<p>Unless you have a low EFC, the chances of getting a large scholarship or financial aid at the UDub are minimal at best. Their honors college is also more selective and not as free-form as UA’s Honors College.</p>
<p>I am also a Washington resident and faced a similar decision between the two schools. I chose Alabama because as much as I love Seattle and the UDub, I wanted to experience something else and I felt that UA better suited my academic needs and desires. I have had opportunities at UA that I would have never had at the UDub, which will help me in applying for graduate and professional schools. To top it all off, UA was a couple thousand dollars cheaper than commuting ~30 miles each way to the UDub and I get to live in a very nice residence hall on top of it.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that pre-law is not a specific major at some schools and that you do not have to major in pre-law or political science to go to law school. </p>
<p>While the vast majority of fraternities and fraternity men are not of the Animal House variety, both schools have strong fraternity systems.</p>
<p>I strongly hope that you don’t plan on commuting from Olympia if you attend the UDub as you’d miss out on a lot of campus life and spend almost as much time on a bus as you would on campus.</p>
<p>Also note that $350 roundtrip is very good rate for Seattle to Birmingham and will likely be more since you will be flying during the summer and peak break periods. When I started at UA, roundtrip airfare from Seattle was $170-$250 roundtrip. For my spring break trip home this year, airfare was $560 roundtrip.</p>