<p>I wanted to start by thanking everyone who has given suggestion of where to stay and who to speak with, especially @mom2collegekids who has provide so much valuable information! The end of September our family took a trip from Arizona to visit UA, and it was worth it! For any families contemplating a trip, it is worth the cost and time.
I have to say that I had never been to Alabama, but the landscape is beautiful and the people there make it even more special! My husband and I had a day to check out Birmingham before our DD arrived. We enjoyed attending a local farmers market and then spent the day at Oak Mountain State Park. Absolutely beautiful! Everyone we met were lovely people and so helpful.</p>
<p>We visited the campus on a non-football weekend, so the campus was fairly quiet. We spent most of the weekend walking or driving around the campus, the strip, and downtown at different times to give us a feel of the activity level of the campus on a non-football weekend. My DD met several students who welcomed her to campus. The campus is beautiful. I loved how they have kept the architecture consistent as new buildings have been added. </p>
<p>Our tour day started in the Engineering department. We enjoyed getting to know the professor who took the time to answer all of our question, and the Engineering quad is very impressive. Next we were off to the Honors Preview tour. I can say that after listening to Dean Sharpe I was sold on the campus and the honors program. I loved the four pillars approach. We have sat through several other honors presentations, and this was the first time I felt like a school was supportive of the student as a whole and not just on an academics. The honors tour shows you around campus,Lakeside dining and Ridgecrest south dorm. The suite style dorms are very nice, and the food at the dining halls offer a good selection. My DD who can be a picky eater said that she didn’t think she would have a problem eating there because there was a good selection. Our tour ended by the students visiting individual colleges that they are thinking of majoring in. Since we toured the Engineering already, we signed up for Culverhouse Business College. After hearing Dean Heggem presentation, we were impressed with their desire for students to succeed. Now she is not sure if she wants engineering or business as a major since both were very impressive! I also need say thank you to Kayla Fields in the Honors program! She did a wonderful job organizing the tour, and helping with parking. The most impressive thing was the time she took with my daughter and our family at the end of the day answering all of our questions and the encouragement and excitement she gave to my DD about the campus! </p>
<p>We also did the general tour the next day. It is a bus tour that takes you around campus and stops at various locations. The part that I enjoyed was the history of the school that they incorporate on the tour. You also get to see the rec center which was not included on the Honors tour. If you have the time I would recommend both tours. </p>
<p>We also took time to drive around Tuscaloosa. We wanted to see life off campus. There are some shops close to campus, that I believe the shuttle goes to but I can see where having a car or a friend with a car can be helpful. The only movie theater we saw is not close to campus. There is a bowling alley somewhat close, but still to far to walk to from the dorms. We saw people fishing on the river right next to campus and a nice river walk trail.</p>
<p>My DD felt right at home on the campus, and seemed to come alive as we toured. Before that we were hesitant for her to be so far away. After visiting, meeting the students, faculty,and community it sold us on having her attend The University of Alabama! We ended our trip with a Roll Tide t-shirt, paying our freshman registration and housing deposit!</p>
<p>Roll Tide!!</p>