The University of Alabama - Birmingham

The administrative offices are very difficult to work with (Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar, etc.) It seams they go out of their way to make things difficult. I believe the university should look closely at the people they have working in these offices and review some of their policies. If you are looking for a student friendly school to attend UAB is not it.

3rd Year Male -- Class 2008

Faculty Accessibility: B-, Scholastic Success: F

The Engineering department is in shambles, to say the least. Grades are not a function of what you know at the end of the semester...they seem to be random. Overall, I would NEVER EVER repeat the fatal mistake of going to UAB. If you are not from Alabama and not accepted into the EMSAP program, you have no business being here. Go to a school that will, at the very least, equip you to be able to get a job. Some of my engineering classmates (who graduated without problems) are now working odd-jobs...yes, it's sad. Cheating is widespread in some departments...

~15% of the faculty are excellent, great people..however, the majority of the faculty is not....don't know of even an okay prof in Engineering.

Safety, well, let me just say that the chief of police was arrested for drunk driving recently..
Race relations are pretty bad...nothing dangerous, but the different races don't mix...white + black have their own groups, and most organizations have a majority of either.

Also, most pre-meds here wrongly assume that UAB Medical School will show some sort of deference to them during admissions....NO! they do NOT! As a matter of fact, the Medical School tries hard to differentiate itself from the rest of the university....they prefer people with LOWER GPAs from OTHER schools....also, the state resident thing doesn't mean shit in admissionsWhy did I write this? I wrote this for YOU, if you're a kid who has the grades, etc to get into a great school, or, heck, even a well-known liberal arts school, and are considering whether it's worth shelling out the cash or taking that loan...DO IT...do NOT come to UAB....your monetary investments will pay great dividends later.

4th Year Female -- Class 2004

Collaboration/Competitive: C, Education Quality: F