<p>Let me start by admitting I’m as far from an Alabama guy as you can get. I’m a New Yorker, and all we usually know about the South are the stereotypes. The Bible Belt is foreign to us, mainly since my family reads from a different bible. Always followed pro sports more than college. NY is pro sports mecca (9 pro teams in the 4 major sports), and you have to go far away to find big time college football. My own college didn’t even have a football team. </p>
<p>My son comes from geniuses (my wife’s side), and is a top student. We always expected him to go to an elite college, and he was admitted to several. He had to choose between Johns Hopkins, Georgia Tech, an honors engineering and business program at Lehigh, and a large scholarship at RIT.</p>
<p>He also qualified for the honors college and Presidential Scholarship at Alabama. Over a year ago, when I first mentioned UA to him, he thought I was crazy. So did the rest of the family. And the town. Our HS, one of the best in the country, routinely sends dozens to Ivies and the like. Never sent anyone to UA. Still, we managed to make the journey to visit, and he applied as a safety. Yet throughout the process, the more we looked at UA, the more impressed we were.</p>
<p>Well, today I am a Bama Dad. S has officially announced his decision to attend UA.</p>
<p>Looking forward to seeing exactly what makes Alabama a sweet home. Roll Tide!</p>
<p>Congrats, and it’s amazing how many of these stories are sounding so similar, and that’s great! My d’s story is SO similar. Your son will NOT be disappointed and neither will you! Roll Tide!</p>
<p>Congratulations, Roll Tide! And, ahem, if you haven’t done it already, time to add your name to Parents of 2012 high school students! (vlines says so.)</p>
<p>We are in the same situation (except dad is a die hard Terp fans ) When I first brought UA up as a financial fallback DD was totally against it. There wasn’t a chance in heck she was going there. Fast forward 1 yr later and this weekend we committed to UA class of 2016. Turned down better ranked schools, better financial offers etc all b/c my baby girl finally took a look at UA, visited and fell in love. " It was like coming home" I beleive were her words about walking on campus for the first time.</p>
<p>Kaylynsmom…isn’t that interesting that the kids feel so comfortable so quickly? My son had been to UA once for University Days (fairly quick trip) and went back in February for Honor Band. He got off the plane and proclaimed, “It’s good to be home!”. He hadn’t even made it to campus yet! </p>
<p>I could not believe those words came from his mouth. This was a kid who was going to attend a small college close to home in Michigan. I wonder what it is that makes them feel that way?</p>
<p>We understand and are happy you are joining the Bama family. My husband was dead set from the day of our first child’s birth that she would attend a certain school he attended. He actually had her watching his school play on television on the day she came home from the hospital.</p>
<p>All three of ours are very intelligent and are members of MENSA. Whenever someone turns their nose up at her oldest sister’s choice and asks why she chose Bama over an Ivie or other “elite”, our youngest responds that her sister was smart enough to know a great school when she saw one. People don’t usually know how to respond to that one. She has just completed her first year on campus and I cannot believe it is already time to move her home for the summer. Although they went begrudgingly to visit Bama the first time, they now all LOVE IT! Roll Tide! Congrats again on making a great choice of schools.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your students’ decisions to attend UA! </p>
<p>The comments about Alabama feeling like home remind me of one of my favorite Bear Bryant quotes:</p>
<p>“Momma called. And when Momma calls, you just have to come runnin’.”
-Paul W. “Bear” Bryant shortly after accepting the head coaching position at Alabama.</p>
<p>Congrats on his decision! We are from Jersey and heading to Bama this fall too! I have nothing but great things to say about all of the parents/students on this forum…so incredibly helpful and nice! The same goes for the people we met on campus during our visit a couple of weeks ago. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Midwest son was encouraged by guidance counselor to apply to ivys and well known tech schools. I encouraged him to also apply to 2 wonderful state universities which I knew would give him (a NMSF) a great scholarship - Univ. of Minnesota (state nearby) and Unversity of Alabama. After my husband took him to tour UA, he decided that’s where he wanted to go. My husband, who initially wasn’t too enthusiastic, supports this decision as he was very impressed at what he heard and saw. The only downside is the polite nods my son or I get when we excitedly tell them that he is going to the University of Alabama. I almost feel I have to defend his decision. I know, though, even though these other midwesterners might not, that he is very fortunate to be going there. Roll tide!</p>