Huntsville area college and general information

[dijkstra]

UAH is an excellent engineering school and has direct ties to jobs in the defense industry. They are also very good in many other disciplines as others have mentioned.



For medical, UAB is one of the best in the country.

[RocketDawg]

There are 3 local colleges: UAH is probably the "best", and really is much better than its rating. They have a good engineering school, as well as several other technical majors (atomspheric physics, for one). It's very well thought of and has about 10,000 students. It's located on the west side of Huntsville in a nice setting. It's probably best described as a commuter school, but they do have dorms and apartments are nearby.

Alabama A&M is a "historically black college", and is OK but really not very highly rated.

Oakwood College is a private school, and I believe 7th Day Adventist.

Assuming your son is going for some pre-med field, undergraduate, then UAH is fine - no need to go to UAB. I suppose it's a matter of opinion, but I'd say UAH undergrate school is better than UAB - they're most well known for med school. UAH also has an excellent graduate school, and in fact, was nothing but a graduate school when von Braun and others founded it. Undergrad tuition is very reasonable. When it's time for med school, then UAB is "the" place to go in Alabama, followed by the University of South Alabama, way down in Mobile.

Since your husband will be working on the Arsenal, it actually depends on what part he'll be on as to where to live. Madison is generally very accessible to Redstone, especially NASA, and most of the Army, but if it's the FBI, and the Army to an extent, then south Huntsville be closer. Commute time will be about 30 minutes unless you choose to be more on the fringes of the area - then it will be longer. I worked for NASA before retiring and am about as close as you can be to my work place, and it was a 7 mile trip that took at least 20 minutes, or more depending on time of day and traffic levels.

Welcome to the area.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by dijkstra

UAH is an excellent engineering school and has direct ties to jobs in the defense industry. They are also very good in many other disciplines as others have mentioned.



For medical, UAB is one of the best in the country.

Not sure about "best in the country" but it's certainly the best in Alabama. There are some pretty good med schools, like Vanderbilt, Tulane, Emory that most would consider "better" and in the area. Then there's UVa, Harvard, Yale ....

UAB does some fantastic research in many medical fields, and their hospital is probably the best in the state. Huntsville Hospital is also very good.

Edit: I misread - thought you said "the best in the country", but you said "ONE of the best in the country". I certainly agree with that statement. My bad.

[Rick In Madison]

RocketDawg nails it again.

My son has a friend and fellow teammate. Both of his parents are doctors. He was killing himself at Auburn trying to make it through in Chemical Engineering with hopes to move onto medical school. From what I was told by his dad, most all high ranking medical schools require near straight A's as well as an excellent MCAT. Needless to say, seeking a ChemE degree at a school like Auburn does not come easy and gaining the straight A's is nearly impossible. He has since dropped back to a molecular biology degree.

My advise is to guide your son to keep his options open. Wish him the best of luck.

I don't know much about medical schools. I do know that UAB is well known at least in Alabama. I don't know its status in the southeast. As Rocket pointed out; Vanderbilt, Tulane, and Emory are all in the southeast and may carry more name prestige.

You mentioned engineering as well.
I did not graduate from any of the schools in Alabama. I have worked with and hired many people with computer science and engineering degrees. The best caliber have been from Auburn and UAH. I've had good candidates from other state schools but those from Auburn and UAH stood out. On the other side of the spectrum; I've worked with many who have come out of the military, taught themselves or continue with what they've learned while in service, and then out worked everybody else on the ground to vault themselves ahead of the rest. I've learned a long time ago to never judge the book by its cover and especially when it comes to those technically minded or gear heads.

Again, good luck to you and the family. Hope to see you here again.

[InterestedinAL]

Thank you all again! That's a lot of useful information.