A lurker wishes to express his appreciation

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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<p>I have been “lurking” on this forum for almost four months and have never made any posts. This is mostly because I had nothing of value to contribute. While at the moment, that may still be the case as my son is currently only a HS senior, I do think it’s time for me to offer my sincere thanks to all of the contributors to this forum. The information, advice, and personal insight have helped me tremendously. </p>

<p>While I appreciate everyone’s input a few that stand out in my mind:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>“Mom2CollegeKids”- Do you work for UA? She should be designated a UA Ambassador.<br>
:slight_smile: </p></li>
<li><p>“Malanai” – So well written, must be a professional writer.</p></li>
<li><p>“Sea_tide” - Providing great insight from the perspective of a UA student.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Many of the posts are informative, some are also very touching and so relevant to many of us; for example, who on this forum has not been touched by the stories titled…</p>

<ul>
<li>“Worst Fear Realized…Son is struggling”</li>
<li>“I’m incredibly lonely and not connecting with people“</li>
</ul>

<p>and the many-many responses with helpful and compassionate advice? </p>

<p>As a parent whose first concern is the education, well-being, and development of their child (in this case my only one) the UA forum has helped ease my mind and has led me to conclude that the University of Alabama is probably the right choice for my DS. [See, I’ve learned the forum’s vernacular]. </p>

<p>We live in Georgia and are lucky to have several great and affordable universities right here in the state due to the Georgia Hope Scholarship. Even so, for a number of reasons it seems the University of Alabama is a better fit for my only son. Again, this forum is a big reason we have come to believe this; not to mention the very generous scholarships available to him as an OOS student.</p>

<p>We did visit UA back in the spring and will be doing a more in depth visit this coming Sunday and Monday. I do want to thank our local UA recruiter, Andy Morrison, for guidance, advice, and setting up a full schedule of meetings. My DS is already accepted and we have paid our deposits for enrollment and housing… so the visit is more of a “formality” and to confirm our decision.</p>

<p>DS is planning on majoring in Computer Science and while he plays trumpet and marches in the HS band, he does not plan on joining the Million Dollar Band – although wants to continue playing as a non-music major in a UA ensemble. While I think being part of MDB would be a great (fun) experience, he knows how much time marching takes and realizes he needs to focus on studying.</p>

<p>Once again… my sincere thanks to the active members of this forum. I think you all need to know that while we lurkers may not be posting comments, we do all benefit greatly from those who contribute. THANK YOU!</p>

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<p>DITTO!!</p>

<p>For those of us far away- the forum has really helped us feel like we aren’t sending our kids far away if they go to Alabama!!</p>

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<p>Thank you for the kind words. Just paying it forward, as are all the great folks in this community. Without this forum, we never would have become members of the UA family.</p>

<p>Roll Tide!</p>

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<p>Ditto what malanai said. </p>

<p>My son is freshman in CS. Let me know if I can answer any specific questions. He came in with a lot of AP/DE credits, and we have learned a lot about that too.</p>

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<p>You’re where we were last year, OP, and we were relying on those same great folks, as well as many other helpful UA posters. I’ll use your thread to express my continued appreciation.</p>

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<p>I googled “National Merit Scholarships,” found CC, then this forum, and the next thing I knew, DD is all signed-up to attend The University of Alabama.</p>

<p>Our dogs Boomer and Norman have yet to come to terms with it.</p>

<p>Like you, we are thankful to the gracious and generous members of this board. Roll Tide, ROLL.</p>

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<p>I googled “colleges that give good merit scholarships”, found CC, than this forum, than M2CK ( and also wondered if she secretly works for UA), DD applied totally as a financial fallback with no intentions of ever attending, decided she better at least go look at the campus, fell in love and is now a freshman.</p>

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<p>Hi BamaGirls… thank you for the PM. Except since I’m a “lurker” with only one post I could not reply back to you. :slight_smile: I guess I need 14 more posts in order to have that capability. That may take a while at my posting rate of one every four months! :-)</p>

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<p>You’re welcome. We share the same recruiter which means we must live in the same geographic region. Our oldest is in her second year at the UA and loves it dearly. If you’ve seen the Georgia recruitment brochure, you’ve already met her.:slight_smile: The Presidential Scholarship makes the cost roughly the same as we would have faced in state with both the Hope and additional Zell Miller Scholarship for which she qualified. Feel free to contact me if I can help you with anything. Roll Tide! :)</p>

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<p>DD would not have found Bama without CC and in particular M2k. She did, she loves it, and she wouldn’t change a thing.</p>

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<p>We couldn’t agree more…CC UA forum has taught us so much, never went longer than 2 hours before getting a response to a question or an uncertainty. We were PM’d by three other NY families within 4 hours of my first post. Now DS has just found out officially he was accepted but already felt he was a part of the UA family before his acceptance. </p>

<p>Roll Tide</p>

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<p>ThorEric: Couldn’t agree with you more. I could have almost written your post. My DD is also a HS senior and we are also visiting on Monday. My D is also planning to major in Computer Science and, as a percussionist (front ensemble) isn’t completely sure about doing MBD but wants to have the opportunity to continue playing. I don’t know how sold she is on Bama (yet) because this will be our first visit, but as her mother, I certainly like everything I have read about the student focus. We have paid the deposit too because I think there is a good chance she’ll choose UA.</p>

<p>Oh, and our regional representative has also been great in planning our day also!</p>

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<p>Weleome!!!</p>

<p>:)</p>

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<p>TX, Esiason fan?</p>

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<p>OP and Stemfamily, just wanted to put my thoughts in on your band kids joining/not joining MDB. S played in band throughout hs but decided not to join the MDB because of the time commitment. He ended up with a light 1st semester and I think he regrets not joining as 2 of his roommates are in MDB and he is ending up hanging with the band kids. He is talking about trying to join his sophomore year. He is a CS and Math major who had a lot of credits from APs already. Now if he had the schedule he wants for spring (18 intense credits) in the fall of his freshman year maybe he couldn’t have handled MDB and his classes.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Alas, no, Chardo. She’s a University of Oklahoma fan. Boomer as in Boomer Sooner (not Esiason). Norman as in Norman, Oklahoma (not Bates :slight_smile: )</p>

<p>In the end, it all adds up to Roll Tide!</p>

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<p>Just a thought, DS is a freshman Chem-E major heading for med school. He is a trumpeter in the MDB and is carrying 19 hours (ok, so he’s a bit of an over-achiever). With that said, he LOVES MDB and has been able to handle it just fine. Don’t get me wrong, its a lot of work and he may not be able to do it next year if he gets in the right research lab, but he is all about it right now. If they want to join, it can be done. He has made a ton of friends that he seems to think will stick around after football season. Do what you think you can handle, but don’t let it scare you away. It has made his semester (so far…ha)!</p>

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<p>BTW, 'Bama wasn’t even on the radar until dad found this thread and convinced DS that we needed to drop by after our tour of that “other” Alabama school. Between M2ck, Malanai, and some very helpful folks in the honors college, the rest is history! Thanks y’all!</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>Roll Tide!!!</p>

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<p>To: malanai… you are welcome!</p>

<p>To: vlines – thank you for the offer to share your CS experiences</p>

<p>To: bamagirls – I have not seen the Georgia Recruitment brochure…can you point me to it via a link? Thanks again for your offer of advisement. Btw, we are in North Fulton County.</p>

<p>To: STEMFamily – seems your DD and my DS are similar (CS major and interest in continuing playing outside of marching band). Maybe we will see you Monday… we are on the 10am “official tour”… I probably will look a tourist with a Nikon hanging on my shoulder. ;-)</p>

<p>To: Kjcphmom & Froshmama12 – your input on the MDB is noted with thanks, I think my DS has his mind made up at this point and if I push him anymore towards marching band he just “digs his heels in deeper”!<br>
:-)</p>