My rising senior daughter and I are flying down to Alabama this weekend for a tour. We have an Honors College tour set up for Friday afternoon and a campus tour for Saturday morning. This school was not even on our radar until a couple of months ago. We are from the northeast and hoping that she really likes the school. Anything that must must see and/or do?
You’re visiting at a time when there aren’t going to be many students on campus. The spring semester has ended, graduation has occurred and the regular summer session doesn’t start until May 31. Bama Bound, which brings incoming freshmen in for orientation and provides a little activity on campus, hasn’t started yet either. So prepare yourselves for it being kind of empty. You’re going to miss experiencing the friendliness of the student body, which is something special. I would also prepare for it being HOT and HUMID and dress accordingly. If your daughter isn’t a big fan of Alabama summer heat, remind her that most students aren’t on campus in the summer, and most of the school year the weather is quite pleasant.
Does your daughter know what her major will be? Does the Honors tour include meeting with a professor in that area, or a tour of the facilities for that area? If not, I’d request that. Is she interested in any of the special honors programs, like CBH or University Fellows? If so, let them know and ask to meet with someone about those programs. Is she a football fan? If so, you might want to visit the Bryant Museum. Off-campus, I would visit the Strip, probably try to have a meal in the downtown area, perhaps visit Midtown Village to see the shopping and restaurants in the area, have some barbecue at Full Moon or Dreamland, and take a stroll along the Riverwalk (off Jack Warner Parkway behind Presidential Village).
Enjoy your trip!
Thank you beth’s mom! We knew how the campus would be, but wanted to get down before she starts her applications. We are traveling from NY and wanted to get a feel for the campus before the application comes out. We tried to do this in April, but had a hard time getting a tour, so we know we may have to go back again when school is in session. I appreciate you suggestions!
Based on the activity on my daughter’s debit card, some of her favorite places to eat are Mugshots, Mellow Mushroom, Glory Bound and the Avenue Pub in the downtown area (all located within a block of University Blvd. between about 23rd Street and Greensboro Avenue) and Tazikis in Midtown Village. There are lots of other choices as well. I think there’s a recommended restaurants list that’s been posted on here before.
I hope your daughter loves the campus. Mine wasn’t blown away on her visit as many are, but she chose Bama, had a fabulous four years in T-Town and is staying there for grad school.
More great info…Thank you! Does you daughter happen to know or have an opinion about the food on campus? My daughter has Celiac, so we have to look into this.
My daughter grew up eating my cooking, so by comparison she thought the food in the dining halls was great. Most kids weren’t wild about it because their mothers were much better cooks. So I prepared my children well for college! She has no dietary restrictions and ate mostly at Lakeside Dining and Fresh Foods (in the Ferguson center). She liked almost everything at both of them and was perfectly happy to eat 7 days a week in the dining halls as a freshman. She may be the exception, though. Most kids I know, no matter what college they’re attending, complain about the dining hall food.
I found this thread that you might find helpful. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1393178-gluten-free-dining.html
Thank you!
I am a current sophomore going into junior here at UA. I’m originally from PA and started here with a pretty severe gluten allergy. While I don’t have celiac, I still had to diligently avoid gluten. So I know the ins and outs of the dining halls here. They are becoming more and more gluten free and allergy free friendly. During my visit I met with a dining hall manager and they gave me their number. Every time I went to the dining hall I texted them, and they special made my dinner. I got to know the managers pretty well. Gluten Free options in Tuscaloosa are actually pretty good. I suggest mellow mushroom. They have delicious gluten free pizza. GloryBound has very good Greek gluten free foods. And most places here have started carrying more gluten free foods. The Walmart in northport has the best gluten free section. I’m trying to see if there’s any other advice I could give. I am in town this summer so if your daughter would like to meet a northerner who is gluten free or if she has any more questions, feel free to PM me. I love helping when I can.
Thank you so much bamagirl! If she likes the school, I may reach out to you if you don’t mind! It would be great to put her in contact with someone dealing with the same issues.
Have a great visit at UA. While you are visiting at a quiet time on campus for students, this has an upside, too. You might have an easier time connecting with professors and staff. When you visit with the Honors College, ask to connect with any honors students who are on campus doing summer research. Our student was on campus last summer and had a few opportunities to meet with students touring. Also, make sure the Honors College connects you with professors in your student’s areas of interest. And, this was advised earlier, but mention interest in any Honors College organizations (University Fellows, Computer Based Honors, Mosaic, etc.). Also, being there in the summer means you can get a table easier at City Cafe in Northport. This is a classic southern diner with a long history. Great southern comfort food and veggies and cobbler for a steal. It’s not far from downtown Tuscaloosa (just over the bridge) and is located in a quaint little downtown area. It’s one of our favorites. Roll Tide.
Also, FYI, City Cafe is only open for breakfast and lunch. We’ve had success arriving about 11:30. Even in the summer, you will see lots of students!
Thank you SpaceCoastMom!
jeepgirl - Hope you have a great visit! The campus should be really beautiful this time of year (though mostly empty of students…) We visited the first time in December, the day before the campus closed for winter break, and it was VERY empty; still, less than 30 minutes on campus, and my son was sure it was the place for him 
Bumping this thread, just wondering how the visit went @jeepgirl ?
The visit was more than wonderful! I have not one negative thing to say about Alabama! My daughter loves it! Everyone was so kind and helpful! Alabama does a great job! This was our 11th tour and by far the best. My daughter wishes they had ED, but EA will have to do.
This thread is especially helpful to those families who are visiting in summer, as it (esp Post #9) has outlined some ‘positives’ to visiting at that time.
(11 tours……)
@jeepgirl If your daughter is interested in Greek Life at Bama, please consider doing lots of research on the recruitment process. It starts well before the summer – recommendations are necessary – and in my experience, prospective new members unfamiliar with recruitment at SEC have a significant learning curve.
@higheredmom Thank you! I have heard this and my daughter has been trying to learn as much as she can about the process.
What is the best source for SEC Greek Life recruitment process info? Would love some advice here…
Each year, UA’s Panhellenic Association publishes a guide to sorority recruitment. Here is the link to this year’s edition: http://www.uapanhellenic.com/greek-chic.html. Many other SEC schools will publish similar guides.
For UA, each organization has a threshold high school GPA for prospective new members; and in fact the sorority recruitment registration process requires an official high school transcript. If a prospective new member has less than a 3.0 high school GPA, their options will be very limited as sororities are loathe to accept new members that may represent potential academic risks. In my experience, this is the single factor most likely to determines whether a girl will be invited back to a particular sorority. It doesn’t mean she will not be invited back anywhere, but it dramatically limits her options to join one of the 16 groups that participate in UA formal recruitment. Do not take academics lightly as it relates to sorority recruitment! I can not emphasize this enough. As for recommendations, they are not optional; they are necessary for each of the groups. Start early – in January to secure recommendations which can take a surprisingly long time. Attend Spring Teas in March if possible. Clean up all social media, which is another area that girls think no one is looking at. They look and will release girls with inappropriate, offensive or otherwise negative social media profiles.