<p>You can add me on to the list of applicants who were put into the Reserve Pool for CBHP and have requested to continue to be considered. </p>
<p>While previous years may show that us kids in the reserve pool still have a chance of getting in, I can only wonder how the this year’s overall larger and stronger applicant pool will change how many, if any, of us make it out of the reserve pool. </p>
<p>We will have to wait and see.</p>
<p>Boarder-</p>
<p>I am curious what makes you think that this years class was “overall a larger and stronger applicant pool?”</p>
<p>Every year this program attracts the best of the best. I heard that last years class had an average ACT of 34.</p>
<p>Sniner, those were the words used in the email. Mrs. Batson said this years applicants were truly exceptional in test scores and otherwise, and therefore, they had a really hard time deciding.</p>
<p>Boarder, I would look at it another way…if these kids are all so strong, some are probably still waiting on RD decisions to ivies, and probably being considered for big scholarships at other schools…I’m sure there will be some attrition. I’d also think this means you were an equally strong candidate, but they just couldn’t invite everyone.</p>
<p>The year my son was a CBHP finalist (2009), there were seven slots that were not initially filled. One or two students decided after finalists weekend that the program really did not fit their needs. Other students took offers to other schools (one girl got into Yale and Harvard). So it is possible to come off the waitlist and land a spot in CBHP.</p>
<p>When our daughter made it into the reserve pool last year we were thrilled and figured these were the best odds she had yet. </p>
<p>We told her that she needed to figure out how to be noticed so she could stand out from the others. She came up with a couple great ideas that clearly worked as she was one of the first pulled from the list last year, and both Dr. Sharpe and Mrs. Batson mentioned it the first time they met her. </p>
<p>Do not be scared to figure out a way to let them know you want it.</p>
<p>Sniner has good advice. The applicant pool is very strong and have been growing larger each year. Not everyone who goes to finalist weekend will be invited to the program, decide to join the program (it really is a big commitment), or matriculate to UA. My D came out of the reserve pool last year. It happens.</p>
<p>Same here. My son was pulled from the R pool last year too. Let them know that you are interested!</p>
<p>My D was taken from the reserve pool. It was before Bama Bound, the early one, I’m thinking it was around the end of April or very early May. There were several of us CC’er’s who were notified at the same time.</p>
<p>She did decide at that point to pass on the program. She was honored and thrilled to be taken out of the reserve pool, but when she was put in the pool she decided to consider other options, as if she did not get into CBHP. She ended up deciding to double minor in Spanish and Psych and lined up all her classes. She emailed one of the Spanish faculty and was very excited. She did very well on CLEP in Spanish and went into 300 level.</p>
<p>She decided to pass on the program since she would have to eliminate some of her choices and she was happy with her decision.</p>
<p>These scenarios are very encouraging.</p>
<p>When I visited Bama, one of the things I saw emphasized during an engineering class was the coop program which I am definitely interested in as a Mechanical Engineering student. </p>
<p>To all posters that are in the CBHP or have children in it, can you shed some light on if/how the CBHP can interfere with doing a coop? </p>
<p>I would imagine that being in the CBHP would surely help to get a coop, however I was wondering if it would be difficult because you would have to put your research on hold.</p>
<p>You only need 20 credits for the CBH minor - 8 freshman year and then research in an additional 4 semesters (3 credits per semester). So if you want to do a coop, study abroad, etc., that is possible. You can choose to do research during the additional 2 semesters, but as I understand it it’s not mandatory.</p>
<p>When my DS asked Dr. Sharpe how CBH would fit with University Scholars he was told there wouldn’t be a problem as he could complete CBH his junior year and devote his senior year to that.</p>
<p>We expect my D to finish CBH her third year so she can do an internship and a semester abroad her fourth year. Or maybe she will do one semester of CBH each of those years. She’s a freshman in the program so I’m not sure about all the ins and outs of the research projects.</p>
<p>momreads’s son was going to do CBH and University Scholars, but he ran into issues with the Hollings Scholarship not allowing him to take graduate courses or something like that, so doing both CBH and University Scholars is definitely possible.</p>
<p>I really caution against waiting until ones senior year or even ones junior year, if an advanced student, to study abroad. Many study abroad programs offer credit that is not applicable to major courses unless one directly enrolls in a foreign university or does a really specific program, Budapest Semesters in Mathematics being a good example of the latter. UA’s “attend one of these foreign universities, but pay UA tuition” programs are often not a good deal for OOS students as the tuition at the foreign schools is often lower than it is at UA and UA will cut one a check for the full value of OOS tuition for those terms to pay for the study abroad program.</p>