r/UAH • u/According_Safety_101 • 11d ago
Pondering
Hi I'm currently a senior in Huntsville and like a lot of people UAH is my safety. I was hoping to get some opinions from current students to see if it's my best option since I qualify for full-ride. I really wanted to get the heck out of AL since I hate the heat but out of state costs are exorbitantly high... my main goals are to make some nice connections in biology/biotech/biomedical (I'm pretty lost on what I want to do) meet some awesome people, do some study abroad in China/Taiwan, and not hate college life. I'd probably commute unless someone tells me dorming is a must and I'd like to know about the student life in general, especially honors college! Also looking at Pitt and Virginia Tech for schools.
If anyone has good suggestions on colleges to take a look at my basic stats:
33 ACT but retaking OCT
4.0 GPA
class secretary 2x
good service hours but basic activities
basically your run of the mill applicant lol
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u/annabbruton 11d ago
UAH has much more of a "commuter college" feel if you commute. Living on or very near campus could be a cheaper in-between to allow you to still have a good college experience without loads of debt. Worked out great for me!
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u/ArvadaKeto 11d ago
Unless you go to a t20-t30 school there is not a reason to spend one more penny than you need to in order to get a degree
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u/WHY-TH01 11d ago
This doesn’t help you escape the heat, but look at the University of Houston
The Houston medical district is one of the best in the world and the school has a lot of study abroad options. When I got my 10yr tourist visa for China (pre-Covid) Houston was one of like 2 or 3 places to get it.
A full ride is definitely worth a lot, but I’ve seen posts looking for biomedical jobs in the area and not much came up, so you may not get the connections you need (which are extra important now in this job market).
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u/According_Safety_101 10d ago
Very very helpful insight, I appreciate it. Tbh I was also considering some kind of engineering field since I’ve had exposure to it, but I’m just not sure if I’m super passionate
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u/donutgiraffe 5d ago edited 5d ago
UAH's biology program is pretty solid but it definitely isn't the best you can get. The graduate program especially is very small. There are two routes once you get a degree: academia or industry, and they each come with pros and cons.
Industry is generally better funded, but mostly startups that fail easily. Especially here in Huntsville, there are very few spots available. If you want to be guaranteed a job in industry, you'll want to move to California or South Carolina, or somewhere equally far away. You'll want a masters to really get anywhere good, but you can get somewhere with luck and a bachelor's. Job expectations are usually reasonable, pay is better, and other people will find your funding for you.
Academia is more of a guaranteed steady job. It's unlikely that your lab will go under, but the pay is kind of shit and a lot of advisors have ridiculous expectations that will burn you out. Also people don't always clean up after themselves and there's so much penny pinching. The plus side is, you get to research for passion on what you want to research, and you aren't stuck with any sort of schedule.
If you want to go into academia, you'll want to be in someone's lab by junior year. I would recommend the ecology side, or micro if that's where your passion lies. There's a general rule of thumb that the more time someone spends indoors, the more Type A they are. The more type A, the more you get angry people up your ass. Indoor science is not a job path for the conflict-averse.
If you want to go into industry, it's just like a normal job. Good luck finding one though.
In terms of dorms, I would highly recommend getting one even if you are within a reasonable commute time. It just isn't the same experience unless you are staying all day and only going home to sleep at 3 AM.
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u/According_Safety_101 4d ago
Very insightful thank you! I'm considering going to med school too but I've heard UAB is in a not-so-great area so I might just keep looking out of state
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u/R83h31 11d ago
I’d recommend going to the school that you’d pay the least/tuition and receive the most scholarships. College I think is about networking with professors and finding a campus that gives opportunity. I don’t think UAH would be a bad option per se, but it seems that you want more than a commuter college experience. Look to see which universities have study abroad programs available and that have degrees interested. Walk away with the least amount of debt imo. Good luck and that’s a great ACT score. I’d apply any and every where- most states have free application periods between September and November for the following school year.