this thread has really taken on a life of its own. i guess I will weigh in with my take. that and $1 will get you a cup of coffee.
Alabama is about 34K students with over 50% OOS. Ole Miss is maybe 24K students with over 40% OOS. either place will have thousands of students from all over the US and the world. even with lots of kids going Greek, i would think that it should not be to difficult to find his crew at either place.
the Bama Brags thread has legions of parents from all over the US who weren’t considering Alabama before finding out about the scholarships, and now can’t say enough good things about it. yes, UA is not for everybody and it’s all anecdotal – but it is a heck of a lot of anecdotal and their experiences should not be ignored.
we are transplants to eastern NC, sort of “South lite” i guess. didn’t grow up here but we like it fine. son attended Ole Miss Summer College for High School in 2016 (after Junior year HS), just to get a taste of college life. he loved it there. he had Mississippi friends, international friends, and friends from other states. the campus was wonderful and the college town seemed really nice too. i know it wasn’t the same as a fall or spring semester in full swing, but it was a great experience for him. i know i really enjoyed visiting Ole Miss and Oxford MS twice.
maybe neither place is a good fit for your son but if you are seriously considering them, and if you can swing it, it would probably be a good idea to visit. we were very pleasantly surprised.
also a college campus is a social and cultural bubble that can be completely different from the surrounding communities / state.
he would also qualify for the full-tuition and possibly also the free housing scholarship from UAH.
maybe run the numbers for some of the schools that spit out a good number for us:
Wait isn’t this thread about how Southerners talk sssslllllooooowwww and my Boston neighbors talk wicked funny? And don’t get this native Pennsylvanian talking about how funny people from Ohio sound!
Lighten up, Francis.
And yes, this yankee has heard good things about Bama, especially the honors college.
As a Northeastern who has a D who could very well end up at a southern school I have a question. Is it true that in the south it’s common for people to ask you what church you go to? That never ever comes up in NYC, but I heard that it’s something asked frequently. Do you think that comes up on college campuses? Can it hurt you socially at a southern school if you don’t participate in a religious group? My D is Protestant, but totally non-practicing. Thanks.
What church we (might like to) attend was one of the first questions I was asked when we moved south. It was from the woman we were renting a house from and done with all kindness. We had children about the same age and I really think she was just asking if we’d like suggestions of if my kids would like to go to the youth group with hers. When I told her we were Catholic, she was able to give a few options in the area (one very big, one in our community, etc.)
I felt no pressure at all. I don’t think a student would feel any pressure either, but may be asked with the genuine desire to have the student join in the fun at a church in a smaller community. i don’t think it would hurt socially, but some social activities may take place at the churches in the communities the colleges are in.
One daughter is at a northern school, but was asked by both her roommate and the captain of her hockey team to their church (both at a Christian community church), so not limited to the south at all.
My daughter attends school in the south and she was never asked what church she goes to. We are also from the northeast.
There are kids on her campus who attend church every Sunday, and there are those who don’t. D lives across the street from Hillel… some are very active, some are not. It has never been an issue, does not impact her social life, etc.
We have a lot of churches in the south (I live in NC) and many people attend. My wife says that a lot of women she plays tennis with talk about church sometimes but mainly as many of them go to the same church. Neither of us have ever really had anyone pressure us to attend.
I played racquetball and there was a preacher that often played. Once he invited me to attend and I said we might. We never did and he never mentioned it again.
I have visited both Ole Miss and Alabama. They wouldn’t be right for me as a student, but I enthusiastically recommend them to many of my students. I particularly loved Ole Miss. I am looking for schools that know who they are and work to be the best at THAT. So I appreciate Ole Miss (and Hampshire, and Texas A&M, and Warren Wilson College, and Reed) for their distinct flavor and pride in their distinction.
Having lots of OOS students doesn’t necessarily make a school’s culture less Southern. Ole Miss has always drawn a lot of kids from Memphis, for instance. And many of the kids coming from Illinois, California, etc. to Bama and Ole Miss are there in order to immerse themselves in SEC life, not to bring California with them.
I tell non-southern students: if you know and like the public Big 10 schools, then take a look at the SEC and their scholarships. You might love them. Just be ready for a change.
Florida truly is a mish-mash. When I lived in southeastern Florida it was more like a suburb of NYC. Moved to north-central Florida where it’s more “southern” - with the exception of parts of Alachua County and the city of Gainesville which are quite liberal.
I think more importantly than worrying about the culture, although that’s important, is the distance and how your child can handle it. It is stressful for many students to be further than a quick 3 hr car ride. If your child is mature, has a sense of adventure, will extend themselves to make lots of friends (b/c those will change many times over the course of freshman year) it probably won’t be a big deal.
If they are homebodies it could be brutal. I knew of a boy (not shy but not completely confident) that went to a very fun state U, 12 hrs away. He started to pledge a frat, felt uncomfortable with it, dropped out and ended up sitting in his room with 1 other northern friend and playing video games for 3 semesters until he transferred out. This was his dream school.
If they have a wild, party streak in them, know that you will probably have to go on unplanned trips to touch base. Is the distance tolerable?
Saving big bucks on going to far away school is super, but give yourself a very comfortable budget for unexpected airfare. Your ability to allow your child to come home or you to fly down is critical to their overall success.
My DD (from Chicagoland) is at UA for the scholarship and is loving it there. She was hesitant before we visited but really loves the campus and her classes. She is studying engineering and joined a coed engineering fraternity which she is enjoying. I don’t believe she would have joined a sorority because she is frugal and doesn’t want to spend a lot on membership fees. She is also an independent thinker and didn’t see the need to join the greek system for friends. All of her roommates are OOS students (2 from Chicagoland - met as freshman roomies and they are all greek). The distance is a little tough since she can not come home often. She is very happy she stretched herself a little out of her comfort zone to go to UA. She is thriving and growing which is all a parent can ask for. There hasn’t been a huge culture shock for her. There are some cultural differences crazy football fanatics, buffalo macaroni and cheese, and lots of door holding, but otherwise people are people. There are lots of people from all over the country at UA. She’s having fun meeting people from everywhere. And as of now she will graduate with no debt!!!
I grew up in a small town in the South and had some uncomfortable moments because my family didn’t attend church. I suspect that it’s less of an issue now than it used to be, but still there in some places.
I doubt it would be much of an issue on most college campuses.
