<p>In regards to Freshman Fellows class size, I asked my friend and she said that there were 21 this year, but this was the smallest of the Fellows classes yet…</p>
<p>pretzeldude, i had posted once that with the economics of today, and the apparent change in attitude to southern schools (ie 2 years ago on cc, ua wasnt talked about that much, vs now with dean witt’s campaign and the wonderful scholarships top quality kids are applying) whether ua was being seen as a safety economically for some kids of ufe quality… and that perhaps the yield wouldnt be as high as in the past…as some of those selected may go on to the “ivy” type school afterall…did you friend think the reason for 21 was a yield issue or did they just not offer as many places last year. i had posted i felt that they could maybe only see 50% yield but that wasnt seen as correct. i remember reading a tulane post that mentioned something like only 1/2 successful applicants for the deans honors there actually took it last year also.<br>
any thoughts?</p>
<p>Hmmm… I’m not sure. I can’t speak directly for the Fellows, but as for CBH, half of the students who were at CBH finalists weekend and are out of state are enrolled in the program. Compare this to the fact that about 65% of the students who were at CBH finalists weekend and are in state are enrolled in the program. Since I don’t think the acceptance rates for in state and out of state are drastically different, it follows that in-staters likely accept spots at a greater frequency than out-of-staters. Why is that? And why are there 39 freshman CBHers whereas there are, I believe, 44 and 42 in the classes above mine?</p>
<p>One is that many out-of-state students apply to UA as an economic safety, get into a different state school, or an Ivy League school, and decline the offer. In-staters might also get into a different school and choose to go, but because they are more knowledgable about the Capstone and its various honors programs, etc. (and are in-state), they choose to go here at a higher rate.</p>
<p>It is obvious, and wonderful, that Dr. Witt is attracting the best and brightest to our campus. Of course, this means that there will be students who are accepted to CBH/Fellows and turn down the spots to go to a top flight institution. However, and perhaps most importantly, because of the lucrative scholarships UA offers, UA can “financially steal” these scholars from other top flight institutions if those aren’t affordable. I know that one of my CBH friends turned down Duke. Another turned down Georgetown. I turned down WUSTL. Not enough money from those other institutions.</p>
<p>As Bama’s reputation grows, it will be able to accept and attract better and better students. I think that this is already evident; somewhere I overheard a few upperclassmen Fellows state that they don’t believe they would be accepted to that program if they applied today, because the talent pool among applicants has grown substantially in 2-3 years.</p>
<p>AL34: No, my son had no problems with honors housing. He decided right around Christmas time that we should send in the deposit – just in case. We figured that we would lose only $25 if he chose a different school. He selected his housing on the third night for honors freshmen. </p>
<p>This year, because of all his AP/dual enrollment credit, along with his first semester credits, he figures that he will select very early in the process for upperclassmen. While many students want to move off-campus, he elected to stay on campus because his National Merit package includes honors housing. As an economics major, he understands the word “free” very well.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about Freshman Fellows, but just to give you that are keenly interested in the topic points of comparison in reference to parent56’s post #42:</p>
<p>Tulane offered 100 full tuition DHS’s for entering class of 2008 and 46 came. They offered 75 last year and 26 came. The DHS covers tuition for 4 years (5 for architecture students) no matter the increase, as long as you take a full load, maintain a certain GPA, don’t get arrested, etc. etc. I am sure they were a little disappointed they didn’t get about 5-10 more, but it is so competitive both ways (to get one and to get the kids). I know a lot of these kids also get offered similar scholarships to Vandy, Emory, Wash U (one I know personally took the Wash U offer instead of the DHS), etc. I suppose in a way it is a shame that some of these scholarships go unused by anyone, but that is obviously calculated in when they make the offers, just like all of admissions. I also imagine a few of these kids also get accepted to Ivy League schools and either decide to pay the freight or qualify for tuition relief based on their new guidelines.</p>
<p>Anyway, just wanted to give you a couple of data points to compare.</p>
<p>i had posted i felt that they could maybe only see 50% yield but that wasnt seen as correct.</p>
<p>According to Dr. Sharpe (the director of CBH), the yield for CBH runs about 90%-95%.</p>
<p>He said if the yield was anywhere near 50%, he would invite a lot more than 40 in order to get close to 40, and then invite waitlisted as needed. (that would only make sense.)</p>
<hr>
<p>*In regards to Freshman Fellows class size, I asked my friend and she said that there were 21 this year, but this was the smallest of the Fellows classes yet… *</p>
<p>As for UFE, because of the wide variances in posts here, I will call Wellon as soon as she’s in her office to get the real numbers. Right now, she’s not in. </p>
<p>If UFE ever has a low class, I don’t think it will be because of ivies, etc (because so few that are chosen also have ivy choices - not that many apply to UA and ivies.). Yes, there are always a couple that choose ivies/elites over CBH (and likely UFE), but there are also those who choose CBH/UFE over elites. </p>
<p>The one thing that I see as a negative with UFE is the Academic Elite Scholarships. They don’t advertise how many get them, so some/many UFE hopefuls also hope to snag one of those. When those are finally given out, and most don’t get one, I imagine some might decline UFE. Dr. Halli told me last year that some students only seek UFE to get the Academic Elite scholarship.</p>
<p>I think offering Academic Elite as it currently stands is a big mistake. I don’t mind that it offers tuition and housing, but that $8500 a year stipend can be seen as “not fair.” It suggest that 8-10 Fellows each year are receiving a salary for the work they do in UFE, while the others must work for free. I think that is bad for morale, especially if a few of those Academic Elites end up being slackers or not UFE leaders.</p>
<p>Another issue is that UFE kids who are also NMF never seem to be considered. Some might say, well they already get free tuition and housing. Yes, but they don’t get that big stipend. So, again, bad for morale.</p>
<p>Nearly every UFE student already qualifies for Presidential, so if they got rid of that $8500 stipend, UA could probably offer free housing or a free housing set amount (say $3-5k) to every UFE student (which, again, wouldn’t be 40 kids, because the NMF’s already have it.)</p>
<p>thanks fallen chemist, that is what i was referring to…these kids are such high caliber and probably receive multiple scholarships and at some point their choices would affect yield? cant blame anyone for taking the best both educationally for them or financially</p>
<p>ps hope this isnt a double post, i thought i had already posted but it doesnt show up</p>
<p>I just got off the phone with Wellon…</p>
<p>They invite 50 kids for interviews and then invite 30-40 to join. </p>
<p>This year’s class is its smallest class with 22 (after inviting 31 - a 71% yield). Since UFE is not a class (like CBH), they don’t expect the yield that CBH gets. </p>
<p>They also lose students after the Elite scholarships are given out. So, Dr. Halli was right; some just want UFE for the money. They really need to change that scholarship, so as to avoid that problem, and to get kids who are applying to UFE to be a part of the program.</p>
<p>*One is that many out-of-state students apply to UA as an economic safety, get into a different state school, or an Ivy League school, and decline the offer. In-staters might also get into a different school and choose to go, but because they are more knowledgable about the Capstone and its various honors programs, etc. (and are in-state), they choose to go here at a higher rate.
*</p>
<p>I agree with this. And, I do think that some apply to CBH or UFE as some kind of ego challenge, without thinking that they are taking someone else’s spot when they decline. That’s why I said in an earlier post that if a student wouldn’t likely go to UA - even if accepted to CBHP or UFE - then they should decline the interview invite to let those who want to be in the program to have their chance.</p>
<p>when my son was deciding where to apply that was the all important question… would you go if accepted. he declined to apply to some special programs as he knew it could take someones spot, if the school wasnt very high on his list. all scholarships he applied for he took that into consideration. personally i think most kids/parents would?</p>
<p>*personally i think most kids/parents would? *</p>
<p>I think most parents would, but I don’t necessarily think some/many kids really think that far (without some parent advisement).</p>
<p>UFE is new; it only has 3 years of kids. I think it will have to undergo some tweaks in regards to the app process, the invite process, and the scholarship process.</p>
<p>bump this up to the first page since the news came out today</p>
<p>SEMIFINALIST! (: Does anyone know what kind of questions the phone interview entails?</p>