Bama (26k/yr) or UGA in state? Forum

[kwwill3]

I was recently accepted to Alabama with a 26k year scholly with a top 40% stipulation. I've also been accepted to UGA at in state sticker. I want a firm job somewhere in the South in at least a decent sized city. I did Teach For America in Atlanta so I have fairly strong ties to the city. Leaning towards Alabama at the moment, lower cost and smaller class size. What does TLS say?

[cahwc12]

I think Alabama is a great school. I'd do two things if I were in your position.

1) Call UGA. Tell them about Alabama's 26k/yr and tell them that it's a very difficult decision because you want to stay in GA but money is money, etc. Try to get them to give you some kind of merit aid.

2) Call UAB. Let them know that UGA just gave you X merit aid. See if they will up the aid at all. Use LSN to see how high they are willing to go for your numbers. THEN, tell them that you're concerned about the stips and see if you can get those lowered to at least something median-friendly.


Have you compared COL at all with these two schools?

[Nova]

Figure out the cost of attendance at each.

(tuition + fees - scholarship) + living expenses

[kwwill3]

Bama would come out to about 25k less, assuming I do not receive a scholarship at UGA.

[BmoreOrLess]

Negotiate, negotiate, and then negotiate some more with Alabama before you do anything. You can easily get that stip down to top 50%, if not a 3.0 (their median is something like 3.2), and will probably wind up with a whole lot more money.

[nebula666]

Are you willing to live and work in Alabama after graduating? If not, go to UGA.

[murray18]

Alabama 1L (From Atlanta, UGA undergrad) here. Alabama is willing to play ball with the scholarship number if you have something decent to negotiate with and are willing to wait. I was able to go from $25k a year to $29k a year just by leveraging a $5k scholarship and in state tuition from UGA.

[BmoreOrLess]

Alabama 1L (From Atlanta, UGA undergrad) here. Alabama is willing to play ball with the scholarship number if you have something decent to negotiate with and are willing to wait. I was able to go from $25k a year to $29k a year just by leveraging a $5k scholarship and in state tuition from UGA.

You don't really need anything, you just have to play hard ball with them. I went from $22.5k to a full ride with nothing more than a UGA out of state acceptance.

Let them know that you're target is Atlanta and you feel like UGA is worth the extra money for that. That is pretty much all I did.

[wert3813]

.

[BmoreOrLess]

What sort of nasty stips do you guys have and were you able to get rid of them?

I went from top 40% to top 50% to a 3.0 stip. Their median was a 3.2 or something, so the 3.0 worked out to something like top 75% or so, I can't remember exactly.

[cm2008]

Wait and negotiate, both schools will play ball.

I think both schools would serve you well. Top 40% seems like a pretty tight requirement, see what uga will offer.

[murray18]

Alabama 1L (From Atlanta, UGA undergrad) here. Alabama is willing to play ball with the scholarship number if you have something decent to negotiate with and are willing to wait. I was able to go from $25k a year to $29k a year just by leveraging a $5k scholarship and in state tuition from UGA.

You don't really need anything, you just have to play hard ball with them. I went from $22.5k to a full ride with nothing more than a UGA out of state acceptance.

Let them know that you're target is Atlanta and you feel like UGA is worth the extra money for that. That is pretty much all I did.

What sort of nasty stips do you guys have and were you able to get rid of them?

I have a top 40% stip, and wasn't able to get out of it (after two tries, they didn't budge, so I gave up). I agree with the other poster, they will definitely budge, you just have to be more patient than me.

[BlueJeanBaby]

Not sure if this has been posted yet but UGA hasn't released scholarship decisions yet so you might not be looking at just sticker .