<p>We received an invite to Capstone Day. </p>
<p>Since we will hold off on visiting Bama until that time, will it be too late to get housing if we wait to put our nonrefundable deposit in at that time?</p>
<p>Son is a NMSF and is applying to the Honors program. But I’m unsure whether that guarantees him housing in the honors dorms.</p>
<p>Montegut, it will not be too late to submit the enrollment and housing deposits after Capstone Scholars Day. UA has a timeline for room selection based on when one pays the housing deposit and signs the housing contract (this is supposed to be posted come January). I didn’t pay my deposit until February and thus got a later selection date (though before any non-honors people). Come March your son will be able to select his room. I encourage you to submit the enrollment and housing deposits as soon as you feel comfortable doing so as there are no guarantees certain buildings will be availible during later selections (rooms do sometimes open up).</p>
<p>Sea, were you still able to get into honors housing by submitting the deposits in Feb?</p>
<p>It really doesn’t matter to us which building for honors, just as long as it’s honors.</p>
<p>Or is there a big difference between the different honors buildings, other than one having a pool?</p>
<p>We would like the one with the movies, though, since that’s a big EC for son at school.</p>
<p>if i am not mistaken, all but 25 buck IS refundable:</p>
<p>How does an incoming freshman apply for housing for 2010/2011?
The online application will be available beginning October 1, 2009. New freshmen must submit a complete application, including the housing contract and the $250.00 deposit ($25.00 application fee and $225.00 housing prepayment) in order for Housing and Residential Communities to receive the application and in order for that student to be eligible for online room selection in spring 2010. Students will receive e-mail notification later in the year regarding the date that they will be eligible to go online and select their residence hall room. A student’s first date to access the online room selection process is determined by 1) the date s/he applies for housing, 2) living-learning community participation, if any, and 3) any special needs. In other words, it works to an incoming freshman’s advantage to apply for housing as soon as s/he has been admitted and has paid the Freshman Enrollment Deposit.
Is the housing deposit refundable is my freshman does not attend UA?
A freshman who decides not to attend UA will receive a refund of his/her prepayment as long as that student cancels his/her housing application in writing by July 1, 2010. To cancel, e-mail <a href=“mailto:chewitt@sa.ua.edu”>chewitt@sa.ua.edu</a>. </p>
<p>of course, you have to pay the enrollment deposit before you will be able to sign up for housing. and the enrollment deposit is NOT refundable.</p>
<p>Mike, you are correct, if the you cancel the housing contract early enough (before July 1), you get $225 of your $250 housing deposit back. However, you have to pay the enrollment deposit before you can pay the housing deposit, and as you said, that $200 is non-refundable. Choosing not to attend UA after you have made the deposits would thus cost the family $225 of the $450 deposit.</p>
<p>Montegut, I was able to get honors housing, but last March there were more honors dorm spaces than students who wanted them. There are some suite-style dorms that are non-honors and the differences between them and their honors counterparts are small.</p>
<p>As for choosing a specific honors dorm, there are some differences. Location-wise, Riverside is farthest away from more things, the Ridgecrests are closest. When down for Capstone Scholars Day, take a look at all the different honors dorms and choose your favorite (not all will have open rooms to view). Mom2collegekids suggests Ridgecrest South (the newest one) and it is different from all the other honors dorms because its rooms are set up differently. If your son wants to cook/bake, note that Riverside does not have a community oven, but rather a convection microwave.</p>
<p>Honors at UA is not the same as honors at other schools I’ve seen. The quiet, nerdy stereotype is very false. Since your son will hopefully be NMF, the housing scholarship will be saving you a lot of money. If he is inclined at all, have him look into Greek life. There are many honors college students who are Greek and still do very well in their classes. Though I’m not Greek, I recognize that it is a popular option if one is so inclined.</p>
<p>All residences (dorms) have the opportunity to have movie nights. Riverside has the pool and sometimes they show movies there, if I remember correctly. I rarely go down to Riverside, but I think that many of the events in their community center are open to non-Riverside residents. During Week of Welcome (WOW), a movie is shown on the quad. Every Sunday in the Ferg (student union), the university shows a movie, which is fun to do if one is done studying that night.</p>
<p>If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to ask.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the info, SEA.</p>
<p>Son will not be going Greek.</p>
<p>You mention the community center at Riverside. Is this the only complex that has one?</p>
<p>What dorm are you in?</p>
<p>Also, I’m surprised to hear there were more honor rooms than needed. I did hear from some people that their honors kids had non honor roommates, so I figured either there were more rooms than honors, or there was some politics involved. Sorry, I’m from Louisiana, that’s how things work here.</p>
<p>How is Ridgecrest different from Riverside?</p>
<p>As for the convection microwave, have no idea how that works. Son is a chicken nugget guy, which he makes in the microwave. That’s all he needs, besides a good size freezer to hold all those bags of nuggets. Honestly, the thought of him baking in an oven makes me cringe. Visions of fire engines come to mind.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your generous offer to answer any questions.</p>
<p>Montegut,
You’re very welcome. Yes, the Riverside Clubhouse is unique to Riverside. I know of only a few events that are held there rather than an academic building. Each dorm complex plans its own activities, but it’s up to the RA’s and Housing what the events are (food is usually involved). </p>
<p>I myself am in Ridgecrest West. It’s not as new as Ridgecrest South, but this is only the third year it’s been open. From what I hear, it’s one of the quieter honors dorms. Ridgecrest East is our non-honors partner that houses the front desk and many events. </p>
<p>I too have no idea how a convection microwave works, only that you can’t bake with it, which was a disappointment to some people. If you check on mom2collegekids’s housing links, you’ll see that all the honors dorms are basically the same (except that Ridgecrest and Lakeside have actual ovens) but the newest one, Ridgecrest South, has a different floor plan and bigger showers. I’ve heard that some of the rooms and living spaces are smaller in South, but I haven’t spent enough time there to notice.</p>
<p>Not all honors students want honors housing and many non-freshmen prefer to live off-campus, which caused a lot of honors rooms to be open to non-honors. This may or may not be the case next year. </p>
<p>BTW, the microwaves do cook chicken nuggets pretty well. There are plenty of cupboards to store food in.</p>
<p>Actually, I think one or more of the Ridgecrests have some kind of community rooms. My son’s res hall (Ridgecrest South) has some community rooms and a game room/pool table room.</p>
<p>Here’s the link…scroll down and look at the little pics that also scroll from right to left.
[Housing</a> & Residential Communities - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://housing.ua.edu/ridgecrestsouth.cfm]Housing”>http://housing.ua.edu/ridgecrestsouth.cfm)</p>
<p>Ridgecrest West has a Community TV room with a full kitchen, too. Look at the video here [Housing</a> & Residential Communities - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://housing.ua.edu/halls/ridgecrest.cfm]Housing”>http://housing.ua.edu/halls/ridgecrest.cfm)</p>
<p>BTW…the floorplan shown on Ridgecrest West’s webpage is squished from top to bottom (see how short the beds look? And I know that the bathroom sink counters are wide.)</p>
<p>I think all the honors dorms have group study rooms. Lakeside Honors has a computer lab, but I don’t know if there is a pic of that.</p>
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<p>Actually, you should be able to bake with a convection microwave. Is it the GE Avantium or Profile? Or another brand? Sharp makes one, too. If you want to bake with it, let me know the brand and I’ll tell you how to do it.</p>
<p>Typically with a convection microwave, you can use convection only. Then you bake at 25 degrees cooler than normally and the food will cook/bake in about 2/3 the time.</p>
<p>Mom2collegekids, luckily my dorm has a conventional oven. That’s good to know though. I listened to quite a few girls complain about not being able to bake brownies because they lived in Riverside. You are such a great asset to CC and the UA board. If you ever want to work in the UA admissions office, I’d gladly be a reference.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Next time I’m in Riverside, I’ll peek at their convection/microwave, and leave written directions on how to use it for baking. LOL</p>