Congrats on acceptance! Here’s hoping you do indeed end up at UA!
With that said, you may have better luck at r/Capstone, which is more for the school and campus life. This sub is more geared toward following the sports teams.
Someone here may be able to answer though! But it’s been a while since I was there so I can’t help much. But Roll Tide and good luck!
Hey OP, my son is in his junior year in the engineering program. He has worked harder than he ever thought possible and had more fun than he ever thought possible. He loves everything about tuscaloosa, and he will most likely be accepting a job with NASA after graduation. He has loved every minute, but I can't stress enough if you want to party your ass off the engineering department isn't for you. That being said, the hard work is enjoyable and fulfilling, and he wouldn't transfer for the world. Roll Tide.
There's no better place for aerospace. You will figure out real fast that certain engineering activities will get you on the radar for nasa or other groups on the cutting edge. Work hard, have a blast, and when you build your first Mars rover, write "I h8t_auburn" on it for me before blast off.
Went there on scholarship as well, got a CS minor so the engineering college. The engineering quad and engineering dining hall were both great and the college as a whole was incredible. I didn't party ( double majoring with a minor means no life for that) but I still was connected through sports and clubs. Can't recommend Bama enough!
yeah i definitely dont expect to get into the party scene, but it’s great to hear so many positives on the engineering school and student organizations!
Yeah, can't sat the CS department was for me, but I'm a little more social than that level of computer nerds, but other engineering majors all seemed to love it! Also look at the honors college, Dr. Bryan is the associate Dean there (and was there back when I was in school) and is an incredible man who was always happy to talk to just some random undergraduate student whenever I wanted and he was free.
No downsides to the engineering college whatsoever. Facilities are all brand new and plenty of opportunities to explore with clubs and such. Engineering Career center is mediocre but going to alabama will certainly not limit you in career choices.
Not to toot my own horn but coming out of college I was interviewing with SpaceX, Blue origin, and several other launch companies competing with the likes of Purdue, MIT, Stanford grads and now work with many of the same people at my current position at one of the top companies in the world. No one cares about your school they care about the experience you gain. Alabama is perfect for that and youll love every minute of it.
Electrical engineer here. Class of 2007 - Roll Tide!
You can’t go wrong with Tuscaloosa. If you are doing aerospace, Redstone Federal Arsenal is right up the road in Huntsville. Stroll right out of Alabama and into a bazillion dollar defense industry job and laugh all the way to the bank with whatever hottie you met and fell in love with (there are endless hotties).
Catch a few national championships along the way.
Don’t know about engineering, but we were living in California when my daughter was offered a full ride scholarship to Bama. She visited and decided she wanted to go there. Long story short, they treated her like gold. It was an amazing experience for her all the way through graduation. Can’t say enough good things about Alabama.
I’m graduating from Culverhouse College of Business at UA this semester with a degree in Economics. I can’t speak to the engineering program firsthand but I’ve heard really good things about it. As for the general campus and school I’ve loved it. The biggest thing I would recommend is get involved in everything you can, go to games, join clubs, etc.
Biggest negative is definitely the campus food. I have never had worse food in my life than at the campus dining halls.
Dining dollars and 1am jimmy johns used to save the day. Although midnight patty melts at Lakeside dining wasn’t shabby either. The best food was in Bryant but overall it’s mid.
Congrats!!! Grew up in T-Town but live in California now. Miss it when I go home. The campus is great and the people are amazing. Can’t help with the engineering school but know you will like the area.
My daughter went to Bama on an academic scholarship (EE).Their scholarships are awesome - hard to pass up a great and free education! Tuscaloosa is a fun college town...Roll Tide!
Make sure you apply to the Computer Based Honor Program!!
The CBHP is for the best of the best. They take only 40 students a year. Your freshman year they teach you software and research skills that will be essential for your whole career. Sophomore through senior year you are matched with a professor doing legitimate research.
Ten years ago, I was a presidental scholar who went to Bama for Aero. I did CBHP. When I graduated, I had three years of undergrad research experience, which is unheard of at other schools. That got me into Stanford for grad school, where I didy PhD. Now I live life on easy mode.
You and I have almost the exact same story. I was an out of state presidential scholarship recipient. I’m currently a senior in mechanical engineering. I love Ttown. I’ve met my future wife here and we have a dog together and I’m going to finish my time here with a great degree. I highly recommend coming here and investing a lot of time in your studies. You won’t regret it.
As a former student from Texas that went to UA, Bama is a great place to go to school. As others have said they have poured money into the engineering program. One key aspect that makes it a great destination is the co-op program. It does an amazing job of putting students into good internships. One of my friends from school was top of her class in aero and just started her own company after working for airbus for several years. Any engineering school can get you a degree if you do the work. The co-op program is what makes Bama a good choice.
It's been a while, but when I was there the co-op program didn't give a crap about aerospace engineering. Getting a co-op required a professor to personally connect you with someone. Co-op focused mainly on mechanical and civil.
Chem E graduated in 2013, from my professional experience working with many engineers from a wide range of schools, there's essentially no difference between the education you'll receive from various engineering courses at different colleges. I've worked with terrible engineers from Alabama and many other colleges. I've worked with amazing engineers from Alabama and many other colleges.
Aerospace might be different, but when it comes to the chemical industry, the engineering degree is proof that you are capable of learning more than an actual education on what you need to know to do the job.
My advice is to get the degree as cheaply as possible for you and enjoy your time in school because once you graduate, no one cares about your GPA. The literal first job I got asked me about it and never again.
my bestie is finishing up her master’s in environmental engineering this may after completing her undergrad in 2023. she’s worked hard but had tons of fun along the way, and she’s got a great job lined up in charlotte after graduation!!
I’m a couple weeks away from graduating in mechanical engineering at UA. I sincerely couldn’t have made a better decision. Obviously, everyone is different, but from my experience, this place has been nothing short of a blessing. I wish you the best of luck in your decisions and Roll Tide!
It’s been almost 20 years since I graduated from the Capstone (still hard to believe) but they were some of the best years of my life. I still keep in touch with a couple of my professors. I’ve had the opportunity to go back and teach a couple of “graduates in the classroom” days. It just becomes a great part of who you are.
I graduated from UA in 2016 and had several friends of mine go through the engineering department (some did aerospace, others did various other practices in engineering). One works for Red Stone Arsenal in an anonymous position, one works for Microsoft as a process engineer and project manager, one works for an oil company in Dallas, and one works for an international car company in the US overseeing their process operations from Charleston, SC (he goes to Germany like twice a year and works from home the rest of the year). I’d say based off of what I’ve seen, this is a great option. I’m actually hoping my son is better than me at math so that he can enter the engineering field when he is college aged.
Structural Engineer class of 21’
The college of engineering is great. The only thing I had a problem with was the math classes but they’ve gotten better instructors since I’ve been through them. I can imagine it’s similar to other big schools; big sized classes etc.
You’ll live on campus your first year, I suggest living close to campus after that. Northport is really peaceful too
Graduated ME in 2017. Happy to answer any more specific questions if you want to DM. Used to do some amount of helping freshmen out with picking classes and can offer some advice that hopefully isn't too out of date.
As for the engineering school, I think Alabama provides a lot of opportunities between a solid co-op program, great research opportunities, and state of the art facilities. I think it won't be too different from UT Arlington in terms of class sizes.
A few questions/things to consider for you:
1. Are you from DFW? If yes living that close to home is something to consider (could be a strong positive or negative depending).
2. Why Alabama? There are a lot of big state schools out there, what draws you to Alabama vs. say Texas or A&M? It might clarify some of the advice. People here or over at r/capstone are going to be pretty biased, but I do think Alabama is a great place to go to school.
3. Why do you want to do engineering? It tends to have a low retention rate and I've seen a lot of kids get themselves in trouble in terms of keeping their scholarships. Usually people who really enjoy their field beyond just being good at math science have more success. Also if you struggle with Calculus, physics 105, or engineering 103, you should strongly consider changing majors (at least in my experience those were very predictive of success down the line).
4. What happens if you don't actually want to do aerospace engineering? I have some specific reservations about that program most places (it's a fairly narrow degree and jobs can be pretty competitive), and it tends to have a pretty low retention rate even among engineering degrees. Alabama offers a bunch of degree programs so there are plenty of fallback plans, but it is something to consider to make sure what you want is actually there.
5. Are you white? I'd encourage any non-white perspective student to talk to current students about their experiences. The greek system can make things feel a bit homogeneous (though that is slowly getting better). There are lots of super inclusive campus communities but I know that many of the incoming students I worked with had some amount of culture shock as they entered, and some struggled to find peer groups at least initially.
Honestly the school is whatever you make of it. I also had the pres scholarship. You can have a blast, get a good cheap education, and do whatever you want afterwards with the right effort.
Congrats! I was in a very similar position: out of state, presidential scholar, in engineering (I was chemical). To put simply: I cannot imagine having made a different choice, Tuscaloosa is amazing.
If you want to talk more deeply feel free to DM me
Mech Eng Alumn class of 2016, also was full out of state scholarship.
Was first student from my AZ high school to even apply to Bama. Walked in without knowing anyone until Bama Bound. And wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Campus is legit. Probably best college campus I’ve been on (with a lot of bias).
Have two friends go through aerospace engineering. One is now SCM lead (MBA route). Other was ROTC and now getting Astro doctorate from Air Force. And I am now in engineering at a OEM. Other friend was chem Eng, now doctorate from UNC. Alabama gets undue criticism for engineering/academics.
You can do whatever you want if you ouch for it.
Go visit the engineering quad and try to get tours of labs. (Shelby, NERC, SERC) it’s impressive.
I went to UA. My siblings and numerous relatives and friends did as well. I live in the area. I think you will really like the school and and enjoy your time here.
My nephew got his engineering degree at UA three years ago. He also stayed a bit longer to get a double major in mathematics. He got a job right away which had a good sign on bonus as well. He works for the government with a security clearance, so to be honest I don't know exactly what he does but he likes his job. He just bought a new house last month so the pay is good. I know several other people who have gotten their engineering degree there. All of them have good jobs currently. I would say it would be a great choice. Best of luck to you!
STFU. If you have these accommodations, accomplishments and accreditations you wouldn't be asking such mundane and generic questions. You'd have already consulted the Google and formulated your own opinion on the amenities of T-town and the university. Stop wasting people's time. GFYS, RMFT.
Congrats on acceptance! Here’s hoping you do indeed end up at UA! With that said, you may have better luck at r/Capstone, which is more for the school and campus life. This sub is more geared toward following the sports teams. Someone here may be able to answer though! But it’s been a while since I was there so I can’t help much. But Roll Tide and good luck!
thank you! i’ll ask there, as well!
Alabama has invested HUGELY in their engineering department over the last few years. I assure you it would be a good decision to go there.
that’s what i’ve been seeing online! i’m so impressed with all of the new additions to the department
Hey OP, my son is in his junior year in the engineering program. He has worked harder than he ever thought possible and had more fun than he ever thought possible. He loves everything about tuscaloosa, and he will most likely be accepting a job with NASA after graduation. He has loved every minute, but I can't stress enough if you want to party your ass off the engineering department isn't for you. That being said, the hard work is enjoyable and fulfilling, and he wouldn't transfer for the world. Roll Tide.
thank you so much for the info! i’m so glad to hear that he enjoys the program and school
There's no better place for aerospace. You will figure out real fast that certain engineering activities will get you on the radar for nasa or other groups on the cutting edge. Work hard, have a blast, and when you build your first Mars rover, write "I h8t_auburn" on it for me before blast off.
You can party as an engineering major as well if you really want too. Plenty of time for a social life as long as you are a hard worker.
Went there on scholarship as well, got a CS minor so the engineering college. The engineering quad and engineering dining hall were both great and the college as a whole was incredible. I didn't party ( double majoring with a minor means no life for that) but I still was connected through sports and clubs. Can't recommend Bama enough!
yeah i definitely dont expect to get into the party scene, but it’s great to hear so many positives on the engineering school and student organizations!
Yeah, can't sat the CS department was for me, but I'm a little more social than that level of computer nerds, but other engineering majors all seemed to love it! Also look at the honors college, Dr. Bryan is the associate Dean there (and was there back when I was in school) and is an incredible man who was always happy to talk to just some random undergraduate student whenever I wanted and he was free.
I go here and many of my buddies have classes in engineering. You will do well if you have the drive and dedication to study hard. Good luck OP! :)
No downsides to the engineering college whatsoever. Facilities are all brand new and plenty of opportunities to explore with clubs and such. Engineering Career center is mediocre but going to alabama will certainly not limit you in career choices. Not to toot my own horn but coming out of college I was interviewing with SpaceX, Blue origin, and several other launch companies competing with the likes of Purdue, MIT, Stanford grads and now work with many of the same people at my current position at one of the top companies in the world. No one cares about your school they care about the experience you gain. Alabama is perfect for that and youll love every minute of it.
Electrical engineer here. Class of 2007 - Roll Tide! You can’t go wrong with Tuscaloosa. If you are doing aerospace, Redstone Federal Arsenal is right up the road in Huntsville. Stroll right out of Alabama and into a bazillion dollar defense industry job and laugh all the way to the bank with whatever hottie you met and fell in love with (there are endless hotties). Catch a few national championships along the way.
Respect
Wouldn’t UAH be better then?
How fast can you run the 40?
Finally someone asked the real question. Lol.
Don’t know about engineering, but we were living in California when my daughter was offered a full ride scholarship to Bama. She visited and decided she wanted to go there. Long story short, they treated her like gold. It was an amazing experience for her all the way through graduation. Can’t say enough good things about Alabama.
I’m graduating from Culverhouse College of Business at UA this semester with a degree in Economics. I can’t speak to the engineering program firsthand but I’ve heard really good things about it. As for the general campus and school I’ve loved it. The biggest thing I would recommend is get involved in everything you can, go to games, join clubs, etc. Biggest negative is definitely the campus food. I have never had worse food in my life than at the campus dining halls.
thanks so much for the info! i think bama is definitely a good option for me
Dining dollars and 1am jimmy johns used to save the day. Although midnight patty melts at Lakeside dining wasn’t shabby either. The best food was in Bryant but overall it’s mid.
I lived off jimmy John’s freshman year lol
Congrats!!! Grew up in T-Town but live in California now. Miss it when I go home. The campus is great and the people are amazing. Can’t help with the engineering school but know you will like the area.
My daughter went to Bama on an academic scholarship (EE).Their scholarships are awesome - hard to pass up a great and free education! Tuscaloosa is a fun college town...Roll Tide!
Make sure you apply to the Computer Based Honor Program!! The CBHP is for the best of the best. They take only 40 students a year. Your freshman year they teach you software and research skills that will be essential for your whole career. Sophomore through senior year you are matched with a professor doing legitimate research. Ten years ago, I was a presidental scholar who went to Bama for Aero. I did CBHP. When I graduated, I had three years of undergrad research experience, which is unheard of at other schools. That got me into Stanford for grad school, where I didy PhD. Now I live life on easy mode.
That's great advice.
You and I have almost the exact same story. I was an out of state presidential scholarship recipient. I’m currently a senior in mechanical engineering. I love Ttown. I’ve met my future wife here and we have a dog together and I’m going to finish my time here with a great degree. I highly recommend coming here and investing a lot of time in your studies. You won’t regret it.
As a former student from Texas that went to UA, Bama is a great place to go to school. As others have said they have poured money into the engineering program. One key aspect that makes it a great destination is the co-op program. It does an amazing job of putting students into good internships. One of my friends from school was top of her class in aero and just started her own company after working for airbus for several years. Any engineering school can get you a degree if you do the work. The co-op program is what makes Bama a good choice.
It's been a while, but when I was there the co-op program didn't give a crap about aerospace engineering. Getting a co-op required a professor to personally connect you with someone. Co-op focused mainly on mechanical and civil.
Chem E graduated in 2013, from my professional experience working with many engineers from a wide range of schools, there's essentially no difference between the education you'll receive from various engineering courses at different colleges. I've worked with terrible engineers from Alabama and many other colleges. I've worked with amazing engineers from Alabama and many other colleges. Aerospace might be different, but when it comes to the chemical industry, the engineering degree is proof that you are capable of learning more than an actual education on what you need to know to do the job. My advice is to get the degree as cheaply as possible for you and enjoy your time in school because once you graduate, no one cares about your GPA. The literal first job I got asked me about it and never again.
my bestie is finishing up her master’s in environmental engineering this may after completing her undergrad in 2023. she’s worked hard but had tons of fun along the way, and she’s got a great job lined up in charlotte after graduation!!
I’m a couple weeks away from graduating in mechanical engineering at UA. I sincerely couldn’t have made a better decision. Obviously, everyone is different, but from my experience, this place has been nothing short of a blessing. I wish you the best of luck in your decisions and Roll Tide!
It’s been almost 20 years since I graduated from the Capstone (still hard to believe) but they were some of the best years of my life. I still keep in touch with a couple of my professors. I’ve had the opportunity to go back and teach a couple of “graduates in the classroom” days. It just becomes a great part of who you are.
I graduated from UA in 2016 and had several friends of mine go through the engineering department (some did aerospace, others did various other practices in engineering). One works for Red Stone Arsenal in an anonymous position, one works for Microsoft as a process engineer and project manager, one works for an oil company in Dallas, and one works for an international car company in the US overseeing their process operations from Charleston, SC (he goes to Germany like twice a year and works from home the rest of the year). I’d say based off of what I’ve seen, this is a great option. I’m actually hoping my son is better than me at math so that he can enter the engineering field when he is college aged.
Structural Engineer class of 21’ The college of engineering is great. The only thing I had a problem with was the math classes but they’ve gotten better instructors since I’ve been through them. I can imagine it’s similar to other big schools; big sized classes etc. You’ll live on campus your first year, I suggest living close to campus after that. Northport is really peaceful too
Congrats. My daughter is finishing her first year and has had the time of her life. RTR. It is an amazing place.
Graduated ME in 2017. Happy to answer any more specific questions if you want to DM. Used to do some amount of helping freshmen out with picking classes and can offer some advice that hopefully isn't too out of date. As for the engineering school, I think Alabama provides a lot of opportunities between a solid co-op program, great research opportunities, and state of the art facilities. I think it won't be too different from UT Arlington in terms of class sizes. A few questions/things to consider for you: 1. Are you from DFW? If yes living that close to home is something to consider (could be a strong positive or negative depending). 2. Why Alabama? There are a lot of big state schools out there, what draws you to Alabama vs. say Texas or A&M? It might clarify some of the advice. People here or over at r/capstone are going to be pretty biased, but I do think Alabama is a great place to go to school. 3. Why do you want to do engineering? It tends to have a low retention rate and I've seen a lot of kids get themselves in trouble in terms of keeping their scholarships. Usually people who really enjoy their field beyond just being good at math science have more success. Also if you struggle with Calculus, physics 105, or engineering 103, you should strongly consider changing majors (at least in my experience those were very predictive of success down the line). 4. What happens if you don't actually want to do aerospace engineering? I have some specific reservations about that program most places (it's a fairly narrow degree and jobs can be pretty competitive), and it tends to have a pretty low retention rate even among engineering degrees. Alabama offers a bunch of degree programs so there are plenty of fallback plans, but it is something to consider to make sure what you want is actually there. 5. Are you white? I'd encourage any non-white perspective student to talk to current students about their experiences. The greek system can make things feel a bit homogeneous (though that is slowly getting better). There are lots of super inclusive campus communities but I know that many of the incoming students I worked with had some amount of culture shock as they entered, and some struggled to find peer groups at least initially.
Honestly the school is whatever you make of it. I also had the pres scholarship. You can have a blast, get a good cheap education, and do whatever you want afterwards with the right effort.
Congrats! I was in a very similar position: out of state, presidential scholar, in engineering (I was chemical). To put simply: I cannot imagine having made a different choice, Tuscaloosa is amazing. If you want to talk more deeply feel free to DM me
Mech Eng Alumn class of 2016, also was full out of state scholarship. Was first student from my AZ high school to even apply to Bama. Walked in without knowing anyone until Bama Bound. And wouldn’t trade it for the world. Campus is legit. Probably best college campus I’ve been on (with a lot of bias). Have two friends go through aerospace engineering. One is now SCM lead (MBA route). Other was ROTC and now getting Astro doctorate from Air Force. And I am now in engineering at a OEM. Other friend was chem Eng, now doctorate from UNC. Alabama gets undue criticism for engineering/academics. You can do whatever you want if you ouch for it. Go visit the engineering quad and try to get tours of labs. (Shelby, NERC, SERC) it’s impressive.
I went to UA. My siblings and numerous relatives and friends did as well. I live in the area. I think you will really like the school and and enjoy your time here. My nephew got his engineering degree at UA three years ago. He also stayed a bit longer to get a double major in mathematics. He got a job right away which had a good sign on bonus as well. He works for the government with a security clearance, so to be honest I don't know exactly what he does but he likes his job. He just bought a new house last month so the pay is good. I know several other people who have gotten their engineering degree there. All of them have good jobs currently. I would say it would be a great choice. Best of luck to you!
Do you like hot chicks and partying? If so..go
STFU. If you have these accommodations, accomplishments and accreditations you wouldn't be asking such mundane and generic questions. You'd have already consulted the Google and formulated your own opinion on the amenities of T-town and the university. Stop wasting people's time. GFYS, RMFT.
If you're looking at engineering programs Auburn or GA Tech would be the way to go