University of Alabama—worth a look for cost conscious and pre-med students

Recently, I returned from a visit to Birmingham where I had the chance to tour the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and to learn about recent enrollment and program trends at UAB, the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

While most west coast students shy away from southern institutions, these two schools deserve a second look.  Here’s why:

The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa—

This is the state’s flagship school and has used it prowess as hosting the most successful college football in the nation to fund its academic programs and recruitment of a more academically prepared and diverse student body.

Our tour was led by a young undergraduate honors student from Maryland who took us on a bus route past many new academic and athletic buildings, a fitness center expanding to house an award-winning wheelchair athletes program, and new residence halls.  Our guide is an MIS or Management and Information Systems major and he spoke of the reduced class size, priority registration, honors seminars, and faculty mentoring available to him through the honors program. 

Other noteworthy academic programs we learned about include nursing, communications (the university actually houses and staffs a commercial radio station) and a five year STEM BS/MS degree. 

Naturally, the school boasts a strong school spirit not only for football fans, but also baseball,

soccer and even club sports. 

One of the university’s best lures for out of state students is the generous merit aid it offers along with the growing number of students attending from other states and regions, more than 50% of the undergraduate enrollment.

UAB—

This university’s medical center and graduate programs are growing by leaps and bounds.  An urban campus, it also attracts an ethnically and socio-economically diverse student body overall.  Consequently, it is becoming more of a residential campus than it was previously.

California students who are interested in pursuing medical school should take a look at UAB with its close proximity to UAB hospitals and doctors. UAB also has an Early Medical School Admission Program guaranteeing entrance to the medical school after four years of undergraduate student.

Finally, as an out of state public university, its fees are quite reasonable and much lower than many peer institutions.

So if you’re interested in pre-med or searching for merit aid to reduce your college tuition, y’all might want to take a look. . .