<p>Does anyone have experience they would like to share with the early college summer program on campus and “honors ready”? What was your child’s experience like? We are considering this for our younger two OOS students. Also, if you have information on the availability of scholarships for this that would also be appreciated.</p>
<p>Bamagirls – I’ve recently emailed back and forth with the Early College program administrators, who have been very helpful. The summer residential component of this program is taking the place of Capstone Summer Honors – so possibly someone’s experience in that program would also be informative. </p>
<p>As far as scholarships, they are based on GPA. The cost of the program without scholarship for out of state students is $312 per credit hour. I was told that based on my daughter’s GPA (above 4.0 weighted) we would pay roughly $228 per credit hour and that housing and food could be expected to be in the $600 – 800 range for one session (the program is available for both the Summer I and Summer II sessions.) Children of alumni also receive a book scholarship. To be designated “Honors Ready” you need an ACT score of 27 – I assume that they would accept equivalent SAT scores, but haven’t yet asked that question.</p>
<p>paying4collegex4</p>
<p>Thanks for the information. Our older child who is already at the UA has been providing the info to us and I will certainly follow up with the emails as you suggested. The information she has provided though has been quite limited. I wasn’t aware of the “Honors Ready” until I looked at the website today. Their unweighted GPAs are 4.0 and based on their PSAT scores and performance on the SAT through Duke TIP they should do very well with the SAT and ACT. Based on prior years, the middle one is very close as a sophomore to the NMSF scores she would need to earn next year as a junior. The younger one is a year behind her and is a few points behind her as a freshman. The middle one is scheduled to take both the SAT and ACT in the next few weeks. We are hoping she will go ahead and knock out her scores early for the Presidential Scholarship as her sister did.</p>
<p>With multiples in college in such close proximity of age, any reduction in cost is most welcome, especially as OOS students! I really appreciate your insight into that area since the info online did not provide much insight.</p>
<p>We are working on her application this week for early college online to knock out a few extra hours this summer and next year. Since her sister will be remaining on campus next summer, we thought the on campus classes might be good for her to experience too.</p>
<p>I would also be very interested in hearing from anyone who participated with Capstone Summer Honors if anyone cares to share their experience.</p>
<p>Thanks again for the information you provided. Is one of yours considering it also?</p>
<p>My oldest daughter is a current student at Alabama. I have a high school junior who is considering the Early College program for this summer. (She is also looking at programs at SMU and Ole Miss. The Ole Miss program would be completely free based on her SAT but the dates are an issue. The SMU program is very expensive.) </p>
<p>As I understand it, the entire Early College program is relatively new and the “Honors Ready” aspect is completely new this year – I would guess that the activities offered through the Honors Ready portion of the program would be similar to the kinds of things that the Capstone Summer Honors previously offered, however.</p>
<p>I also have a current high school freshman son who would love to take programing courses that aren’t offered at his school. I don’t think that current high school freshman can participate in the Early College program, however – as of the last time I looked students had to be second semester sophomores to apply to Early College. If you hear anything different with regard to your freshman, I would love to know too!</p>
<p>You are correct about the freshman. She will have to wait until spring next year. Please post again if you find more information. I appreciate your insights very much.</p>
<p>I’m not sure where you would like me to begin but my daughter participated in the Capstone Summer Honors Program 2011. She is currently a high school senior heading to BAMA this Fall.
I’ve posted previously of her experience. I’ll try to locate those post since they would be “fresh off the program.” Several months have passed and I’ve slept since then…
Any direct questions, please ask. For now, here’s a quick recap:
She lived in Lakeside East, 4 person suite. The Counselors lived on the same dorm floor a few doors away. There was a list of class choices but upon arrival I explained that many of the AP credits she would have, should take place of some of the choices. There was no need to double up ;/ The Counselors were very accommodating to find alternative class choices. She ended up in an International Relations (PSC 204) class.
At some point during the summer, she learned that her Political Science Prof was also the Professor for the Faculty-led Program to Belgium. Long story short, she’s attending the Belgium trip this summer before her Frosh year begins. I think that’s pretty cool for UA to allow her to study abroad pre-Frosh.
She earned 6 credit hours during CSHP and she will have an additional 6 credit hours in Belgium. That will be 12 credit hours from UA before Fall 2012. I believe the Honors College staff sincerely care about their students. Each person she came in contact with was eager to assist her any way possible. The students aren’t seen as a number but as an individual.
The students had Ice Breaker Socials, a cookout with Dr. Sharpe and other HC staff, Dr. Sharpe treated them to Yogurt Mountain, Dr. Witt made a brief appearance at their Ice Cream Social, pool party with the Black Belt students and several other activities.
One of her courses was Honors Photography. She was NOT so excited by this at the beginning. She preferred classes that would be intellectually challenging. I called the HC with her concerns. Ms. Merritt (HC Staff) explained in detail what Honors Photography and the teacher (Mr. Knight) had in store before she arrived on campus. The class revolved around the 100 Lens Project focusing on the Black Belt region of Alabama. It’s more than I can explain here. I would suggest that you search the topic.
The 6 credit hours resulted in much more (study abroad in Belgium & learning about the Black Belt and bonding with the students of the region) than numbers on a transcript.
She spent time volunteering in the community (for tornado relief) and loved every second of her time on campus and around Tuscaloosa.
Nearly every night, she would FaceBook check-in at a different local restaurant around T-town. Let’s say the BAMA Dining Dollars didn’t go far…she could’ve eaten in the dining halls but exploring Tuscaloosa was a much more attractive option.
Oh yes, she also had an Honors Seminar class that focused on the book by Randy Pausch. She said that it was a great experience. I would have guessed that may have been her favorite but she truly enjoyed each course for various reasons.
After returning home, she stated that the worst part of the program was when it ended. She wasn’t ready to leave Alabama or any of the awesome folks that she had met. Alabama has a special place in her heart and she’s 100% ready to be back on campus!
I tried to touch on several things without much detail. Please ask if you have specific questions.
One last thing, she was the only high schooler in the PSC 204 class. For several days, she kept that little fact to herself. I believe the other students were a bit intimidating only because they were “college kids”. She quickly connected with a few of them and let them in on her little secret. Soon after, one of the female students (a rising college Junior) was her study/peer review partner. They stay in contact still today.
As a proud Momma, “if she knew that I was sharing this she would kill me”, I have to tell you that she was the top student in PSC 204. This was not something that she, nor myself, was aware of. I personally spoke with the Professor regarding Belgium and he divulged that tidbit. My point is, the high school kids are afraid to slack and generally perform very well during these programs. Hopefully, that ambition carries forward throughout her Freshman year (asking that for 4 years is a stretch, I know). Ha</p>
<p>When do you sign up for this and what grades can participate? My daughter is a sophomore and may be interested.</p>
<p>The requirements for CSHP: (I can’t speak to the new programs)
-summer between Junior & Senior year or “rising Senior”
-ACT minimum 28
-GPA 3.8 (I think)
-essay
-2 rec letters
We learned about this program in March and off she went in May. The HC was very helpful with expediting her app.</p>
<p>Sophomore daughter picked up the Early College brochure last night at the HS college fair. She is excited about participating. Sophomores can participate in the online version. The summer residential programs are for Juniors and Seniors.</p>
<p>Here is a link to the website with more information: [University</a> of Alabama UA Early College](<a href=“http://uaearlycollege.ua.edu/index.html]University”>http://uaearlycollege.ua.edu/index.html)</p>
<p>Asaunmom,</p>
<p>WOW! Sounds like an awesome experience for your daughter. Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ll certainly search for your previous posts also. I may have specific questions for you later, but you covered just about everything. I’m guessing the suite mates were also participating in the program? Thanks so much for your insight.</p>
<p>bamagirls-
Yes, the roomies were CSHP students. One from GA, one from AL. They only had 3 girls in a 4 person suite. The girls didn’t want a TV and used the main room as a study room.</p>
<p>Asaunmom – adding my thanks for your input – my daughter is worried that it would feel odd to possibly be the only high school student in a college class – I will share what you wrote about your daughter’s experience.</p>
<p>I guess that it’s important to add that we’re from INDIANA. I believe that she was the only student from our state. Leaving her 9 hours away was a bit strange but the time flew by and as I stated, she was NOT ready to leave Alabama!
On the trip home, she slept the entire way. :)</p>
<p>Wow the Bama summer program sounds great. S couldn’t do it because of dates 2 years ago so he went to the Ole Miss program with tuition, housing and food paid for so that was great. He came home with 6 credits that Bama accepted with good grades toward his gpa. We thought it would give him a good idea if he would like Bama since we are from the NE. He loved it. It’s quite an international program- lots of kids from South Am, they have some kind of agreement. The program was good, but they ended up canceling the program he signed up for which we didn’t find out until we arrived. But it was incredibly fortuitous as S found something that he liked much better. </p>
<p>I would say go with the Bama program if you can swing it financially, particularly if they are considering Bama.</p>
<p>My D will be attending the summer session at the University of Alabama, have you received any details?</p>
<p>Thanks for info asaunmom. D2 has just completed her first online class with UA Early College and is considering the on campus option for next summer. She’ll be taking another online class for this summer.</p>
<p>^^^Same here! D really enjoyed the first class and is looking forward to her classes this summer and fall.</p>
<p>As far as the cost of the program (Capstone Summer Honoors that included room, board, tuition & $300 Bama dining dollars) was $1,800. Honestly, I thought it was a steal. Of course, she had book fees. I think they were less than $50 total.
Our daughter just spent the weekend on campus, April 24-28. She stayed with the counselor that she met during the Capstone Summer Honors (CSHP), who lives in Ridgecrest. During the time she was on campus, the April 27 Tornado Memorial took place at Coleman Coliseum. She said it was very well done and that she shed many tears. She felt so blessed to know that so many members of the community and the campus community are still bonded and connected through such a horrific tragedy. Once again, she was not ready to leave Alabama.
In my heart, I know that all of this stemmed from going out on a limb to send my 17yo daughter 9 hours away to campus we had visited once. CSHP has snowballed into one experience after another even a year later.
ROLL TIDE! <insert smiling="" proud="" mom=""></insert></p>
<p>^^Thank for sharing your D’s experience. We will be looking at the on campus option more closely for next year for D2 and the following year for D3. Congrats to your D.</p>
<p>HS Sophmore S2 is interested in UA Early College (Sign-up deadline is next week). Can anyone expand on the online course experience i.e. level of difficulty, amount of time spent on the course and just a general overview? He does not want to be too overwhelmed and rather concentrate on his current schoolwork, but this opportunity has piqued his interest.</p>