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re: OT: Alabama's academic problem...
Posted on 4/9/23 at 11:32 am to Diego Ricardo
Posted on 4/9/23 at 11:32 am to Diego Ricardo
quote:
I agree but I do not think one necessarily needs a traditional collegiate education to do many professions.
That's true. However, broadened minds are pretty universally good for all of us. And, the true power players in life are usually going to have one. Sure there are some Bill Gates types who dropped out of Harvard. But serious shapers of the world, like policy makers, are pretty universally going to have college and even advanced degrees.
I also think that white collar workers are going to want the broader educational experience that unifies them with others of their type.
I am a big supporter of strong and well rounded minds in as many people as possible. It leads us all to freedom.
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Posted on 4/9/23 at 12:45 pm to Diego Ricardo
One thing to keep an eye on is if DCH ever has severe money problems then UAS would have an opportunity to subsume the DCH System into UAT.
I was kinda hoping that cybersecurity screw up a few years back (ransomware that shut their ops down for several days) would push their stakeholders to try to sell it off. They did have good insurance though it seems.
I was kinda hoping that cybersecurity screw up a few years back (ransomware that shut their ops down for several days) would push their stakeholders to try to sell it off. They did have good insurance though it seems.
This post was edited on 4/9/23 at 12:46 pm
Posted on 4/9/23 at 12:48 pm to LovetheLord
quote:
there are some Bill Gates types who dropped out of Harvard. But serious shapers of the world, like policy makers, are pretty universally going to have college and even advanced degrees.
Exactly. The only reason everyone knows Bill Gates dropped out is because of how rare his success is.
Posted on 4/9/23 at 1:25 pm to Diego Ricardo
quote:
I’m not exactly sure why my accountant needed to take humanities. I just need them to understand double entry bookkeeping and such.
Yeah, why should your accountant need those pesky ethics courses?
Posted on 4/9/23 at 4:21 pm to Snout Spout
quote:
Yeah, why should your accountant need those pesky ethics courses?
Yes but it need not be at a university though. Ethics can be taught within the context of a technical school too.
Posted on 4/9/23 at 4:53 pm to Diego Ricardo
Bringing in students from out of state is not just a UA problem. We have spoken to several parents from the west coast and Midwest and they are choosing UA and other schools in the east because they can send their kids for less than their in-state schools. If they get financial aid, it’s an even better deal. Kids in places like California and Colorado will pay more to stay home IF they can manage to get a spot in their state’s schools. It’s creating a problem for kids in this half of the country. Quite a few schools are reporting record applications, and it’s not just the top tier like the Ivies. It’s most major public and private universities.
This post was edited on 4/10/23 at 11:24 pm
Posted on 4/9/23 at 6:40 pm to phil4bama
The culture at many of the elite schools is rotten right now. Some federal judges have even begun refusing to hire clerks from some elite law schools because of it. Why would any loving parent want to send their kid off to a school where they will be in jeopardy if they don't hold someone else's irrational and twisted worldview?
When I went to college we had to give freedom of speech and thought to people for whom we really didn't care. That is simply part of classically liberal society.
When I went to college we had to give freedom of speech and thought to people for whom we really didn't care. That is simply part of classically liberal society.
Posted on 4/11/23 at 3:00 pm to LovetheLord
Plenty of kids coming from my area in Texas are coming to Tuscaloosa.
I know two kids who will be freshman next year. The scholarships they offer for top students out of state make it competitive versus in-state options.
I can see the in-state perspective not the healthiest approach if they want to keep the talent in state. Almost all the out of state people I knew from my time at school don't live in Alabama 20 yrs later, myself included.
I know two kids who will be freshman next year. The scholarships they offer for top students out of state make it competitive versus in-state options.
I can see the in-state perspective not the healthiest approach if they want to keep the talent in state. Almost all the out of state people I knew from my time at school don't live in Alabama 20 yrs later, myself included.
This post was edited on 4/11/23 at 3:02 pm
Posted on 4/11/23 at 3:11 pm to Diego Ricardo
quote:
I work for the university, so I can see the changes more than most. They do have legitimately smarter undergrads than when I was a student in the mid aughts. UA is making a big push to become a more credible research university but it takes time to cultivate those fruits.
Diego, not sure what your position is within the University but I am wondering what your opinion on why UA is having such a difficult time attracting the in-state students. There was an article out last year that showed there are more applicants and enrollment of in-state students to AU and Troy than to UA. Living in a city that has a ton of AU grads as well as UA grads I'm seeing a majority of kids going to AU. Even UA legacies are spurning UA to go to AU with their friends. I've heard that it's because AU still feels like a quaint southern town whereas Tuscaloosa and the University feels too big. I don't necessarily buy that.
Just wondering what your take is
Posted on 4/12/23 at 9:35 am to cdur86
I went to a small private college undergrad and then to UA for graduate school.
My kids are in the "college tour" period. They all have great GPAs and scored in the 30s on the ACT.
The oldest is at Troy because, if you have the grades and ACT of 33+, the scholarship they offer cannot be beat. An Auburn or Alabama will give a full tuition scholarship, which sounds great, but they absolutely make up for it by the charges for room/board. Stay on campus for 4 years and even with the "full tuition scholarship" you're talking about $60,000+ out of pocket. Live off campus after freshman year and maybe it's a little less, but with rents skyrocketing, who knows.
And I'm a firm believer that it doesn't really matter where you go to school. Sure, some schools market their highly rated X or Y programs... that's fine, but after your first job, no one really cares. Sure, if you have an Ivy or a Duke, Vandy, Rice on your resume it opens some doors. But in the long run there's no meaningful difference between UA, USA, North Alabama, UAB, Troy or AU. Rankings are for marketing and college is nothing else if not a business.
Choose a decent school that will require the least dollar expenditure for you to graduate with a degree.
My kids are in the "college tour" period. They all have great GPAs and scored in the 30s on the ACT.
The oldest is at Troy because, if you have the grades and ACT of 33+, the scholarship they offer cannot be beat. An Auburn or Alabama will give a full tuition scholarship, which sounds great, but they absolutely make up for it by the charges for room/board. Stay on campus for 4 years and even with the "full tuition scholarship" you're talking about $60,000+ out of pocket. Live off campus after freshman year and maybe it's a little less, but with rents skyrocketing, who knows.
And I'm a firm believer that it doesn't really matter where you go to school. Sure, some schools market their highly rated X or Y programs... that's fine, but after your first job, no one really cares. Sure, if you have an Ivy or a Duke, Vandy, Rice on your resume it opens some doors. But in the long run there's no meaningful difference between UA, USA, North Alabama, UAB, Troy or AU. Rankings are for marketing and college is nothing else if not a business.
Choose a decent school that will require the least dollar expenditure for you to graduate with a degree.
Posted on 4/23/23 at 1:50 am to Chad4Bama
This post was edited on 5/14/23 at 2:01 am
Posted on 4/24/23 at 10:10 am to Diego Ricardo
.
This post was edited on 4/24/23 at 10:18 am
Posted on 4/24/23 at 12:45 pm to Kraut Dawg
quote:
And I'm a firm believer that it doesn't really matter where you go to school. Sure, some schools market their highly rated X or Y programs... that's fine, but after your first job, no one really cares.
I think there's a lot of wisdom in this.
My UA diploma is fine, but my experience is once you're professionally established, no one cares. UA is popular where I am because of industry, but I've also worked along side some Ivy League types. Once it gets past it being academic, character also plays a role. Where you went to school matters less.
Bingo. Generally if you have good character, a good work ethic and people like you, then you will be fine and nobody cares where you went to school.
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