<p>Just wanted to share what I could about orientation. It was very organized and we had a great time. I did feel like during the afternoon time the staff was trying to occupy the parents while the students registered. That was ok though…We did get a few tips. Everyone tried to be helpful, but I must say that someone approached us between meetings and said she was an advisor. I didn’t even get her name, but we got more advice from her than my son got during the registration period. Glad she stopped to talk!!! As recommended by some on this board, while my son was in registration, I was on a laptop on ratemyprofessor.com. He text(ed) me as he registered and had me check professors and text him back! My son said he had his schedule punched in on his own, then waited about an hour to talk with the advisor who said “looks good to me”! That was it. Unfortunately, I wanted my son to talk to someone about adding a double major in a different college, but he felt like he didn’t get the opportunity. He tried, but the advisor just told him he could pretty much take whatever he wanted because he had almost all of his core with AP/DE credit. Hopefully, we chose wisely to help him with the double major. We looked at requirements for PolySci as well as general core for business and did the best we could. I think he is fine. We have lots of time to email advisors(which we will). BUT, be prepared with that skeleton schedule and some options!!! My son did not have any trouble getting the classes that he wanted.</p>
<p>The ONLY disappointment was the schedule said for the students to come by Nott Hall before they left to have the honors staff review their schedule and make sure everything was in order. Dean Sharpe even emphasized that we come by in his morning address. We followed a group of parents and students over to Nott Hall at the end of the day. When we got there, one of the student staff obviously had no idea why we were there. He said if we were happy with my son’s schedule we were done. Not exactly what I expected. I had hoped that would be when we could discuss the second major, but we wound up leaving without talking with anyone. Perhaps we should have pushed that issue, but I thought it would be a structured process, but it was not.</p>
<p>We opened a checking account at the credit union, put money on his bama cash account and took care of the immunization paperwork all at the Ferg. That was very convenient. LITTLE confusing when to use dining dollars vs bama cash vs meal plan, but I think I’ve got it! </p>
<p>Main advice is to have an idea of a schedule to make the process ALOT easier! I understand wanting the students to be responsible for the scheduling, but I wish the parents could have been there for that first schedule to ask questions. Guess it’s time for mom to let him grow up!</p>
<p>*I wanted my son to talk to someone about adding a double major in a different college, but he felt like he didn’t get the opportunity. *</p>
<p>I’ve been told several times that Bama won’t discuss double majors until after the student has enrolled. I don’t know why that is, but that’s what I’ve been told a few times. Maybe because the first semester kids are usually taking Core classes and such so a second major isn’t a big concern. However, if a child has a lot of AP/Dual and has few Core Req’ts to do, nothing really can stop him from going ahead and taking a req’d class in the desired second major’s curriculum.</p>
<p>*LITTLE confusing when to use dining dollars vs bama cash vs meal plan, but I think I’ve got it! *</p>
<p>You don’t have to decide. The Action card is a “smart card” and knows what to deduct from where. You don’t have to specify. If you’re eating at a Meal Plan venue, the meal gets deducted. IF you’re eating at a retail dining venue and you have Dining Dollars on your card, it will deduct from there. IF you are doing laundry, it will deduct from Bama Cash. If you’re out of Dining Dollars or Meal plan meals, it will then deduct from Bama Cash.</p>
<p>the schedule said for the students to come by Nott Hall before they left to have the honors staff review their schedule and make sure everything was in order. Dean Sharpe even emphasized that we come by in his morning address. We followed a group of parents and students over to Nott Hall at the end of the day. When we got there, one of the student staff obviously had no idea why we were there. He said if we were happy with my son’s schedule we were done. Not exactly what I expected. I had hoped that would be when we could discuss the second major, but we wound up leaving without talking with anyone. Perhaps we should have pushed that issue, but I thought it would be a structured process, but it was not.</p>
<p>I don’t know why Dr. Sharpe would have said to do that when there really isn’t anything Honors can do at that point. However, I would email him and ask why he made that recommendation when nothing was anticipated at the Honors College. BTW…the honors college would not be where your child would discuss a second major. That would be done with the advisor of the second major and possibly with coordination from the advisor with the first major.</p>
<p>What is your child’s first major and what is his likely second major?</p>
<p>Thanks m2ck! He’s definately majoring in political science and has decided to do some sort of business major. So, we added an economics class as a start to satisfy the business core reqts. Looks like he won’t have to take any science, math, or english and got credit for the first polysci core reqt. He’s taking a foreign lang, honors course (humanities credit I think) International War Crimes , a freshman seminar (ANT 155) , and the economics and OA. That was another thing, they really pushed taking a light load the first semester. So he’s only taking 14 credits. I REALLY think he should have taken another honors course, but they discouraged it to the point that he took their word for it!</p>
<p>Frankly, I think for the first semester, 14 credits is better than 17 (which another honors class would give him)…unless 1 of those credits is from Outdoor Action (which it looks like it is).</p>
<p>If so, then he can still add a class. He’s free to change his schedule as much as he wants this summer. However, if he exceeds 16 credits, you’ll have to pay more. </p>
<p>Is the honors mentoring class open? If not, more spaces will open during other Bama Bound days. That is only 2 credits, so it won’t put him over the 16 limit.</p>
<p>Bamafana, have your son consider taking a Common Book Experience class. I know that they were uploaded to the University Honors schedule Thursday. There are some awesome professors teaching some great books. They are just one credit, but it is an honors credit. Your son would be in classes with students from all levels and all over the country.</p>
<p>I will add that my son took 16 credits the first semester – but one class was an audit. He admits that he really wished that he had taken another class or landed a job to stay a bit more busy.</p>
<p>We mentioned to him that we were worried he’d be bored, but he assured us he is going to use that time to try and get involved on campus. I think he WILL do that, but I think an honors class of 1 or 2 credits sounds PERFECT. I think we will seriously discuss those options. Was REALLY happy that it was NO problem getting the classes he wants! I was nervous about that since alot of classes were showing closed. Guess all of you experienced parents were right and they open classes for orientation. </p>
<p>How about the mentoring honors class. It’s 1 credit. Anyone with experience on that one?</p>
<p>HONORS EXPLORATIONS (1 credit)
Honors Quest: Cultivating Academic Excellence
Navigating through multiple opportunities provided by the University can be both exciting and challenging. Through a combination of discussions facilitated by leading professors and UA administrators and small group meetings, students will gain the insight and skills needed to maximize their college experience. The small group meetings will be led by UA student leaders who will serve as peer mentors. Designed to be a launching pad for the college years, this class will meet twice a week for the first eight weeks of the semester only.</p>
<p>This is a good idea for OOS students and/or students who won’t know anyone at UA.</p>
<p>I remember Dr. Sharpe’s comment to stop by honors and have them check out your schedule. I think it’s more of an open invite later on to ask honors any questions you may have about UA rather than a requirement to stop by after registration and have them go over every detail of your schedule.</p>
<p>My general rule with Dining Dollars/Bama Cash is to use dining Dollars whenever possible rather than Bama Cash (the cashiers do this automatically). I tend to only use Bama Cash when provided a financial incentive to do so (ie laundry) or it is the only simple method (campus printing), otherwise I use credit/debit cards.</p>
<p>Having a lighter schedule first semester is popular (especially if becoming Greek), but is not required. I was very used to dual-enrollment classes, so I took 17 credits (including Alabama Action) my first semester and 17 the second. Of course, I was grandfathered into the rule that allows my scholarship to cover 17 credits a semester.</p>
<p>I highly suggest taking a Common Book Experience class. I took two, one of which was “Mud on the Stars” which I see is being offered this semester (great instructor and the book is partially about UA).</p>
<p>Other posters are correct that double majors are usually discussed after the student officially starts classes at UA, though exceptions are made. Bama Bound registration is more about getting a general idea of what courses you need to take and coming up with a workable schedule. I talked to my advisor later on and worked out a better schedule.</p>
<p>Bamafana, is your S’s primary major Poli Sci and thus no business advisors were present at registration? It might help to talk with a business advisor about a double major in business even though CBA isn’t his official college of record.</p>
<p>Bamafana: Thanks for your insights into the process! I think our group is next (May 27/28)</p>
<p>Momreads: when I looked at the University Honors section on MyBama, there were a bunch of 1 credit classes that I hadn’t seen before: UH120: FR.EplTpcs and there were 8 or so of them with titles like: Education & Peace; Gifts; Poetry & Song…are those the common book experiences? Can’t find any info on them.
thanks!</p>
<p>RobD: To learn a little more about the courses, I went to Amazon and read the reviews of each book that will be discussed in the Common Book Experience courses. I knew that my son would love one particular book, so I already ordered it. Even if he does not take the class, I know he will read the book.</p>
<p>Thanks M2CK & Momreads. I just took a look at the CBE courses…a few won’t make the cut because of the 8:30 start time ;)</p>
<p>Can D assume that the Freshman Exploration Topics classes are discussion based about that very specific topic? They all seem to have Jacqueline Morgan as the instructor.</p>
<p>I know I have seen this posted before but can’t remember where. Do we need to take bed linens for the kids for the overnight orientation? Parents and sibling are staying at the Capstone (buy one get one free!!)</p>
<p>Just skimming through this thread, but glad to spot that y’all were encouraged to take a light load first semester.</p>
<p>I have talked to many kids just back from their first year and every one of them gave the advice, Don’t take too much the first semester.</p>
<p>Also remember, these advisors are there to help you. That’s their job! Trust their experience and knowledge.</p>
<p>Remember, your kid’s there for eight semesters, at least. </p>
<p>I’m glad your son wants to use his extra time to get involved. As we’ve seen often on CC, one of the main reasons kids are unhappy their first year and transfer is because they didn’t get involved at school. If your child is taking too heavy a load, they will be reluctant to get involved, as they’ll be occupying their free time learning “life skills”.</p>
<p>So, let him ease into it. If he wants to take a little more next semester, go for it.</p>
<p>One thing to remember about a lot of these one credit courses, there is a lot of work involved. I know this from being a science major and also looking at my engineering major son’s potential schedule. Lots of little one credit class, but if you look at the meeting times, it’s once a week for a few hours, and most will involve some kind of “project”. </p>
<p>What might start out as a little “extra credit to fill some spare time” course might turn out to be more work than his regular three credit humanities courses.</p>
<p>Glad you were able to get in your courses and had a fun time at Bama Bound.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions guys! Sea_tide, my DS is planning on his primary major to be PolySci, but I think he’d be just as happy with the business major. He did not get to talk to a business college advisor. I think we need to do that!</p>
<p>Bamafana, Alabama’s political science major requires just 30 hours, and many kids start college with 3 to 6 hours because they got the AP credit from U.S. government and/or comparative government.</p>
<p>So doing a double major is quite possible – one of my son’s majors is poli sci, and he started Alabama with six credits thanks to the APs. He took one poli sci class each semester his freshman year, so he needs just six classes to complete the major, and he has three years left.</p>
(buy one get one free!!)</p>