<p>Wondering if somebody can make a suggestion regarding a good dorm choice for an Honors student, that is less expensive than the Honors Dorms. We are OOS, and and my son loves what he’s seen of UA so far. However, one thing that is daunting is the cost of the honors dorms! What dorms can anyone suggest for a freshman engineering student, without the high price tag … or is it worth the plunge, (and possible loan) to ensure a great environment, being with like minded kids, and conducive to studying, by paying for Honors Dorms your first year? Thanks!</p>
<p>I would either pay the money for an honors dorm (maybe for frosh year only) OR maybe choose Burke. There is a male engineering dorm, but it’s the same price as honors.</p>
<p>If he does honors for frosh year only, then he could find some roomies for moving elsewhere later.</p>
<p>If your son wants honors housing, then maybe he’d be willing to spend some summer earnings to help pay?</p>
<p>Is your son getting any scholarship money? Did he submit the scholarship app?</p>
<p>What will his major be?</p>
<p>Yes, that was what we were thinking - to pay for it for one year, then once he has his bearings down, then the sophomore year would be a lot easier to do something different if necessary.
My son is going to be in the EE College and has the EE scholarship and UA scholarship offer. However, he also has an older sister in college, so all funds have to be looked at from every angle. And yes, he’s working and contributing to the whole package.
I wish there was an honors dorm, that was a little simpler and less expensive. But I’m getting the idea that it’s Honors or bust. And with a harder major, not to mention being OOS, it’s important to start off well, without too much craziness!
Thank you for so many helpful posts - I’ve read a lot of these threads and learned so much, many of them from you!</p>
<p>* EE College and has the EE scholarship and UA scholarship offer. *</p>
<p>Oh good! He has free tuition (with the Eng’g upgrade!) plus 2500 per year. Isn’t that awesome! :)</p>
<p>I agree…I wish there were a less expensive honors option. </p>
<p>* However, he also has an older sister in college*</p>
<p>With your EFC split between 2 kids, I suggest filing FAFSA as soon as you can after the first of the year to improve chances for other aid…such as work-study, etc.</p>
<p>Do you know what his EFC will be?</p>
<p>Another tip…if the idea is to just spend the money for honors for the first year, then have your son contact his GC to find out if there are any local scholarships to apply to. Cobbling together a couple thousand in local scholarships can help pay for an honors dorm.</p>
<p>Some GCs list the local scholarship opportunities on their school’s guidance webpage.</p>
<p>Where are you from?</p>
<p>Copied this from one of my posts today to help you judge the Cost of Attendance, freshman year usually being the most expensive.</p>
<p>1.) The first year of college (freshman year) is more expensive because the student is required to have a more comprehensive (expensive) dining plan. After the first year, the student is no longer required to have that particular plan or any dining plan. So simply choosing a less expensive dining plan saves money. Students can also eat out at less expensive venues or shop for food locally and cook. Breakfast in the dorm room, cereal and such, is always a cheaper option.</p>
<p>2.) Since COA is based on tuition, fees and room and board. You can cut the COA by simply choosing a less expensive housing option. Super suites are more expensive than regular two-person dorm rooms.</p>
<p>3.) After freshman year, students are not required to live on campus and many don’t want to. Thus the cost of housing can decrease sharply depending on which residence hall you were living in freshman year.</p>
<p>4.) Buying Texts and other required books through a discount site will save money. Some kids even rent their texts.</p>
<p>5.) Students can also cut down on costs by economizing:
a.) Not having a car on campus saves permit fees, gas money and insurance costs.
b.) Taking full advantage of the meal plan your freshman year.
c.) Save $600 yearly by not using your Dining Dollars. Ask for a refund at the end of the year.
d.) take advantage of all the FREE entertainment opportunities on campus. There are
sports events, art shows, lectures, movies on the quad etc.</p>
<p>I hope this family realizes that this student’s UA Scholarship is being increased to Full Tuition…in addition to the 2500 per year.</p>
<p>If the student’s EFC is low enough to qualify for work-study (and the student submits FAFSA early enough), then with a 5500 student loan, the 2500 per year from Eng’g, some summer earnings to put towards books and other expenses, and a couple thousand in work study for daily expenses, then the family shouldn’t have to pay out too much.</p>
<p>Thanks for the good pointers and comments! I wondered if I was missing anything in the honors dorm dilemma, and you all have confirmed that really, the honors dorms are the way to go early on. :)</p>
<p>Could I get a bit more info on Burke? is it near the engineering college? Are there places to go that one can study, or is the library the only quiet place? Do most honors kids do the honors dorms, or are they spread out all over campus?<br>
We don’t need fancy, we just need sane! Thanks.</p>
<p>Have you seen this map? [Interactive</a> Campus Map - The University of Alabama](<a href=“Page Not Found | The University of Alabama”>Page Not Found | The University of Alabama)</p>
<p>This should give you an idea of where various dorms are relative to the engineering buildings.</p>
<p>Burke is not near the engineering buildings so I don’t know why it’s an eng’g dorm. I think many of the eng’g majors are in honors.</p>
<p>Honors kids study in their dorms, in libraries, in labs, etc. Since honors dorms are private rooms, they can be quite quiet.</p>
<p>*Do most honors kids do the honors dorms, *</p>
<p>For frosh year, I think that many honors kids choose honors dorms unless they’re going to pledge a greek house.</p>
<p>I thought it looked like Burke was far away from the Engineering buildings. But that is your recommendation for a good dorm if Honors are too expensive? I’ve also picked up on the fact that there’s little guarantee of a dorm room your soph. year if you’re not in the honors dorms? That’s a drag.
I have no doubt that H. dorms are the #1 pick. However, if push comes to shove, we might have to go the less expensive route. it looks as though Paty is well located, for classes but I don’t read many positive posts about it. Is it really that bad?</p>
<p>If Paty were fine, it would be better located for an eng’g major. However, there have been mixed reviews. It’s old and every year there are talks of it being replaced. </p>
<p>What will your EFC be for each child when you have 2 in college?</p>
<p>There is also a rule that one cannot move to honors housing once they live in non-honors housing.</p>
<p>As for living in less expensive housing, I highly recommend living in honors housing during ones first year at UA. It’s not that the other dorms are bad as far as college dorms go, it’s just that the honors dorms are much nicer. Paty gets a bad rap for being an old, all-male traditional dorm. In terms of less expensive dorms open to students of any major, Burke is a good choice and is not that far from the engineering buildings. Bryant* is likely the best dorm on campus for a male engineering student as it has Full-XL (slightly less wide than Queen-size) mattresses, is close to the engineering buildings, and is right next to the Bryant Dining Hall. Unfortunately, it costs just as much as the honors dorms. </p>
<p>Before choosing my freshman dorm room, I asked my parents what they thought about me living in a less expensive dorm to save money. Even though money is tight, they agreed that the honors dorms are well worth the extra money at least for the first year. For the extra money, students get to have their own rooms, only have to share a bathroom with one other person, and can more personalize their college living experience.</p>
<p>*Bryant is also the dorm for football and [men’s] basketball players. Due to NCAA regulations prohibiting dorms comprised of 50%+ varsity athletes, UA offers spaces in Bryant to male engineering majors. Contrary to one might assume, this is actually a very good arrangement for all three groups of students.</p>
<p>Good food for thought - thank you! My husband and I were just talking about the pros and cons of living alone vs with somebody your first year. The traditional dorm does seem to have some plusses - learning to live with other people isn’t all bad. And a difference of $3,000 is quite significant.<br>
I know somebody is going to post the obvious - we need to visit and see for ourselves!
When we visited UF, the honors dorms were considered “pricey” and they were $3,000 / semester! Not as cush sounding as UA’s h. Dorms, but a lot more doable for the pocket book!
EFC is below $10,000 for one child in college. I don’t know what it will be with two …</p>
<p>*Bryant is also the dorm for football and [men’s] basketball players. Due to NCAA regulations prohibiting dorms comprised of 50%+ varsity athletes, UA offers spaces in Bryant to male engineering majors. Contrary to one might assume, this is actually a very good arrangement for all three groups of students. *</p>
<p>Bryant is the same price as honors.</p>
<p>*EFC is below $10,000 for one child in college. I don’t know what it will be with two … *</p>
<p>As long as child #2 doesn’t have assets or a high income, your EFC will divide in two. If it goes low enough, then your kids will get Pell Grants.</p>
<p>I would support Burke. No, it’s not particularly close to the engineering buildings, but the difference in travel time is really negligible in the long run, and Burke is located very close to the Quad, Foster, the God Quad, much of the heart of campus. Burke also contains a quality dining hall. I know several people who currently live in Burke, and I haven’t heard any grievous complaints. I would not recommend Paty. </p>
<p>I’d also like to reiterate that if you can put together the funds, certainly I would recommend he live in Honors housing. There’s just a totally different vibe in Honors housing as opposed to the non-Honors, non-suite-style housing, IMO.</p>
<p>Thank you for your input, altosaxgeek5! Can you expound on what you mean by “different vibe”? Is it a $3,000 difference? My son is quite resilient and able to get along with all kinds of kids. However, from a mom’s point of view, I don’t want him in a wild dorm, where he can’t get studying done or sleep. Is Burke furnished with study cubicles, or is it near the library? Thanks!</p>
<p>i will say this. my daughter doesn’t particularly like studying with groups or in the library, so she does almost all her studying in her honors room. </p>
<p>she has never complained about the dorm being too noisy for studying.</p>
<p>she lives in ridgecrest south.</p>
<p>As a mom of 4 (2 of whom are currently still in college) I would share this about studying “in room” as opposed to “out of room”. First of all you and your child know what conditions he best is able to study in. That being said we have strongly encouraged each of our children to go and find a place to study that IS NOT in their dorm/room. My DD has not lived in honors housing (in fact she was opposed to it completely because of where it was located and the fact that she felt a bedroom with a door was isolating) and in fact chose to live in Tutweiller (an all girls traditional dorm) because of the fact it was close to the sororities and also because she felt that it was easier to develop relationships and friendships in a situation where there was not a door you could close to isolate yourself.
She has sisters who live in honor housing and although they can close their door they too have gone out and found a quite place to study. It is my opinion that this is a good plan. We have always felt like the room was like your common living area of home (the kitchen or family room) …if you can study there great but a different, comfortable place to go and spread out is also a good plan. It has worked for all 4 of ours.
If finances are an issue then go with a cheaper dorm. We have not found any dorm on campus to be “loud” or disruptive and know many kids on campus in a vriety of living conditions.</p>
<p>Bruinsmom: My D lives in Honors housing. She likes to study in her room. The students study in the Gorgas library, Nott Hall, study rooms in the dorms, outside, and in their rooms. </p>
<p>Have you visited?</p>