@Mom2aphysicsgeek First off, there’s nothing to not like about Alabama. The campus is beautiful, and the people are amazing. However, when I went to USC, it seems like USC is the future school while Alabama seems to be a good school. In other words, it didn’t seem very entrepreneurial and the university isnt as “connected” to companies like Stanford and USC are. With that said, saying no to Alabama was extremely hard. When I first met the counselors, I had never felt so wanted and so happy to talk to a school. It blew me out of the water. They especially got my mother’s attention too when they mentioned having the biggest Starbucks in the nation 
Anyways, I just think if Alabama wants to become part of the “prestige” category, they are going to need more companies around them and more advance research.
Hope that helps
@lukebenoit4 Clueless about the Starbucks. Never heard that before. But I find your perspective interesting. Your OP asks about discerning about CBH, yet the only mention of CBH is about talking to a recruiter about the program. There is no mention about CBH itself, CBHers, CBH UG research, the engineering facilities, or mentoring faculty.
Not sure why anyone who is interested in prestige would apply to Bama. But, considering they just spent $300 million building new engineering facilities, it is hard to fathom them not focused on the future.
But, no, Bama is not Stanford. Nor is it USC. And USC doesn’t just drop $12,000 overnight for everyone. That is a huge blessing. So there is no question that for $4000 you should choose USC. You shouldn’t even need your brother’s help. You can just take out your federal student loans.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek yes! When the recruiters came to my school, the CBH program was what they were really selling me on. But when I went to campus, it seemed like it wasn’t that big of a deal which is strange. As far as the engineering facilities, they are nice, but I thought USC had the nicer buildings believe it or not. Even better than Stanford in my opinion. And thank you! I sent a very encouraging email a while back telling them a little more about my personal side and USC has been very helpful. The awesome thing is, before I even have started, I have met some amazing professors. The CEO of the company I am interning with is good friends with Robert Hernandez. He’s a very prestigious professor over there at SC so I look forward to seeing him in person this April!
My grandfather is a very devoted Texas man and he has been pushing me for UT Austin and Texas A and M for a while. He is now telling me that I should do USC as well,. And that’s pretty amazing if you know any die hard Texans to tell you to go out of Texas
@lukebenoit4 Good luck. It seems like you have great connections, and USC is the obvious choice.
You don’t just visit campus for CBH. It isn’t discussed in general bc the freshman class is approx 7000 and only 40 kids are accepted.
And, wow, I am so impressed with your parents. You managed to visit a lot of schools a long way away for a very low income student. That must have been hard on their budget.
Decision is coming April 2nd! I would love to hear more!
Somewhere on CC, maybe the USC forum or Parents forum, a mother of a USC junior said her daughter couldn’t get into housing at the USC Village. USC has about 19,000 undergraduates, and even with the added capacity of the USC Village, there still will only be enough room for about 9,000 undergraduates to live on campus.
I have a daughter in CBH at UA. If you are in the Honors College building, CBH has its own space, its own lab, its own staff. The Dean of the Honors College teaches sophomore to senior CBH, knows each student individually and assists them with life advice, internships and job placements. Will you have access to an influential Dean at the other schools? The opportunities for CBH’ers are rich–research with pharma, joining investment banking firms like Goldman Sachs and Barclays, interning at Google and Facebook—the world is their oyster. The money that is being spent at UA in buildings, research, and student scholarships is second to none in the US. Does this mean prestige? No. Does this mean opportunities that are hard to find at other schools? Absolutely. However, if you want to live on the West Coast, and stay on the West Coast for your career, select USC or UCLA. I will tell you, however, that with my two kids at UA…every single promise made to them by the Honors College has been fulfilled–and more.
Usc sounds like the right university for you. If you get into Stanford, you’ll likely be invited for a fly-in, and all people on this thread will be happy to revisit your choices 
@swim4school Thanks for the info! The CBH program is great. Do you know if it has a strong presence in the Silicon Valley area?
@swim4school I agree.
@lukebenoit4 https://www.ua.edu/events/event/21610 Were you informed you were a finalist? You are woefully informed about CBH. (Not answering your question directly, but the paths are not singular.)
@Mom2aphysicsgeek I am not sure what you mean. I’ve felt the exact same way about the CBH program. I told you that. The program is amazing and does not disappoint, but I felt like if I wanted to work out in California I should go to USC, UCLA, or Stanford. That’s why I posted this whole thread to hear how the CBH program might compare to these schools. I’ve loved everything about the CBH, but I want to make sure I have the opportunities to work with big tech companies, or even create my own.
Does anyone else have any insight on CBH? I would love to hear it! UCLA?
“but I felt like if I wanted to work out in California I should go to USC, UCLA, or Stanford.”
listen to your gut.
Despite what others may say, the more prestigious the name of the college - the better for you with the people doing the interviewing at west coast tech companies, or the VC’s that financially support startups here.
So go to USC, UCLA or Stanford if you want to have the best access to them.
@lukebenoit4 I apologize. I am not attcking you, but your posts are confusing and make no sense. You asked about choosing UA bc of CBH, but your posts about CBH do not sound like CBH is an actual option. It is why I have asked if you were accepted as a finalist. You said that when you visited campus, it didn’t seem like CBH was a big deal, and “I am also very busy with my studies and finishing up on this year, so I might not know everything about the programs except what I hear from counselors or what is on their main websites. I hope you understand what I am saying.”
If CBH were an option, you would have been flown in for a special finalist weekend where about 50 kids are brought in for 40 spots. You would have spent 3 days on campus interviewing, meeting other candidates and current CBHers, meeting with faculty mentors, and hearing presentations about what CBH offers and what grads from CBH are currently doing. It would not be information from counselor’s or their website.
It sounds like a USC is your best option at this point. If Stanford is an option, then you will have that option to weigh as well.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek ,
Oh I am so sorry about the confusion! Let me explain myself a little more so you’ll understand.
I am currently not a senior right now. I am actually a sophomore right now, but I have a 32 on my ACT and a 1450 on my SAT and applied for these schools and got an offer from SC and Stanford. Ive met some people at these schools and they told me I should apply to get an offer and boom! Still waiting on Stanford (April 1st)
Ok so here’s the thing about Alabama. I met with some people at Alabama and they told me about the CBH program but I did not get to see everything about it. So that’s why I am asking if it should even be an option right now. I was told by Alabama counselors that I would have a VERY HIGH chance of getting accepted based on my resume.
Yes, I am a sophomore. I have been taking junior and senior level classes and I actually could graduate early believe it or not cause of everything I have. So I want to get ahead and be ready to go.
I am so sorry if it got confused or said something wrong. I am just looking for advice!
@Mom2aphysicsgeek I did not want to mention I was a sophomore because I thought I would either get laughed at or told not to worry right now but I am ready for the next step. I wanted to be taken as a senior but I want you to understand my perspective so we are on the same page.
OP.
there is only way to be accepted at USC if you are not currently a Sr.
so tell us the name of the program and
we can continue this conversation.
@lukebenoit4 Thank you for finally explaining. I suspected you were not a sr and that you had not been accepted into CBH. It is why I kept trying to get you to clarify.
In terms of believing you could graduate as a sophomore, you should not underestimate posters on CC. My ds at Bama did not graduate early bc we don’t believe in early graduation. But he was advanced enough that he took a 400 level electromagnetic wave theory class his freshman yr at Bama. So, parents on here know that advanced kids exist.
Other parts of your posts demonstrate equal lack of understanding of the process as the CBH comments. (No, you cannot just show them your resume and get accepted into the program.)
I would recommend you post the wording of your actual offers so people can help you determine if your understanding of the offers are the same as what you have actually received. You don’t want to find out that you are confused about what you have. UCLA costs as an OOS student, for example.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek @menloparkmom I am not saying I am graduating now. I want to finish out my junior and senior year with a bunch of college level classes. For example, one of my friends is doing an online program at Stanford because she’s finished out math like I will this year. I am hoping to see if I could do a dual enrollment of calculus classes at USC since they said Calculus is key (I’ll have Calc I and II done this year). Also, I got an offer from USC and UCLA for my achievements and scores. People can get offered all the time. My best friend, who is currently a sophomore, got offered to Vandy before I got offered and he’s already committed to Vanderbilt. That’s what I would love to have… A commitment