Weighing two great state schools, both are free for me (+ even extra stipend at Alabama for NMS) and on the pre-med track. Things I value are clinical experience, research, and fun (!) community.
IU: In-state, closer to home
UA: OOS, I am Asian so only thing holding me back from going to Bama right now is diversity. And maybe bad rep of some greek life.
Wanted outside perspective.
Have you visited both schools?
Are you NMF - so you get 5 years tuition, 4 years housing and a stipend? You have to save for med school.
Did you apply to the McCullough Pre Medical Scholars at Bama?
Bama has Asian kids but about 1.5% - so yes, it’s a low population vs. other minorities. It’s 71% white overall.
I can’t find an IU CDS but I found the IPEDs - and it looks like IU is about 13% Asian and 60% white.
So that is a factor.
Both will be heavy Greek but at neither is Greek the majority.
To me, there’s two advantages for Bama:
Advantages for IU
Some would say, go to college to get out of your comfort zone - but that’s up to you. I was looking to see if IU had a Health oriented LLC but they don’t. They have thrive but that’s for people wanting to live healthy vs. pre-health.
Yes, visit both but do know at Bama, the racial disparity will be more.
Since you need great grades for med school, you want to be happy. But you need lots of money for med school, so if that matters, you might pick on price.
They’re two very nice, but different campuses but both beautiful.
Best of luck.
McCollough Scholars – Pre-Medical Studies at The University of Alabama
Indiana has about a quarter of undergraduates in fraternities and sororities, compared to about a third at Alabama.
Indiana fraternities and sororities also do not have the best reputation, and many seem to be on disciplinary lists: Organizations on Disciplinary Status: Policies & Accountability: Lead a Student Organization: Student Organizations: Student Involvement & Leadership: Involvement & Belonging: Office of Student Life: Indiana University Bloomington
You don’t have to go Greek at either of these universities.
Pick the one where you can see yourself being happy and doing well for four years. It sounds like there really isn’t direct cost to you at either…so go for what suits you the best. Happy students tend to get better grades, and you will need to be at the top of your game for medical school applications.
Congrats on two excellent (and free) options. Well done! You have earned the right to choose the school where you feel you will be happiest and most comfortable. From you post it sounds to me like Indiana – but visit both (if possible) and go with your preference.
There’s no wrong answer here - visit and see where you think you’ll thrive for the next 4 years!
Amazing! Such great choices. Both will prepare you well! Visit both and go with your gut.
Data backs up good outcomes for both
In 2025 Indiana had 272 med school applicants and Alabama had 225. Here are more stats:
Well one of your choices is really known for football… the other one is Alabama.
and also want to note I have a quasi-BSMD acceptance at the University of Southern Indiana but…I don’t think I would enjoy it/be able to accomplish as much as I want to in undergrad there as at Bama. Not a McCollough applicant but did apply to Randall.
If you get into Randall, that’s another great thing. You might look at McCullough - and they post outcomes (they’re not all med school).
I think getting into med school is up to you - grades, MCAT, shadowing, etc. My son chose Bama over the other Indiana school (Purdue) for engineering - was not Greek or does not care about football. So there’s plenty like that.
At Ridgecrest (Honors dorm), you get your own room and shared bath with one - does that matter?
I personally don’t see an issue being Asian in the South - but - I’m not Asian. 1.5% of kids being Asian - that’s like my kids Jewish in school in suburban Nashville - we had no Jews (they’re in the city) - so if that bothers you, then take it off.
If you got NMF, you get 5 years tuition and 4 years housing - so:
1). Med school will be $400K+ - so if you need the save - that matters
But - you have to be somewhere four years, day after day - you need to be happy. You really should visit both - not just for the campus (both gorgeous, Bama a bit more wide open) but doesn’t have the lovely meandering trail of IU. But you should visit, walk the campus and surrounds - stop kids, how do you feel there? You might also reach out to these folks or to admission and ask to speak with an Asian student ambassador.
Some are comfortable being in the large minority - others aren’t, so if you do lean toward Bama and I don’t know that you are, but if you do, do your homework….make the visit - it’s not that far.
What type of enrichment will you have at IU - like Randall Research type thing, etc?
Two great names - it’s simply a question of what fits best for you and I’m big into $$ savings - so that matters - but you also don’t want to feel isolated, hence the need to visit to ensure comfort.
Best of luck.
What is a “quasi” acceptance.
Good. Happy to see that the COA matter is not an issue. This allows you to get to the meat of the matter:
Still researching the best beaches of Indiana. (Please be patient, might take awhile.)
Tough choice. Do you prefer warm weather beaches during the school year or cold weather beaches ?
Also, the panhandle region of Florida is really Southern Alabama. Some of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the world are found in the “Redneck Riviera” of Florida & Alabama.
You’ve obviously never heard of Indiana Beach?
It’s an amusement park with the slogan “There’s more than corn in Indiana”.
You may want to consider the presence of the Asian population in the town in which each college is located. (Bloomington > Tuscaloosa). Up to you if this is a factor or not.
Apart from premed academics and general social vibe, do you have any particular extracurricular pursuits that might be stronger at one school than the other? For example, if you’re a musician (or just enjoy musical performances), IU has particular strength in that area. Beyond the social aspects of Asian representation, are there particular types of cuisine that you particularly enjoy, and will access to those differ between the two schools/cities? Bloomington has a reputation as an eclectic “foodie” town. Tuscaloosa has some of that quality too but leans more southern/BBQ/etc.
You can’t really go wrong here in terms of the fundamentals, so you can choose based on whatever fit factors speak to you.
Congratulations! These are both great schools, and getting a free education is fabulous! Is IU going to be free because you have been named a Wells Scholar, or is it because of some other program? If it’s because you’ve been named a Wells Scholar, that is a different level of elite than being a NMF at Alabama.
Alabama provides very generous merit scholarships to National Merit Finalists and so it attracts large numbers of them (I think @tsbna44 has indicated about 3500). IU has an honors college and lots of strong students, but it only gives out about 20 Wells Scholarships per year. The amount of support that those 20 students receive is at a substantially higher level than the level that is provided to regular honors and NMF students (whether at IU or at Alabama).
I agree with the others that you should visit both campuses and see where you feel you are most likely to thrive. But if you are a Wells Scholar, that is a big nudge toward IU in my book.
Then, as several others have stated, you need to visit the University of Alabama while in session to gauge your comfort level. Can you arrange an overnight or weekend visit through the admissions office ?
When our family member considered the U of Alabama, there was a special weekend for those under consideration for the top scholarship (University Fellows) that allowed for a significant amount of socialization with other candidates. Later, in May, there was a week on campus for University Fellows and, possibly (I am not certain as this was over a decade ago), other scholarship recipients to meet & socialize while getting better familiarized with the campus & other aspects of attending the University of Alabama. (Did not attend as it conflicted with high school graduation weekend at boarding school.)
Indiana University is a great school with a beautiful campus.
Aside from personal comfort level, what are the specific benefits offered by each school’s scholarship award that are important to you ?
As you consider your fantastic options, you might find this helpful - College Navigator captures data on undergraduate race/ethnicity.
Indiana University: College Navigator - Indiana University-Bloomington
And University of Alabama: College Navigator - The University of Alabama
There’s also a wealth of other data there that you might find useful/interesting as you compare these schools. This, of course, doesn’t substitute for a visit to get the real vibes of the place, but the data might add some context.
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