My son will qualify for the Presidential Scholarship so I believe a personal visit is in order. Should I wait until he has been accepted or should we plan to fly in for the Engineering Day on Oct 1 so he can form an opinion about the school and be ready to pay enrollment fees etc while he waits to hear from other schools? Airfare, hotel and car rental will make this a pricey trip so I am not sure that we can go more than once.
Hi 
My son had done a TON of reading and “investigating” on UA the summer prior to his senior year, once he found out in early June (end of jr yr) via CC about the Presidential. He applied in early August 2014 and went ahead with the enrollment and housing deposit fees in early October …knowing we could get the enrollment fee portion refunded (or maybe all but $25…I can’t recall now). He felt pretty sure at that time that UA was going to be his all-around best decision. We didn’t visit until mid-December his senior year (and, like you, one trip was all we could do). Of course, he fell in love once on the incredible campus… You son should hear of his acceptance around Labor Day. Good luck and Roll Tide! (P.S. My son did not make his final decision until April 1st after he had heard from other schools; however, UA went directly into his top two choices once he set foot on campus. Had UA been closer to home, it would have been #1 earlier on!)
I think that the enrollment fee is not refundable, but the housing fee is except for $25. If your son has applied and meets all the requirements for the Presidential scholarship, he should find out that he is accepted pretty quickly. IMHO I would have him fly down and check out the campus as soon as possible (the engineering weekend sounds ideal.) That way he knows if it really is a possibility that he will attend, you won’t mind having to put the money down to hold his place and to get a good housing slot. Hope he likes it. Roll Tide.
Ooops, yes – what kjcphmom said – I had the fees reversed: enrollment fee NOT refundable. If you can swing the days off work (and student being out of school 3 days), the Oct 1 event sounds like a wonderful opportunity to check everything out!
I would go whenever it’s most convenient for you - there’s no need to wait until he’s accepted. My daughter made her only visit in January of her junior year. She put her enrollment and housing deposits down in October, although she didn’t make a final decision until March.
No need to wait til he’s accepted, he will be.
Is E-day all day? If so, will you have time to see any other parts of the campus? Maybe on Friday?
edited to add…found this:
We look forward to seeing you on October 1! E-Day will run from 8:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. You may arrive as early as 8 a.m. and as late as 11 a.m… Lunch will be served beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Ok, so depending on your schedule and desires, it appears that the day would end at 1 pm (probably after lunch??)
Have you looked to see if there are any campus tours that afternoon?
Or would you rather meet with some Honors College people?
Is E-Day by invitation only? If not how do I get information on it? DS has visited but wants to go again this fall to talk with someone in MDB and check out the campus again.
Thanks @mom2collegekids .
msd228; if there is a reasonable chance, and you can afford to risk the money, apply now, get accepted, and pay your deposits for housing. Then on Oct 1st, sign up for housing as the portal opens. As a parent of a new freshman already on campus this week, this is what we did. My DD was not considering UA strongly at that time (had not visited yet) but I put the deposit down “just in case.” Fast forward through a visit to the school, another visit later for a competitive program. She decided to go to UA in the March timeframe. When it came to enroll in housing in May, our DD was in the first time slot of dorm/room selection, and picked her dorm, her floor, her room. This is especially important if your child would prefer to live in Honors housing.