S17 will be going to 'Bama in Fall 17 probably in computer science or metallurgical engineering. Still undecided. He has a 4.36 GPA and 1480 old SAT one sitting. He,also, has Asperger’s and anxiety. He is planning on an academic career at this point(subject to change as he is 17! and has no idea what he wants to do). We have been discussing CBHP and whether to apply knowing his odds are not great. Son’s concerns is that the workload from this program may be too much for him along with the adjustment to college the first year-- yet he also is intrigued by all the program offers. For those who had more typical kids in the program can you speak to how much additional workload, expectations and stress this program had. We are being very careful in trying to make sure S 17 can be successful and trying to put supports in place for him yet also want him to take advantage of all opportunities that could help him in exploring the things he loves and could help him in the future. I realize every one is different but would like to get a sense of the additional workload this program may have if by some chance he were to get accepted. Thanks to all who have assisted in putting Alabama on our radar and Roll Tide!
My daughter spent 4 years in CBHP. There were some times when it was stressful, such as the last couple weeks of the semester freshman year when they were working on their projects and studying for finals, the times she had to present in the upperclass seminars, and the times when she was preparing for CBH Live or her poster presentation. But most of the time was not stressful for her at all. I don’t think she thought it was more work overall than most of her other classes. The professors she did research with were very supportive and accommodating of her schedule and other classes/commitments. Freshman year is when CBH is most like a class, and it’s basically a computer class. If your son is interested in computer science, the programming will probably come easy for him. My daughter was an Econ major with no programming experience (or prior interest) and she did fine. The freshman year projects definitely stressed her out some, but she’s somewhat of a procrastinator. While she was rushing to get finished at 10:30 on the night it was due at midnight, there were kids who had been done for a couple days. Freshman year I think the important thing is to plan ahead. Know that you’ll be working hard on a project right at the end of the semester and be sure to keep up on all your classes and not put off studying for finals. Time management is important for CBH, but then again, it’s important for college in general.
My son was in CBHP, and he would say that the first year, particularly the first semester, was the most stressful. Many of the CBHP kids were working until the “eleventh hour” trying to get their final projects in by the deadline.
Thanks for the replies. I think we will have S apply and then see if he is even selected. It is a very competitive program and if he is chosen I think he will have more information on which to base a decision. But it is helpful to hear that the freshman project is the worst. Hopefully if he is given the opportunity time management will help with the last minute time crunch.
@pokerqueen The CBH program requires a high level of commitment. In addition to the first year’s programming classes (first & second semester), the student will be required to continue taking classes for years two and three. During year one, there will be a required, time consuming end of the semester project. Many students will be there to the last moment on the last day of classes, i.e.: midnight. (That means Do Not plan on your student leaving early to drive or fly home for the semester’s end.)
During the next two years, your student will be participating in a research component as well as doing course work. Some students do their research in STEM labs, other students do different types of research. Remember that this is in addition to the class work, so there is a big time commitment here. Students will also prepare posters for a research conference and present their work to peers and professors. There are awards for the best research. Students will do practice presentations in the class and be critiqued by their peers. (Make sure your student can handle constructive criticism well.) There are also CBH LIVE presentations where the students present their work live on camera ( This broadcast is live streamed over the Internet). Some work may not be presented live due to proprietary reasons.
CBHP is a minor, which is why there are many classes to complete. However, know that a student needs to have the space in their schedule for such a large credit commitment.
The student will also need to work well with others, be a team player and be willing to participate in the other CBH activities that are done throughout the academic year. I also feel that this program requires a certain level of maturity as well. When friends may be attending social events, your student may be hunkered down studying, while friends are going out to eat, your student may be up till the wee hours of the morning watching over an experiment. Course work or research will need to come first before downtime.
Coming in with programming knowledge does not put your student at an advantage, I have been told this, because every student in the program has to start at the same level and work towards the group goals. This has also been my first hand observation (having had a student in CBH).
Remember that this is a highly competitive program, which requires an application including an essay and a personal on site interview weekend. After the weekend, students will be notified of their acceptance. This does not happen early, therefore most students who apply and are committed to UA should be committed to attending UA regardless of the CBH decision. Again, this is my opinion. CBH may be the icing on the cake for some students, but I feel that it should not be the only reason to attend UA.
Only you know your own student’s strengths and weaknesses. Both you and he will need to ascertain if this program may be a fit for him, and whether he can handle either the rejection or disappointment if he should not be accepted. On the other hand, only you and he will know if he is accepted to the program, if this level of commitment of both time and credits is something that he truly wants. I always caution parents to remind their students that CBH only accepts 40 students per year.
Again, I can only speak about what I know of the program and not any student’s abilities.
If your son decides to apply, I wish him the best of luck.
Thank you so much for the detailed information. That is exactly the type of information we were looking for to try and make a decision. He has already decided that UA is where he wants to be so that is not even part of the equation for us. Your information was exceedingly helpful and clarifying. While S 17 is mature and can easily handle not being accepted and always puts schoolwork over socializing I am getting the feeling that the additional time commitment and stress may not be a good fit for him with his anxiety. Our goal is a successful transition to college and of course maintaining the Presidential scholarship. I had heard wonderful things about the program(CBHP) but did not have enough information to really determine fit. Thanks for spelling it out. Given all the information I will probably encourage S to not apply and just consider emerging scholars or other avenues for research.
You’re welcome, I was hoping to give a clearer picture of the time commitment from my understanding and parental experience. Of course, others will have their own viewpoint. However, for all students, it is important to know that CBH is a twenty credit minor.
I will give you a contrasting viewpoint. My daughter is a CBH student. She is very social, however, many CBH kids are a little quieter, a little more serious. It is a tight knit group, that often socialize together. That might be a good thing for your son. In fact, they kind of feel like, “we are all in this together.” They are very accepting of each other, and their differences. In order to respect her privacy, I won’t go into details, but I will say that my daughter has two outside interests that are very different from most CBH’ers. At first the group teased her a little about it, but they are happy for her pursuing other passions.
Two other things to think about:
- programming comes easily to some, not so easily to others. My daughter was a fortunate one, where programming just made sense to her. If your son is someone who might get frustrated by having to “dig deep” the program might not be for him. However, they aren’t left on their own, there is a unique and tight knit support group for them to be successful.
- the research programs for the 2-4th years really are what you make of it. There are a lot of opportunities to research in a variety of areas. Some are deeply technical and scientific, others are quite different. There are research projects in science, math, advertising, accounting, MIS, economics, athletics, etc.
Finally, and an important note:
Your son does have to write excellent essays to get to the interview stage. In the interview process, he does have to articulate his desire to be part of the group, and to do the work. He does have to engage with the current CBH’ers as they have a “vote” in the selection process. They are outgoing and friendly, but he has to do his part too. Only your family can determine if he could manage the interview weekend events.
Best of luck.
Thanks. It is a very confusing process. He has no prior programming experience-- he is taking AP comp sci now and loves it but it has no real programming in it that I can tell so far. I have no way of knowing whether he would get to the interview stage nor how he would be perceived there. He is quiet and shy but articulate, bright and I believe could navigate the interview weekend. A rejection would not be an issue for him. Our worry is whether if he was lucky enough to be selected whether the program itself would overwhelm him- not due to the social aspects but due to his lack of knowledge of coding and whether it will come easily to him or not.I think we will just need to have some more conversations about it. He thinks he wants to apply but also wants guidance from me about whether it would be a good idea. I think we will let him apply and then if by any chance he gets selected to interview reassess and see what he thinks after interview weekend. Odds are we are worrying about nothing as odds of him being selected are not high. I so appreciate everyone’s point of view. Roll Tide.
One more thing to be aware of - there will be students who are not invited to the interview weekend who end up in CBHP. My daughter was one of them. They have a reserve pool, and when students who are chosen for CBHP end up choosing other schools when acceptances come in April, space often opens up for students in the reserve pool. There were 8 students that I know of in my daughter’s class who came from the reserve pool, and there could very well be more, as I don’t know most of the kids who were in her CBH class.
You mention that your son has no prior programming experience - don’t worry about that, as none is required. The fact that your son is considering a computer science major leads me to assume that he has an interest in computers and computer programming, and that will be helpful.
A few more facts . . . the 100-level CBH course is a 4 credit class and meets for 4 hours a week. The 200, 300 and 400 level courses are 3 credit courses and meet for 1 hour a week. To get the CBH minor one needs to take 6 semesters of CBH courses. You can take 8 semesters if you want (my daughter did). The CBH courses count as Honors Electives for purposes of fulfilling the University Honors Graduation Requirements, so all you need in addition to the CBH courses are 6 hours of Honors Foundation courses (basically the UH seminars).
Thanks. Everyone on this forum is so helpful. We will just wait and see what transpires once he applies and see what he feels like would be best for him. All this information has been very helpful in fleshing out more of what is involved in the program. The website is not entirely clear about the program layout so this is very valuable information. For the right student the program sounds like an amazing opportunity.