The top 25 best college towns in America
By Ian Pierno
3. Tuscaloosa, AL
ROLL TIDE, ROLL!
Connor, the student below, breaks down what it means to be a member of the Crimson Tide better than I ever could.
However, if you need a breakdown on why the University of Alabama means to much to not only the student body and alumni, but also the entire state, watch the 30 for 30 film, “Roll Tide War Eagle.”
They said it:
Connor, Electrical Engineering Major:
"Tuscaloosa is an amazing college town because of how much it has to offer. With a great bar scene and fraternity parties at least three days a weeks, it’s hard to be bored. Tuscaloosa has two great areas that a college student can enjoy: the strip and downtown. The strip is the section of bars and restaurants less than a two-minute walk from campus and provides students with cheap food and a whole lot of fun. It is also the area that was absolutely swarmed with students when we won the national championship last year. Tuscaloosa’s downtown is a little bit further away from campus and is a nicer area with well-established restaurants and hotels, and is a site for a multitude of greek parties when the organizations rent out some of the restaurants. Tuscaloosa is all about football, though. Every home football game sees 100,000 fans come from far and near to join the 30,000 students on campus to watch the Crimson Tide roll. Tuscaloosa goes from being the fourth largest city in Alabama to the second largest on those memorable Saturdays. Tuscaloosa and especially the University of Alabama’s campus is stunningly beautiful, with open quads, large trees and beautiful buildings. All visitors are impressed with the beauty and openness of the campus. I am a part of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, one of the thirty on campus fraternities and 16 on campus sororities. Greek life dominates the University of Alabama, with more than a third of all students a part of these organizations, it is easily the biggest college for greek life. Each year a new $15-18 million dollar mansion goes up for a fraternity or sorority. Tuscaloosa has rebounded enormously since the devastating tornado in 2011. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spend on construction of new apartments and stores that has drastically improved the quality of the town."