Computer Based Honors + Engineering Major at Bama

<p>Hi everybody,</p>

<p>I will be a senior in HS this upcoming fall from WI and I am very interested in Alabama.
I want to do Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in Manufacturing.
Stats:
31 ACT (retook this June waiting for higher score)
4.00 UW GPA (tied for number 1 class rank with 11 others)
I am president of my school’s FIRST Robotics team for this upcoming year as well as NHS Vice President</p>

<p>I am intrigued by the Computer Based Honors Program at Alabama and I feel like I would be a really good fit for it. I frequently use technology to organize people (like I am building an application to track service hours for NHS, and love using excel and building websites to organize my robotics team of 25+ people) and I feel like it would be a good way to get my foot into the door for more advanced research projects. I have a few questions about the CBH Program:</p>

<ol>
<li>How competitive is it? Would I stand a chance to get in?</li>
<li>How difficult would it be to do the CBH and be taking Mechanical Engineering courses at the same time? Is it possible? </li>
<li>Are there many scholarships available for those in the CBH program? I did find some here but there was no additional info: [University</a> of Alabama Undergraduate Catalog 2010-12](<a href=“http://catalogs.ua.edu/catalog10/501200.html]University”>http://catalogs.ua.edu/catalog10/501200.html)</li>
<li>Do those enrolled in the CBH take University Honors Program courses too?</li>
<li>Do CBH participants get to take part in the social events that are held for the Honors Program?</li>
<li>Do CBH participants get first preference when scheduling classes?</li>
<li>Do CBH participants have the ability to room with UHS students?</li>
</ol>

<p>I know there are some pretty active posters on here like m2ck that are pretty knowledgeable about Bama and can help me out.</p>

<p>Thanks a ton.</p>

<p>boarder,</p>

<p>m2ck will give you more experienced answers but I’ll answer what I can:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>CBHP is pretty competitive. There are 40 spots and somewhere over 200 applicants. Your stats look like you would be competitive.</p></li>
<li><p>Not sure about Mech E and CBHP, but, I’m pretty sure it can be done. CBHP is considered a minor and will require 4 semester hours both semesters your freshman year. Son is in a Chem E major and did just fine…</p></li>
<li><p>Not sure about additional scholarships. There have been some available in the past. m2ck will do better with this one.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t think the CBHP folks need to take too many other honors credits since I believe the CBHP courses count towards that requirement.</p></li>
<li><p>I believe so.</p></li>
<li><p>Those accepted to the Honors Program get first crack at scheduling. There is not a separate scheduling session for CBHP as far as I know.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes. I believe you can room with whomever you please.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I hope your research of the program has helped you to get a ‘feel’ for it. The program is mostly an undergraduate research program. The ‘Computer Based’ sometimes throws folks off that track a little.</p>

<p>Son is doing this. It’s tough, but doable. He lives with three other engineering majors, and none of them are in CBH. First year, he lived with mixed majors. All were honors, and all lived and are still living in Riverside West. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Hi there boarder, welcome to the forums! Glad to have you interested in Alabama. I’m a senior at Bama, majoring in Mechanical Engineering and History. I’m also in the Computer-Based Honors Program, as well as UHP and IHP. So let me just assure you, yes it is possible to be active and involved in both of those. In fact, one of my favorite things about combining CBH and engineering is that a lot of the things I have learned through CBH classes and through my research have come into play and helped me later on in my engineering courses (learning C++ = basic Matlab and coding knowledge, very helpful). I apologize in advance for any typos or formatting errors in this post, I’m currently at work; but I’ll try to answer as much as I can.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>CBH is pretty competitive. Think of it as applying to an upper level university. You will have be facing some stiff competition. Show that you are passionate about what you want to do, and that you understand exactly how CBH will assist you both in the short and long term. It’s an amazing program and a pretty tightly knit community that can help open doors for you both on and off campus, as I can testify to. I highly encourage you to apply, it seems like you could be a good fit.</p></li>
<li><p>Engineering is hard enough by itself. CBH courses (mostly freshman year) are challenging. But yes, it is possible to put the two together, and still get out in four years. You just need to be willing to put in the time and effort to study and learn, as opposed to just route memorization. It will be time consuming, but you can definitely still be involved in other activities!! I see that you are interested in robotics. We have a great champion (like so many other things at Bama) Lunabotics team that is involved in the NASA competition.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I will warn you that you can’t really “specialize” at the undergrad level in manufacturing, but we do offer several electives in that area that are pretty highly recommended, in addition to the modern manufacturing course and others that are part of the basic undergrad curriculum. Take a look at the UA ME website to get an idea of all the options that are offered ([Undergraduate</a> Programs - Mechanical Engineering - The College of Engineering - UA](<a href=“http://me.eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/]Undergraduate”>Undergraduate – Mechanical Engineering | The University of Alabama))</p>

<ol>
<li><p>CBH does have some scholarships/fellowships that are offered, but since I don’t have one, I don’t have all the details. I recommend contacting Jane Batson or the Honors College to ask about this, or wait until m2ck responds. She always has the info. The good news is though, if you get a slightly higher ACT score, you could eligible for big bucks ([Out-of-State</a> Scholarships - Undergraduate Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html]Out-of-State”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html)). Additionally, being in CBH helps you out when applying for external scholarships, especially prestige ones which offer considerable aid.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes CBHers take UHP courses as well, if you want to graduate with honors. CBH courses do count towards your UHP requirements, but there are additional courses that you need to take to graduate in UHP, like a certain number of seminar hours. </p></li>
<li><p>Yup, CBHers can be as active in the Honors College as they want to be. I’ve personally taken advantage of several volunteering opportunities through the Honors College. We also have the (relatively) new Honors Assembly, if you want to be involved in a governing body other than the SGA.</p></li>
<li><p>Honors College students get priority registration, but CBHers are not separate from this bunch. This is one of the best perks from the HC in my opinion, but just a side note, as an engineer your schedule will most likely be somewhat constrained already due to the availability and scheduling of classes. So going the Honors College route is definitely beneficial. I have friends in UHP just for this perk alone. Well, that and the cool seminars you can take. </p></li>
<li><p>You can room with whoever you want, DEPENDING on the which dorms you stay in. If you stay in Honors dorms, your roommates must also be in the Honors College. If you choose to stay in non-Honors dorms, your roommates can be whoever.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>If you have any questions about engineering, CBHP, Bama or anything in general, feel free to PM me! I always want to help any people interested in Bama, especially engineers and prospective CBHers! And this forum is very friendly and helpful!</p>

<p>Many CBHers are engineering majors, so it surely can be done. You do have to stay organized. I don’t recommend taking too many credits as a Fall frosh if you’re in CBH.</p>

<p>Getting accepted is difficult, competition is fierce. Getting higher test scores would be a plus…average ACT was a 33 in past, but I think that’s inching up. </p>

<p>It helps to get some “face time” with Dr. Sharpe when you visit the campus. It helps to show sincere interest in attending Bama. They don’t want to pick students who then go elsewhere. that happens, but naturally they’d like to avoid that.</p>