33 % for last fall, and UA’s was around 46% for last fall. The percentages are very close to that if not totally accurate. Second, AU has both a higher percentage and amount of both applicants and new freshman who choose to enter as an Engineering student, and Engineering students usually have the highest avg. ACT and SAT scores on campus. </p>
<p>If you look at the avg. ACT for AU’s Engineering freshman, it is only 0.5 higher than that for UA’s Engineering freshman. And the size and quality of UA’s Freshman Engineering class is growing each Fall. </p>
<p>So, I think there is truth in the argument that AU applicants self select, and that the high acceptance rate is somewhat deceptive. However, it is impossible for AU people to claim that AU is significantly more selective when UA actually has a much lower acceptance rate and the ACT differential is not that big. </p>
<p>Finally, UA’s ACT avg. jumped from 24.3 in Fall of 2008 to 24.9 in Fall of 2009. With increasing selectivity at UA, it is hard to imagine it not going much higher over the next several years. AU’s freshman classes have been a little smaller the last several years, despite the higher acceptance rate, thus more of the mid range students that have been accepted into both AU and UA, most likely go to UA rather than AU, but not because AU rejected them.</p>
<p>fwir the university of alabama has a surprisingly diverse and extremely successful group of famous alumni</p>
<p>most of them are athletes, but also van de graaff, joe scarborough, the founder of the HKEX, hugo black, morris dees (of the SPLC), and mel allen</p>
<p>there are many people you would not expect to have come from a “conservative” school…jimmy wales (atheist objectvist and founder of wikipedia), e.o. wilson, and timothy leary of all people</p>
<p>i think most southern school have hugely successful alumni compared to their reputation…look at ole miss, georgia state, auburn, and clemson’s alumni as well</p>
<p>perhaps this will make the OP’s father think twice?</p>
<p>Tell your dad that the difference maker is where you go to graduate school. As an undergraduate get the best grades you can do exceptionally well on the standardized test that you field requires and go to the BEST graduate school you can get into.</p>
<p>I have a son at Auburn who received one of their big scholarships last year and a high school senior who is considering AU, UA, UAH, UNC-Chapel Hill, Clemson, Va tech, as well as some upper private schools. I want him to be happy and enjoy his undergraduate years (same thing I told my older son). Graduate school is another story…suck it up and go to the best possibly place you can…improves job opportunities significantly.</p>
<p>Timothy Leary was a UA grad? Wow!</p>
<p>i think that’s where he got he bachelor’s…</p>
<p>Don’t forget Bernie Madoff, for a year at least.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In 1940, Timothy Leary enrolled as a cadet in the United States Military Academy at West Point. After violating the Academy’s honor code for allegedly drinking whiskey and lying about it, Leary was informally punished by being ‘silenced’, whereby he was shunned and ignored by his co-cadets as a tactic to pressure him to resign. The alleged incident was dismissed by the official court-martial, however the ‘silencing’ continued. After nine months, Leary was asked to resign by the honor committee, which he accepted. Almost fifty years later, Leary would remark that it was “the only fair trial I’ve had in a court of law.”</p>
<p>Leary spent two years at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts and transferred to University of Alabama where he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1943. His obituary in the New York Times said he “finally earned his bachelor’s degree in the U. S. Army during World War II,” when he was a sergeant in the Medical Corps. He received his master’s degree at Washington State University in 1946, and his Ph.D. in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley in 1950. </p>
<p>Ah, my beloved Berkeley. That explains “turn on, tune in, drop out.”</p>
<p>Touche ethalo - couldn’t have said it better.</p>
<p>Relevant quotes from Alan B. Krueger, Bendheim Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University and editor of The Journal of Economic Perspectives:</p>
<p>“Our research found that earnings were unrelated to the selectivity of the college that students had attended among those who had comparable options. For example, the average earnings for the 519 students who were accepted by both moderately selective (average College Board scores of 1,000 to 1,099) and highly selective schools (average scores greater than 1,275), varied little, no matter which type of college they attended.”</p>
<p>“There are several reasons that college selectivity might have little impact on post-college careers. First, even elite colleges have diverse student bodies, and it is possible for apathetic students at elite schools to find other apathetic students with whom to play Nintendo and guzzle beer. By contrast, a good student can get a good education almost anywhere.”</p>
<p>“Second, about a third of college graduates earn higher degrees, whose prestige is often more relevant to professional or business success than undergraduate degrees.”</p>
<p>“Third, a student who goes to Penn State instead of the University of Pennsylvania, is more likely to end up near the top of the class. Employers and graduate schools may not adequately adjust for the competition.”</p>
<p>“My advice to students: Don’t believe that the only school worth attending is one that would not admit you. That you go to college is more important than where you go. Find a school whose academic strengths match your interests and which devotes resources to instruction in those fields. Recognize that your own motivation, ambition and talents will determine your success more than the college name on your diploma.”</p>
<p>[Economic</a> Scene - Children smart enough to get into elite schools may not need to bother. - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/27/business/economic-scene-children-smart-enough-get-into-elite-schools-may-not-need-bother.html]Economic”>http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/27/business/economic-scene-children-smart-enough-get-into-elite-schools-may-not-need-bother.html)</p>