The University of Alabama Top Questions

What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

Alaina

The deep Southern roots embeded in our culture. The racism and misogyny.

Joey

The worst thing about this school is that the Greek system dominates the school. The fraternities and sororities are very exclusive and are often judgemental. However, There are good people in the Greek system. It all depends on where you fit in.

Danielle

The worst thing is probably the tuition cost.

Drew

The worst thing about my school is UA Parking. They love ticketing students for being in the wrong parking lots even when they are not full, and you will occasionally see a boot on some students' vehicles. There is limited parking for students that stay in some dorms such as Lakeside East/West which requires them to park more than a short walk away from their dorms.

Lacee

The worst thing about The University of Alabama is the parking fees. It costs me $275 to park for one year. I have to buy a new $275 permit every year. I wanted a parking spot closer to my classes but that permit was $515. I think my school makes too much money on parking permits and parking tickets.

Sylvia

I consider the worst thing about my school is the lack of unity. While we all unite together for a great game day, we separate into cliques and circles that aggressively excludes others. With the large amount of students on our campus, we should easily be able to integrate ourselves with the vast amout of cultures, talents, and passions we have present within our student body. Instead, we separate based on social class, popularity, ethnic background, and tradition, creating a weak community.

Aubrielle

The scholarship selection does not seem all that for especially for those that make good grades and are trying to pay for school.

Sybil

I can't think of a worst thing about the school because I attend online. I will say that when I did attend on campus years ago there was a huge racial divide between the African American and white students. I am unsure if this divide still exists but this was the only thing I did not like about the college back when I attended.

Diandra

It is very hard to get scholarships. It is almost like they only want a certain few people to be able to get scholarships. It was very hard for me, an out-of-state student coming from Florida and leaving a scholarship that would have paid for m school in full because of my academics and coming to a school where background and family Alumni status are the main ways you can obtain one. If financial aide would hav been a better help to me and my parents, I would be continuing my education here, but i'm in debt.

Stephanie

I think the worst thing about my school is that there still is a lot of racism. I grew up in Florida and the southern setting is much less diverse than where I am from and people are more closed minded. I wouldn't say it is the majority of the school but a good portion are this way.

Melissa

The worst thing about the University of Alabama is the domineering presence of the Greek system. They run campus elections (student government), even though they are a small fraction of the population. Other than that, there is a lack of affordable parking spots.

Keeyana

The worst thing about my school is the cost of on-campus housing. It definitely costs a bit much to live on campus at the University of Alabama. If a student wants the quality of having there own room and personal bathroom, they have to pay a pretty penny for the benefits.

Meghan

The worst thing about my school is how exclusive it is on campus, especially with the Greek community. It’s almost as if you need to be Greek to be in the loop at UA.

Rutland

I think the Greek system, especially for men, is not a transparent rush process. The fraternities offer an informal rush and if you are like me who came from a small community and small school, it was not an easy process to navigate. I thought fraternity life was for me but the more I saw the lack of mature judgement in the fraternities, the better off I felt about myself.

Alyssa

I believe the worst thing about my school is not being able to do everything they offer. I knew the moment I came for orientation that I would want to do everything. There just isn't enough time in the four years that I will be here to try everything. So, I will make the most of my time here at University of Alabama!

caitlin

The worst thing about the University of Alabama would have to be the Greek life. Although it is of the essence for some students to be involved in the greek life, for those who are not involved, the school is utterly boring. As an out of state student from New Jersey it has been very hard for me to make friends since I am not affiliated with a sorority. With that being said, I suggest chosing a different school if one does not plan on rushing fraternities.

Martinique

The lack of activities for making the campus diverse would be the worst thing. If the students would come together and share ideas, cultures, and help each other out, the campus would be better. Having better advisors would help also.

Joseph

Probably the distance which I have to walk between classes.

Jacob

Since it is so sport oriented it is very hard to go anywhere without someone mentioning sports or Alabama football, although that is not too bad it just basically gets a little annoying after a while.

Christina

At times the classes for majors such as the sciences are too large and there is not enough teacher-student interaction.

Casey

Our campus can be incredibly inconvenient to get around. The dorms are all on the outskirts of the campus, and some classes can be as much as a 25 minute walk away.

Elizabeth

The Greek System at the Univeristy of Alabama can be intimidating at times. If you are not a part of a sorority or fraternity some may see you as inferior. I am not a part of a sorority, and while it sometimes may be trying, overall it has not affected me too much. I am still able to have just as much fun and meet as many new people as those involved in the Greek System.

Rebecca

Honestly, there aren't any huge drawbacks I have experienced while being at Alabama. The reputation of the school originally kept me hesitant while considering the school, because I had heard a lot about it being a party school. And now that I am here, I do agree that there are a lot of parties going on, but in the end you have responsibility and choices for every part of your life. The school just gives you options and you have to choose. I love Alabama.

ashton

The worst thing about my school is the cost. It is so expensive and its not worth it. The economy is bad and people don't have the money to spend thousands of dollars on an education. And getting loans just make it worst.

John

If there is one problem it is size. The campus is huge, and makes traveling to and from dorms and class a very rigorous workout. There is a bus system but it is rarely available when you need it, and there is lttle parking available that can allow people to drive to class.

Lofton

The food!

Jennifer

The Machine. Supposedly, this machine is run by a secret society of the fraternities and sororities. I don't usually buy into these types of stories, but over the past year, I have seen the machine and it's intimidation factor over this campus. Fraternities and Sororities have too much say on this campus. They receive over 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the school's budget. Dirty politics invades every school election. This machine dictates who wins homecoming queen, student government president, and any other student-elected position on campus.

Jenny

The strong focus on partying that involves alcohol.

NiCarla

Be yourself. Don't let others define you. And there will always be parties; don't let the social scene interfere with your academic performance. Don't get caught up on one lady/guy. This is a school almost 30,000. If that person doesn't work out, find another one; whatever you do, remember you're in school to get a job. That comes first.

Katherine

The campus is somewhat spread out over an urban setting. There are various logistical challenges in getting from one location to the other during a normal day. While the University has set up an inter-campus transit system the vehicles tend to run late and do not provide a stable means of moving about the campus.

Monica

The worst thing about my school is the fact that classes are so unequally spaced out and it takes a while to get to each of them without being late. Also most teachers are not sympathetic about this problem.

Jessica

The worst thing about my school is the number of students to amount of space ratio. The staff still does a wonderful job making sure each student gets equal attention, but there is nowhere to park or live. I did not even get football tickets this year along with about 1/4 of the rest of the student body. I love going to a major university, but that is a huge down side of it.

Patrick

The racial tension and greek life.

Ginger

It's awesome :) But there is a pretty big hatered between greeks and independents.

christen

The worst thing about my school in my opinion are the steriotypes, and the cliques. When people come to the University they automatically think that they belong in a certain group. They dont think that they can hang out with someone different than themselves. There is almost like a division of people when it comes down to it. Not everyone is like that but those are a few things that I have noticed.

Emily

There is too much emphasis on Greek life.

Brandi

The worst thing about my school would be nothing. No, my school is not perfect, but it is a wonderful instiution to attend. It is the way a student should live the college life through school spirit, education values, and making life long friends.

Brandon

I consider the worst thing about my school is the level of racism that is still among students. I believe that our generation should be more accepting of other people's cultures and race. I think that is bead because it causes some students to have a bad experience at the university and it should not be that way. No one should be put down and ostracized simply because of the color of their skin.

Haley

The Greek system. If you are not involved in a Sorority or Fraternity, it is easy to feel left out.

Kim

I would say the best and the worst thing about my school is its history. The University of Alabama was established in 1831 and is a beautiful school with a lot of great history. Yet, due to its historic nature and location, it was also the sight for several anti-integration movements from the 1800s until the 1970s. Though our school is more integrated now (I can't say fully integrated because it's not), this history, and that of Birmingham--a large city close to Tuscaloosa--sometimes casts a shadow over the great things this school has done.

Erick

empasis on greek affairs

Jessie

Unfortunately, the students here do not have a wide variety of interests. If you do not go crazy over football and attend social functions in your free time, it can be hard to find common ground with the majority of people who attend the University of Alabama. In my opinion, the Greek organizations are factories that crank out superficial replicas of a certain coveted appearance. These people will do anything to follow trends in order to make them feel on top of the world. I don't think uniqueness of character and personality is valued by most of the students.

Sara

The Greek life seems to overpower this school, and the roots of (and importance placed on) tradition don't help

Jacob

so much outside activity going on, hard to stay focused

Casie

The University focuses too much on honor students and alumni. As a typical student, that represents a majority of those enrolled here, it's hard to get the classes you need because you have to register for classes after everyone in the honors college. It also seems like too much emphasis is placed on making the alumni happy because they write the checks, but they don't realize we'll be alumni in a few years so if they keep the focus all on their needs the university will not have a lot of donations from current students graduation.

Leigh

I believe that the worst thing about my University is the cost of attendance, especially for out of state students. There is a large number of students attending Alabama from other states, and I would think that there would be a better system of converting from an out of state student to an in state student.

Angela

Many of people are very close minded.

Adam

The worst thing about being a student at the University of Alabama has to be the rift between the Greek and Non-Greek students. I believe it is very stupid that the university newspaper promotes the anti-greek behavior and holds a grudge against the Greek community. I believe this would be possible if the Crimson White newspaper would have an equal number of Greek and Non-Greek staff writers and that the Greek community would embrace independents instead of scald them.

T'Chilandria

Parking and the overselling of parking permits

Cody

The worst thing about UA is the vision of our upper administration. Our president keeps expanding enrollment and trying to pack over 28,000 students on this campus. This is too big. When I first arrived here enrollment was around 21,000 or so; currently there are over 24,000 and it feels cramped already. Meal plans can only be used 5 locations where it used to be accepted at over 10.