<p>This is an event for those students who qualify for the Honors College. However, I note that students with an ACT 27 or SAT 1210 are also invited. I think that is because Blount Undergraduate Initiative (BUI) is also discussed.</p>
<p>If you think that you might attend, you may want to make hotel reservations ASAP because rooms at the nicer hotels will go quickly. You can always cancel a reservation later if you won’t be attending. </p>
<p>I know that some have had good luck at the Wyngate hotel (booked thru Price Line or similar), but since that hotel will likely book fast, perhaps others can list other recommended hotels here, too. Also include names of Tuscaloosa hotels that you wouldn’t recommend. For instance, I wouldn’t recommend the T-town La Quinta or Days Inn (unless they’ve been recently remodeled).</p>
<p>**The invite states that a student can only bring one parent. ** I called about that since some OOS students want to bring 2 parents. Alabama said that they understand that OOS students might bring 2 parents and that’s ok, so just mention that when you RSVP if you’re bringing 2 parents.</p>
<p>The event will be held on Saturday, January 16, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Bryant Conference Center.</p>
<p>In order to receive an invitation, a student has to be admitted for Fall 2010 as an incoming freshman with a 27 ACT or SAT 1210 (math and verbal scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA by the scholarship deadline of December 1, 2009. </p>
<p>Did you ever go to Capstone Scholars Day? I notice on the tentative agenda it says that the parents go on a campus tour. Don’t the students go on a campus tour, too? I wonder if somehow that was left off the agenda? It doesn’t seem right that CSD wouldn’t include a campus tour for the students.</p>
<p>CSD does not include a campus tour for students. I don’t know why, but maybe it is because UA wants students to spend more time visiting campus on another day to get a better feel for campus life. I never went on a campus tour, but I would recommend taking one. I also suggest visiting campus the Friday before CSD if this weekend would be your only visit to UA before Bama Bound. Campus isn’t as busy on Fridays as it is on other weekdays, but offices are still open and professors should be available.</p>
<p>As for hotels, I’ve stayed at and had family stay at both Microtel Inns, of which the Microtel University location is newer and more expensive, but a bit nicer (both are fine places to stay), the Ramada (okay), the brand new Ambassador Inn (nice), and the Motel 6 (only for a football game when it was 1/3 the price of other places, hopefully never again). The Wingate by Wyndham and Holiday Inn Express are very popular hotels, as is the Hotel Capstone (former Sharaton). Hotels in Tuscaloosa are more expensive than similar ones in the Birmingham area (I’ve done both). As for general quality of Alabama lodging, my mom remarked that the honors dorms at UA are better than Alabama hotels and I agree :), no hard feelings to the hotels.</p>
<p>I think it’s odd that CSD doesn’t include a tour for the students. I realize that it’s probably a logisitics issue - so many kids, not enought buses to move them around. However, for people who are coming from OOS, not including a tour for students is a problem. Many can’t arrive early enough on Friday to take the tour then, because that would require missing the entire school day.</p>
<p>I think they should offer a time for the students to take a tour (perhaps at the end) for those who can’t come back before Bama Bound.</p>
<p>I saw that. It just seems to me that at that time, students (especially OOS students) should have the option of taking a campus tour. I also think it’s odd that the students have to choose - rec center or housing tour. Neither tour takes a lot of time, so why make them choose? The time for those tours are 2pm-4pm; it doesn’t take 2 hours to tour those two locations. The parents’ tour ends at 1:45, so the students should be able to tour then.</p>
<p>I’m going to call tomorrow and ask why a campus tour can’t be made available at 2pm? After all, I doubt many OOS kids will be flying out of Alabama on Saturday night.</p>
<p>What’s interesting about the whole thing is that UA does charter Crimson Ride buses to transport students to the different colleges. The dorm and rec center tours involve parents driving over to the dorms or to the rec center. It is possible to do both because the dorm tour is just walking in and seeing a sample suite/room. I really have no idea why a campus tour isn’t offered other than scheduling issues. I’d even give a campus tour if they needed tour guides (I do want to be a UA tour guide in the future). If you can, arrive on the Friday morning before CSD, take a tour, and meet with professors. Campus will be a lot more busy on Friday than on Saturday.</p>
<p>The buses are used for the 1h15min “the College Experience” part of the day that is held at the students’ future academic college. It makes more sense to charter a Crimson Ride bus than to have people walk from the Bryant Conference Center to the academic buildings.</p>
<p>That means that the CR buses should be available to provide tours for students who want them at 2pm. :)</p>
<p>I realize that the big CR buses aren’t usually used for campus tours, but why not for that day? Can’t they just give the bus drivers the tour route?? LOL</p>
<p>I agree mom2college kids! I am OOS and will not be in Alabama in time to take a tour on Friday. I see the optional residential tour, which I will do. But there isn’t anything about signing up and such…I guess you just decide when you get there?</p>
<p>The residential tour is officially after CSD ends and you can walk or drive to the residence halls being shown that they want to visit (it was Ridgecrest East and Tutweiler, but that may have changed). I have seen one tour that used a normal Crimson Ride bus instead of the little white one, but I don’t know if that is normally possible since the Crimson Ride is contracted out to First Transit and it would have to be a separate charter. Alternatively, you can get a pretty good tour of campus by hopping on a perimeter north or perimeter south bus (I recommend north) while using a map and iTour Bama on your iPod or other music device.</p>
<p>We’re going to stay over until Monday so we can hope to find a nice student to give us a tour and see some of the city. Also hoping to attend Catholic mass near the campus on Sunday. Where do most of the kids go to mass? Is the museum with the dinosaurs open on Sunday?</p>
<p>I spoke to UA (Lindsey Jordan in Admissions) about the specific problem of not offering a real campus tour at 2pm for the Out of State students on CSDay. She spoke to someone and then said that UA would provide that opportunity for those who want it. </p>
<p>She said that the event is being planned by the Admissions and Scholarships office, but she said that the tour request needs to go to Scholarships (don’t know why that is).</p>
<p>So, please contact <a href=“mailto:scholarships@ua.edu”>scholarships@ua.edu</a> and tell them that you’re coming from OOS, and that you want a FULL campus tour on Saturday around 2pm, after the regular program ends, that also includes an honors hall and rec center tour.</p>
<p>I think that if they get enough requests, they will have to formally put it on the schedule so that those who won’t know to make the special request can also be accomodated.</p>
<p>Be firm with your email request. At first it was suggested that students go on the Friday tour, but I firmly explained that these kids would be flying in AFTER SCHOOL on Friday, and therefore would not be in Tuscaloosa in time for a 2 pm tour on Friday.</p>
<p>MLK day is supposed to be a University Holiday, so I’m guessing that campus will be closed on Monday with very limited dining and no Crimson Ride service. The Alabama Museum of Natural History (the one in Smith Hall with the dinosaurs) is closed Sunday, but open Monday through Saturday from 10-4:30. Every Catholic student I know that attends mass seems to go to St. Francis, which is close to campus. That’s good that UA would offer a campus tour.</p>
<p>Is there a number and what person we should call to request a tour after the program, since we’re coming from OOS and won’t arrive until late Friday night?</p>
<p>It looks like you should just call or e-mail the scholarship office (part of admissions). The e-mail is, as before, <a href=“mailto:scholarships@ua.edu”>scholarships@ua.edu</a> and the phone number is 1-800-933-BAMA (2262). A work study student will probably answer the phone and will connect you to whomever is in charge of CSD.</p>
<p>Sent the email Seatide suggested. Received a response saying that tours are not available on Saturday, will be available to parents as part of Capstone. Suggested to go to the tours website, but did say that tours are not given on Saturday.</p>
<p>Any suggestions? I’m happy husband and/or I will get to tour the campus, but son is the more important one to get a tour, don’t you think?</p>
<p>Any ideas on who to contact to get son scheduled for a tour after the program ends at two? We will be staying over Saturday night, and even booked the hotel for Sunday if need an extra day for a tour. Of course, I’m sure no official tour will be given on a Sunday, but would love to do a walking, or riding, tour if possible the following day.</p>
<p>Will the following be open on that Sunday: cafeteria, the Ferguson Center, rec center, library? Does the Crimson Ride run on Sunday, and will it be willing to take prospective parents and students on as passengers?</p>
<p>When I spoke with admissions about the tour issue, they first said that the tour was for parents. Then, when I pushed (my Italian side bubbled up), and said that many OOS students would be at CSD and would need a FULL tour, they said that if a request was made, it would be accomodated.</p>
<p>So, call admissions/scholarships and PUSH your OOS case. (I’ll lend you some of my Italian nerve )</p>
<p>There is limited Crimson Ride service on Sundays - mostly just the perimeter of campus which is okay for students’ needs on Sundays. Yes, the rec center, Ferg, libraries, etc are usually open on Sundays. However, since that is a 3 day weekend, I don’t know how much those hours will be reduced.</p>
<p>We didn’t go to CSD. Instead, we went on President’s Day since UA is open that day and our kids’ high school was closed that day.</p>
(I’ll lend you some of my Italian nerve