It says on the website that parents can rent linens. Just want to make sure that students can rent linens too. Anyone have experience with that or can add suggestions? Any tips that you can offer to make the Bama Bound trip smooth would be greatly appreciated. Also, thinking of bringing child # 2- HS sophomore- for the experience. Trying to decide if it is worth the expense. (Airplane ticket and room cost) Suggestions greatly appreciated. Roll Tide!
Yes, students can rent linens.
Personally, I would not bring the HS sophomore if cost is an issue. Save the funds for a visit after the older student has gone off to school.
The price you pay for the parent room in the past has included linens - https://parents.sa.ua.edu/programs/parent-orientation/housing-for-parent-orientation/
For students they can rent for $10 or they can bring their own. My son just brought a sleeping bag and used it on top of the mattress. If bringing your own, don’t forget a towel and washcloth.
If you do decide to bring younger sibling, there is a sibling orientation session they might enjoy attending. I didn’t have a child attend, but I’ve heard others comment that it was worth attending and their children enjoyed the experience. - http://orientation.ua.edu/sibling/
I would recommend looking at courses before Bama Bound and coming up with a couple tentative schedules. The course lists for fall are currently available on the MyBama site. Students will meet with advisers during Bama Bound, but especially for students in large majors, they will not get a lot of time one on one. It will be much smother if they have a proposed schedule and know what questions they have. Parents will not be with their students when students are registering for courses.
I would not bring siblings if possible. This is one of the last few times you and your child will have together as a team before they go to college and become more independent. Recognize that the kids will group together pretty quickly and have fun in the dorms and with night time activities, so you’ll have some downtime at night. Meet some other parents, go have dinner, or go explore on your own.
I would definitely come in with some schedule options. We had plans 1-3 and a doomsday scenario (when everything was taken). When she registered, it was a piece of cake, done in 15 minutes basically, but there were many others stressing to the max. My DD had many credits coming in, so we knew what classes she would have to target to register for successfully.
Encourage your child to limit their 8 am classes first semester. Although in high school it sounds like a good idea, once they get to college, sleep is limited and 8 am classes are the first thing they skip. After first semester they’ll get a feel whether they are of the temperament to actually get up routinely for 8 am classes or not.
Enjoy! Alabama does orientation very well, very welcoming, and very easy to manage. Have fun with your child! If you have a girl, take them to the main shopping areas, and scope out what the college kids are wearing these days.
Yes, students can rent linens.
If I could only offer one tip, it would be this: Bring a fleece blanket or winter pajamas! (I’m used to sleeping in low temperatures, but I nearly froze to death in July due to the AC.)
And bring a sweater for during the day!
^I just reported the post above. Hopefully the moderators will remove it.
Thank you everyone for all of the help!
I brought fuzzy socks and a shawl. Even the conference rooms are cold. If I had to do it over I would’ve brought a blanket. Pillow is pretty thin too.