<p>DS got an invite to January Capstone Scholars Day.</p>
<p>He is also applying to UFE which has interviews in February. We want to be positive and be certain to set aside airfare/travel expenses if he is fortunate enough to be chosen for UFE
interview. </p>
<p>Paying for the January Capstone Scholars and a February trip will be difficult, but not impossible. </p>
<p>Any feedback on previous Capstone Scholars Day would be appreciated to aid us in making a decision.</p>
<p>DS is applying to other colleges. DH has Bama as his #1, so if scraping together the funds can positively sway DS, DH believes it will be well worth utilizing a credit card in Feb if need be.</p>
<p>This has been discussed a lot on this forum in previous years. Be sure to search through the old threads for more info. </p>
<p>Servant leadership is something your student should definitely understand and want, and be able to demonstrate and articulate, I should think, as a top criteria to getting a UFE interview. The decision to attend Capstone Day should be made independently, in my opinion.</p>
<p>That said, I got the feeling that attending Capstone Day and other events on campus (and having additional face-time w/ HC folk) was quite influential in furthering some students’ chances for UFE and CBHP. That might sound cynical, but others can weigh in if it was the truth or not. </p>
<p>I can guarantee that the more visits you make to UA, tho, the more likely it will be that you eventually end up going there! :)</p>
<p>We loved Capstone Honors Day…that being said it was not our first trip to UA. I had been there w/ DD in June and that visit moved UA to the top of our list of 12 schools. Capstone Honors Day we used to cement our feellings and to bring my hubby along so that he could see the school and have the chance to have input in the decision (which had really already been made)</p>
<p>We did meet w/ Dr. Sharpe for an hour…best time spent ever. What an amazing person. His vision for the Honors College is truly visionary. We talked about research, about goals and about how being in the HC could help D achieve her lofty goals. Then, Dr. Sharpe and D told LSU jokes back and forth at the end and Dr. Sharpe was laughing so hard they could hear us outside. Also revisited the Honors College and took some time to look at other dining halls.</p>
<p>As far as CBHP/UF, D applied to both. Was accepted to CBHP, but in the end decided that it was not right for her. I don’t think that our time at Capstone Honors Day had any influence, as D was on the waitlist for CBHP and offered it after the deadline for acceptance had passed. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that UF is very very competitive. D was disappointed not to get even to the phone interview and she was a very strong candidate. We are OOS. Don’t count on that to be the time to see the campus for the first time. I would also not base getting into the program for attending the school…Go toUA, see the campus, talk to the Honors College, make an appt NOW to meet w/ Dr. Sharpe. I am still amazed at all that D is doing as far as leadership and research, and she is only a freshman.</p>
<p>DS & I visited over the summer, so it will not be his 1st visit. Scholar Day will by DHs 1st visit.</p>
<p>DS is well aware of how competitive UFE will be. UFE is just a natural fit to all things DS has been doing for the last 4 years. Bama has also done a great job in clearly communicating both the benefits and work involved with being UF.</p>
<p>We have a few weeks before we need to make a decision. We also need to weigh the time out of school since he would need travel time.</p>
<p>Two years ago, my D and I went to Capstone Scholars Day. Had a great time, met Dr. Sharpe for a few minutes and M2CK too!</p>
<p>My D was fortunate to be selected to be interviewed for CBHP. At that time, they paid up to $500 in travel expenses. That was either a plane ticket or a per mile amount. Not sure what money if any was offered to travel to CBHP/UFE interviews last year. So your February interview, if selected, might be paid for. HTH</p>
<p>I think UFE stopped reimbursing for travel expenses last year because some students were coming just for the free trip. Don’t know what CBH’s policy will be this year. </p>
<p>I think both CBH and UFE will still pay for the hotel cost for the student…and provide meals.</p>
<p>We didn’t attend Capstone day - just one stellar college visit that sealed the deal before we left campus. We did meet with Dr. Sharpe who first brought CBH to our attention but my son is still convinced he tanked the CBH interview, so we feel he pretty much made it in on his ‘resume’. As of last year, the compensation was still travel expenses up to 500.00.</p>
<p>We really enjoyed Capstone Scholars Day. We had already visited the university prior to that day, but it was informative and another great opportunity for son to meet other students. I highly recommend it. I always recommend coming in the day before an event so that you can get settled and take in some of the campus sites. Bear Bryant Museum has already been recommended but there is a very nice Museum of Natural History, here is a link: <a href=“http://amnh.ua.edu/wordpress/[/url]”>http://amnh.ua.edu/wordpress/</a></p>
<p>Unfortunately my son will not be able to attend the Capstone Scholar day - will this impact his chances for CBHP or UFE negatively? It’s a major conflict that he can explain in the RSVP but I’m hoping it will not hurt his chances for either program.</p>
<p>I’m not sure but my son has been accepted and paid his enrollment and housing deposits. Although he has yet to send in his Honors College and CBHP essay - he is so paranoid about it being good enough he’s going to miss the deadline!</p>
<p>We haven’t sent in his enrollment or housing deposit in yet. We should probably get at it. He won’t visit until next year, but unless it’s a complete washout, I think he’s BAMA bound.</p>
<p>My S received the invite as well. The travel from Kansas City is a bit too much for us to handle right after Christmas, so he will not be attending. We have paid deposits, but S decided not to apply for UFE or CBH.</p>
<p>threeofthree - Not attending Capstone Scholars will not impact UFE or CBHP selection. DS did not attend Capstone Scholars but was selected for CBHP interviews.</p>
<p>It is unknown how students are invited for CS Day. </p>
<p>If you’d like to be invited, contact Allison and Susan in the Honors College and request an invite. My nephew in Calif didn’t receive an invite, but requested one and one was sent.</p>
<p>Do not worry about not attending Capstone Day. My son could not go four years ago, because it was the district academic team competition. A month later, he went to the CBHP finals. So it has no bearing on the selection for CBHP or Fellows.</p>
<p>We will probably not be able to make the trip either, but now after speaking to a few of you I realize my S did not have an ‘honors’ tour when we came down a couple weeks ago (i.e. did not meet with Dr. Sharpe, not accompanied by Honors Ambassador on tours etc.,) I did personally make sure to have some time time with his major department, otherwise he would have had a very standard tour (which was still great). Reading all this I regret not meeting with Dr. Sharpe and kind of wonder why S didn’t have that exposure,or meet with honors students etc. (We met with Dr. Oneal, who was wonderful, but many people are surprised when I say that). If money weren’t an issue we would come down for Capstone day due to that, any opinions? S likely isn’t applying to CBHP or UFE. On another note he seems to be meeting alot of honors kids on FB etc and may even have his suitemates for next fall already, whcih is AMAZING…</p>
<p>Upstate13 - Don’t worry about it. My son is a second year and when we toured we just did the regular tour on purpose. But we also spent time with the head of the dept. my son was interested in along with the head of the MDB. I was already sold on UA and I knew my son was not going to care what someone in charge of the honors college had to say. It worked out great for us. My son found random kids to talk to the day we were there. They were the ones who sold my son on UA.</p>
<p>After finishing our tour of UA, we headed to another school and basically did the same thing. That way my son could compare apples to apples. No red carpet rolled out at either school but UA was a clear winner just being it normal self.</p>
<p>Our first visit to UA was Capstone Scholars Day. It pretty much sold my daughter. But I strongly encouraged her do a more in-depth visit, so we went back at the end of Feb for an honors visit. We also met with the head of the math dept, one of her majors. She had a couple of other meetings cancelled due to inclement weather. </p>
<p>After the second visit, D was sure she wanted UA. We waited until all her college decisions were in, but it didn’t matter. She went with UA over some highly ranked schools. She is quite happy and hasn’t looked back. In fact, she can’t see herself anywhere else. </p>
<p>I think one of the things that sold her was a message that came out of the Capstone Scholars event. What we heard is this: We know you are smart and hard-working and could go to a variety of colleges. We want you here. We aren’t going to treat you like you are fortunate to be here. We are going to treat you like we are fortunate to have you. And we are going to give you an education to rival or exceed your other choices, coupled with the personal touch of Alabama. </p>
<p>My D received an invitation as well yesterday. She is so very disappointed to have to miss it. She’s on a competitive dance team and one of their biggest 2-day competitions is over that weekend. She really wants to know what she is missing, though. Is there a schedule of events from previous years anyone could share? The website says the agenda isn’t ready yet.</p>