UF, UA, vs USCarolina differences?

mom2collegekids
Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:06:17 +0000

I have been on all of those campuses…UF, FSU, UA, USouthCarolina, Clemson, …as well as UGa and other southern flagships and big state schools.

I don’t know if there is much of a different “vibe” at these schools. they’re all very spirited large schools that offer many, many majors. Nearly all have attractive campuses.

I think large sports schools seem to have split personalities. There’s the students in STEM and other demanding maors who don’t have time to party…and there are kids on the other side of campus in less demanding majors who do.

some are in more rural areas, while some are in mid-sized cities. Being in a more rural area might mean that there’s less to do/see off campus.

I know that Alabama has really made strides to have students from all over the country. Last year’s frosh class was over 50% OOS. This fall’s frosh class will be 60% OOS…which really makes for a more regionally diverse campus. California is ranked #8 for sending students to Alabama. I think Illinois is ranked about #6 (illinois sends a bunch of kids to Bama.) Florida is ranked around #3.

As far as honors colleges…some have very selective admissions, while some may admit by stats. Bama’s honors college admits by stats, so there’s no guessing about admittance. Bama has a very good honors program which is run by a very student-centered Dean and very student-centered faculty.

Southern colleges might be more conservative than NE colleges, but since these are college kids (and profs!), the climate will be far less conservative than their states. I know that Bama was Obama Country in '08, but may be more split this November due to changes in popularity.