I wrote this after visiting UA in February, but never posted it. I stumbled upon it again and thought it might be helpful for prospective students in the future. So here you go! 
By the way, I chose Alabama shortly after this visit over Auburn, Villanova, Case Western, Marquette, Tulsa, and Dayton.
Alabama (General Campus Tour and Engineering Info Session)
Biggest Takeaways:
-Campus is not as huge or overly spread out as the general tour can make it seem. The bus takes you around the outermost parts of the campus so it can seem overwhelming and huge for some people. But once I got off the bus and I walked around the entire main part of campus, it is actually a pretty centralized campus and nothing is more than maybe a 10 minute walk. Only downside is the recreation center is in the northeastern most part of campus and is a bit of a trek to get to.
-Architecture and design of buildings is absolutely gorgeous. Put these beautiful buildings on sprawling green grass throughout the whole campus and it makes Alabama one of the prettiest campuses in the country.
-Dorms are absolutely amazing. 75% of the dorms on campus are suite-style which means they have 4 individual rooms with two bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchenette for 4 people. By far the best dorms that I’ve seen on over 20 campus visits. They still have traditional style dorms if you would prefer to have that as well. Freshmen are required to live on campus except for students living in immediate Tuscaloosa area.
-Unlimited meal plan for all freshmen. Tour guide said this equates to approximately 15 swipes a day, obviously way more than enough, compared to some schools that claim they have “unlimited” but only allow 3 swipes per day.
-Very large and new student center in the heart of campus as well as a nice courtyard/concourse area next to it.
-Engineering complex is very new and well laid-out. Lots of top-notch facilities for all the engineering major.
-Students in the engineering school have an average ACT score of 30, placing it up there with some more competitive schools.
-Good co-op/internship programs for engineering. Good career services department that seem to really care about the students’ future.
-All engineering freshmen have almost identical schedules freshman year regardless of major, giving students more time to consider what major they want to go into.
-Can’t forget the sports! Obviously they have the best football team in NCAA history (most national championships with 16) and the stadium is absolutely beautiful as well as the surrounding area. The other sports venues seemed very new and top-notch as well. Lots of Bama spirit. All sporting events are free for students except football which is $10 a ticket (a pretty good deal if you ask me)
-There appears to be a fairly big Greek presence on campus, which can be seen as a positive or negative. But with the amount of students and other opportunities, it seems like whether you go Greek or not, you won’t have a problem socially. Frat houses are absolutely huge and beautiful.
-Terrific weather on my visit. 65 degrees and sunny. Could not have asked for better weather.
-Perhaps the biggest draw for students: FULL TUITION for any OOS with an ACT of 32 or above and a 3.5 GPA. Has to be the best deal in the college ranks. Also, a $2,500 a year stipend for all engineering students. Makes it very affordable for high-achieving students who cannot afford to spend $40,000 a year at other public or competitive private universities.
OVERALL REVIEW:
I went in thinking that it would be too big for me, and although it is a big school, it is not the daunting, huge school I thought it was. This time around felt a lot more like a home than a mini city. The little things like dorms, food, sports, etc. are all top-notch and really elevate Alabama from just another university to a place that students love. The engineering school is rapidly rising in the rankings and forget the rankings, this school has top of the line facilities and faculty that shows that it will be a very good school for prospective engineering students. The only negatives I can see are the size of the school could be overwhelming for someone who hates big schools and the sports and Greek culture could turn some people away. But the merit scholarships are what really makes Alabama a step ahead as there does not exist a deal as good as the one UA offers for the education you can receive there.