So, you're thinking about attending a college or university in Alabama?

With 52,423 square miles of territory, Alabama is the 30th largest state in the U.S. It's bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west.

Around three-fifths of the land of Alabama is composed of gentle plains, while, in the north, the area is mostly mountainous. Having around 3.19% of it's total land area covered in water, Alabama is the 23rd largest state in terms of the amount of surface water, with the second largest inland waterway system in America.

The state of Alabama generally has a humid subtropical climate, especially in the southern areas. It has very hot summers and relatively mild winters with large amounts of precipitation throughout the year. During the summer, high temperatures average over 90 °F throughout the whole state while, in the winter, the average low is around 40 °F.

The weather of Alabama can be extreme. It is one of the states that is most prone to hurricane strikes. Tornadoes are also common throughout the state. In fact, Alabama is one of the only locations in the world that has two separate tornado seasons, one in the Spring and one during the November and December months.

In 2005, Alabama had an estimated population of 4,557,808. About 108,000 of these, or 2.4% of the state's total population, were foreign-born.

Alabama is one of the most conservative states in the country. In the 2004 presidential election, 62.46%, or 1,176,394 people, of the voters voted Republican while only 36.84%, or 693,933 people, voted Democrat.

In terms of religion, Alabama is dominated by the Christian faith. Approximately 92% of Alabamians identify themselves as Christians, with 80% of those being Protestant. Almost half of the Protestants are Baptists. Only 7% of Alabama residents consider themselves as being non-religious.

Depending on the amount earned and filing status, Alabama levies a 2, 4, or 5% personal income tax. While the state's sales general tax rate is 4%, the actual collection rate can be significantly higher depending upon any additional city and county sales taxes.

There are many colleges and universities in Alabama, including:

• Alabama A&M University

• Alabama State University

• The University of Alabama

• Birmingham-Southern College

• Oakwood College

• The United States Sports Academy

To find more information about universities and colleges in this area, visit the Online College Degree page on this website.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Alabama".

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