Computer Science Camp

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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<p>My son has mentioned an interest in maybe doing this camp at UA next summer. He will be a rising senior and has UA on his list of schools he is interested in. He says it looks like a fun camp and will give him a chance to see UA at the same time. We are from WA. I am assuming that the UA he sees in the summer will be quite a bit different than the one he would attend if he chooses to go there. Does anybody have any thoughts or experience with regards to the camp or the benefit of visiting UA during the summer? </p>

<p>[Alabama</a> Summer Computer Camps](<a href=“http://outreach.cs.ua.edu/camps/index.html]Alabama”>Alabama Summer Computer Camps)</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>My D2 attended the SITE camp for a week last summer.</p>

<p>[Student</a> Introduction to Engineering (SITE) - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://site.eng.ua.edu/]Student”>http://site.eng.ua.edu/)</p>

<p>She enjoyed the experience. Learned her way around campus and met some great teachers. Her older sister is a junior at Bama so she was already familiar with the campus. The folks in charge did promote the school and made the students feel welcome.</p>

3

<p>My son attended the SITE camp this summer as well. He was almost 100 percent sure that Bama was the right school for him, but he had never set foot on the campus and I was concerned. The Presidential plus engineering scholarships were a great incentive, and I felt like he was making the choice on money alone. After two days on campus, he called and told us that he was sure of his decision and would not be applying anywhere else. </p>

<p>It was hot in Tuscaloosa in July, but he knew it would be. There was a lot more going on on campus than we thought- other programs, early college, etc. He was able to live in the dorms, eat in the dining halls, go to class, and do other things that gave him a feel for campus life. It was a great experience for him and helped take some of the anxiety out of the college search process for me!</p>

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<p>Thank you FoF and Cf. My concern has been that he would not get a realistic look at UA during the summer. The scholarship money is a great incentive but if he hates it and does not do well . . .</p>

5

<p>If he decides to do the summer camp, I recommend visiting again in the fall. Although we had already paid our deposits, etc. we still made a trip down in early October to see the campus again. My husband had not gone with us during the summer, so it was his first visit. We set up the visit as recommended on CC with the Honors College. Went on the campus tour, had lunch with a student, talked with professor, etc. He is even more excited about Bama now and is counting down the months!</p>

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<p>^ Thanks for the advice. I have considered asking him if he wanted to do an HC visit over spring break.</p>

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<p>Here is Bama’s academic calendar with the holidays listed. </p>

<p>[Spring</a> 2014 Academic Calendar | The Office of the University Registrar - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://registrar.ua.edu/academics/academic-calendars/spring-2014-academic-calendar/#tab=tab-1]Spring”>http://registrar.ua.edu/academics/academic-calendars/spring-2014-academic-calendar/#tab=tab-1)</p>

<p>Did you know about the honors visit information?</p>

<p>HONORS COLLEGE CAMPUS VISITS (for those who will likely qualify for the HC)</p>

<p>Welcome: Do try to visit Bama…We think you’ll be very impressed by all the new facilities and the beautiful campus.</p>

<p>If you do visit, first set up the campus tour online…try for an early morning time! Don’t bother with the “info session”, you’ll get that info here pretty much on the Alabama forum on College Confidential which is VERY active.* By skipping the Info Session, the ladies in the HC will have more time to schedule meetings with profs, etc. </p>

<p>Set up your tour here: Campus Tour - The University of Alabama</p>

<p>Don’t delay setting up your campus tour! The tour is a mix of walking and riding in a small bus, so each tour is strictly limited to the number of seats on that small bus. </p>

<p>In the email to the below listed ladies, include:</p>

<p>Student’s name and contact info</p>

<p>Date and time of the Campus tour that you’ve reserved.</p>

<p>GPA and test scores (include likely NMSF if applicable)</p>

<p>Likely majors</p>

<p>Career interests (including med, law, etc)</p>

<p>Anything particular that you want to see. If you have an interest in seeing the new Science and Engineering Complex, the TV or radio stations, the B-school or what-have-you, let them know.</p>

<p>Honors Recruitment
Allison Verhine
Coordinator
269 Nott Hall
205-348-5534
<a href=“mailto:allison.verhine@ua.edu”>allison.verhine@ua.edu</a></p>

<p>Susan Alley
Assistant Coordinator
270 Nott Hall
205-348-5599
<a href=“mailto:susan.alley@ua.edu”>susan.alley@ua.edu</a></p>

<p>Allison and her assistant will arrange the rest of the day…meeting with faculty, honors people, touring honors dorms, etc.</p>

<p>Sometimes mail goes to their SPAM folders, so call them if you haven’t heard back within a few business days. These ladies do an excellent job and work very hard.</p>

<p>More info is in the sticky thread.</p>

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<p>^ Thank you. Yes we had heard about the Honors College visits, thanks to all of the great information on this forum! He will qualify for HC so we would probably do the HC visit. His spring break is the week of April 7 so it looks like that may fit with the UA schedule to be a good time.</p>

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<p>My concern has been that he would not get a realistic look at UA during the summer. The scholarship money is a great incentive but if he hates it and does not do well</p>

<p>While a summer experience isn’t going to be exactly how “real college” is, it will give him a feel for the school. I doubt he’s going to have much/any homework or tests during a summer camp, so that won’t be accurate.</p>

<p>however, your fear that he may “hate it” is a concern for any school that he might pick. Every year we see kids who went to their “dream school” saying that they now “hate it”.</p>

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<p>^While we can’t run all over the country visiting every school he expresses an interest in we will certainly visit any school he is seriously considering attending prior to accepting admission. Schools always look different in the brochures.</p>

<p>Not really concerned about the homework/tests, real college stuff. More concerned that he likes the location, the atmosphere, just the general feel.</p>

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<p>My daughter attended the Computer Science camp two years ago. It was fantastic! The camp leader, Assoc Professor Dr. Jeff Gray is incredible. He is very tied in with Google, Stanford and other well-known CS entities. He is passionate about the subject and loves introducing students to the field. Grad students are involved in the camp also which I think provides the students with perspectives on student/campus life. The course material was very interesting for my daughter. She made great connections through this class as well. </p>

<p>We live in Tuscaloosa so we are pretty familiar with campus life. The campus is fairly “quiet” during the summer session which may not provide your son with an accurate view of campus life, BUT he will be able to explore the campus and get a feel for the layout, available amenities and such. (You could visit again during the fall semester for an official campus tour.)
Hope this helps. Also, be sure to ask about the scholarships that are typically available for the computer science camp. :slight_smile: Feel free to message me if you have specific questions.</p>

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<p>My son spent 10 days on campus the summer before his senior year of HS attending the Capstone Business Leadership Academy. It really helped him feel comfortable with his decision to attend Bama. He met staff and faculty, got a feel for the campus, the dorms and the business facilities, and he ended up rooming his 1st year with 2 guys he had met at CBLA. I would highly recommend these “camps” though I don’t have any knowledge of the CS one.
Good luck and RTR :)</p>

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<p>Great feedback everybody. Thank you. We will talk about it some more and see what his level of interest in attending this camp really is.</p>

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<p>Not really concerned about the homework/tests, real college stuff. More concerned that he likes the location, the atmosphere, just the general feel.</p>

<p>Of course there won’t be as many people on campus. There probably will be other camps going on…band, cheer, math, music, etc and Bama Bound, it will still be a bit different.</p>

<p>Also, the weather will be VERY different. It’s very hot in the summer. Most of the school year is not like that. The first few weeks will be “end of summer” weather, but then it will cool down and be more “normal”. lol</p>

15

<p>He is aware of the hot and humid but is yet to experience it himself. He thinks that a few weeks of hot and humid may be better than a few months of frigid cold in Indiana or Minnesota, where some other schools he is interested in are located. I am pretty sure that climate is not going to be the deciding factor for him but I think the climate of Tuscaloosa and College Station have the tie breaker advantage.</p>

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<p>My son applied to the CS camp last week. We will see where this goes. Assuming he gets invited to attend, how much is a shuttle/taxi/etc going to cost to get him from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa?</p>

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<p>UA has been known to arrange airport transportation if enough students are coming from the airport for a specific program. Otherwise, roundtrip transportation ranges from 4160-240 roundtrip plus tip, lower if he’s able to share a taxi with other students. I know UA charges $60-80 roundtrip for airport shuttles for other camps around that time.</p>

<p>As someone who flew between Washington and UA many times over 4 years, the main concern with visiting in July is that airfare tends to be more expensive. It looks like airfare SEA-BHM is around $500 roundtrip, which is good for summertime. The weather is very manageable provided one doesn’t try strenuous outdoor activities without some practice beforehand.</p>

<p>The only time I’ve been at UA in July was when I took my brother to the Nick Saban football camp (having hundreds of high school football players living in Tutwiler is a real sight to see, lol) . Campus is very quiet compared to the main school year, but almost everything is open and many professors are on campus. I really like UA when it’s somewhat quieter and have been on campus when there’s only 50-200 people. The latter will not be the case in July.</p>

<p>I do recommend that your son do some summer activity, be it at UA or elsewhere. Summer classes have a different vibe than fall/spring classes and there are a variety of outdoor activities on campus and around town. The lazy river and water slide at UA’s Rec Center would be especially fun during the hot weather.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://housing.ua.edu/on_campus/shuttle.cfm”>http://housing.ua.edu/on_campus/shuttle.cfm&lt;/a&gt;
You could call closer to July and ask about shuttles.</p>

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<p>Which CS camp is that? Is that SITE?</p>

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<p><a href=“Alabama Summer Computer Camps”>http://outreach.cs.ua.edu/camps/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;