<p>Does anyone have pictures or video of the honors college dorm? I’ve been reading how nice they are but I can seem to find any details. Most of the dorms we have seen at other colleges are pretty much the same…are these different in some way?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I don’t think the pics do the dorms justice. </p>
<p><a href=“http://housing.ua.edu/halls/[/url]”>http://housing.ua.edu/halls/</a></p>
<p>The honors halls are:</p>
<p>Ridgecrest South - good pics on that link…and a floorplan link…has basketball courts and volleyball courts…game room and TV room</p>
<p>Ridgecrest West - good pics on this link, floorplan, and video TV room</p>
<p>Riverside - - video and floorplan. Riverside has a swimming pool. Game room and TV room</p>
<p>Lakeside West - pics are odd on this link…it’s like they snapped pics when furniture was shoved aside for vacuuming…weird.</p>
<p>If you click on each one, there are links to pics and floorplan</p>
<p>The Honors Dorms are awesome! 
My older son (freshman) is in Riverside East and LOVES it. Private rooms, two bathrooms, spacious living room, nice little kitchenette. He went random for roommates and got great ones, thank God!</p>
<p>Wow, just checked out the website. Do all the honors dorms have kitchenettes and living rooms? Do all honors kids get in the honors dorms? Can you request housing before you know for sure that you are attending? I don’t think we can visit until spring break…</p>
<p>Yes…all the honors dorms have kitchenettes and living room. </p>
<p>Do all honors kids get in the honors dorms? Can you request housing before you know for sure that you are attending? </p>
<p>There are about 2500 honors beds. There aren’t enough if every honors kid requested an honors bed. Some kids don’t request an honors bed because the honors super suites are more expensive. So, most freshmen who want them will get them. </p>
<p>Yes, you can request housing, but you have to deposit to do so.</p>
<p>wdaveo … as alluded to above, you can “lock in” a very good chance for getting the dorm of your choice by paying your housing deposit as early as possible. First, however, you’d need to make your $200 Enrollment Deposit and your $250 Housing Deposit. If you later decide not to attend UA, then you’d get back $225 of the Housing Deposit according to the Housing website. The Enrollment deposit is non-refundable. Also adding to the above, there are many reasons why an Honors College freshman might choose NOT to select one of the North Campus super suites. For example, MANY girls who plan to go through recruitment may choose to live in Tutwiler. There are other Living Learning communities that are not “housed” in the North Campus suites as well such as Blount, and many of those kids are also in the Honors College. The best advice if you’re really considering UA, even as a safety school, is to pay the enrollment and housing fees to lock in your housing selection priority. Good luck!</p>
<p>The floor plans and pictures look similar for all the dorms. Are there any significance differences between them?</p>
<p>^^^ TKP … if you’re refering to significant differences between the north campus suite style dorms, then I think the answer is no. With minor differences, they are all EXCELLENT. Preferences range from newness of the dorm itself (Ridgecrest is the “newest”) to proximity to a particular area of campus (Science vs. Business) to proximity to the Ferg and Lakeside dining, etc. They are ALL great. My D happens to be in Ridgecrest and loves it, but from all I can tell, she seems to be spending a lot of time with friends in Lakeside and Riverside where the gang seems to hang out. You can’t go wrong really. AND don’t forget there will be a brand new dorm opening in 2012 with a new dining hall and rec center!</p>
<p>Tommy, </p>
<p>the layout for the honors dorms for Riverside, Lakeside, and Ridgecrest E&W are very similar. The layout for Ridgecrest South is a bit different.</p>
<p>And each Res hall tends to have a different color scheme for furniture. </p>
<p>There are some other differences that aren’t related to the suites themselves…such as…</p>
<p>Riverside has a pool, TV room, and gameroom. </p>
<p>Lakeside has a computer room. </p>
<p>Ridgecrest South has TV room, gameroom, basketball courts, and volleyball courts. </p>
<p>Ridgecrest East and West have a community room ( I think).</p>
<p>Hopefully others can add some of the differences.</p>
<p>What would be the best choice for a business major? And also, I will have a car. What’s the parking situation like?</p>
<p>Tommy, speaking only based on physical location, Ridgecrest is the closest of the north campus dorms to the west side of campus and the business buildings … and Publix. My D is an MIS major in the business school. Ridgecrest also has its own parking structure, but since my D does not have a car, I do not have experience with how that works other than to say that parking is at a “premium” everywhere on campus.</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>My kids did/do have a car on campus. </p>
<p>If you’re in Ridgecrest South, then you can park in the parking structure that is under the dorms and you can park in the parking structure that is north of the Student Services building. My kids never had trouble finding parking in these areas.</p>
<p>If you’re in Lakeside, then you can park in the Lakeside parking lot or another designated area (can’t remember where that is)</p>
<p>Riverside has a parking lot that is on the north side.</p>
<p>According to DD, Ridgecrest South has the smallest dorm rooms. She said her friends in Lakeside and Riverside both have larger rooms than hers. The parking at Ridgecrest South though is great, never a problem finding a spot.</p>
<p>I don’t know if all of the Lakeside or Riverside dorms are larger, however, “room D” in both halls is about 1 foot longer and the layout makes it seem much bigger. </p>
<p>I think that rooms “A” and “D” in Ridgecrest South are a bit larger than rooms “B” and “C”. If you have a B or C room in Ridgecrest South, and you see a Room D in Lakeside or Riverside, you probably will notice a difference. </p>
<p>The way you place your furniture can make a real difference in “visual space”. When you get your room, take a minute to rearrange the furniture to be placed optimally. Since housekeeping had just been thru the rooms, often the furniture has been placed willy-nilly when you first arrive. </p>
<p>Also, lofting your bed and putting your dresser underneath or putting your dresser in your closet can make for more space.</p>
<p>I’m a current freshman in Lakeside West. ANYONE in any of the north side dorms that buys a parking pass can park anywhere in the yellow zone. There is the Lakeside parking lot (pretty small), Riverside parking lot (huge), Ridgecrest parking lot (fairly small), the Ridgecrest deck (pretty big), Paty (small but typically a spot open), or the Ferg deck (always plenty of spots). Best location in my opinion is Ridgecrest West. South is set up with kitchen and living room in the middle with two BR and a bathroom on each side of it. I like the kitchen set up better because its open, but other than that, Lakeside and Riverside and the other Ridgecrest have a more convenient setup.</p>
<p>Hmmm…so Riverside would be a good choice for an engineering honors student who might want to have an electronic drumset and/or keyboard in his room? (This would make him oh so happy. NONE of the other schools we are looking at have any place for a keyboard…much less an electronic drumset!)</p>
<p>^^
Not sure what you mean. Do you mean is there space in his private room for a drumset? I’m not sure that there is. How big is the drum set? He could probably fit a keyboard, but a drumset is questionable. </p>
<p>Maybe Moody Music Building has drum sets that students can use???</p>
<p>If you go to this link you will see the Riverside/Lakeside floorplan with furniture set up. I don’t see how a drumset would fit without being in the way of a closet or something. </p>
<p>Can it fit under a lofted bed when not in use?
.
[The</a> University of Alabama - Videos, Photos, and Visit Reports](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/vibe/the-university-of-alabama/?entry=image_1_dn5qsj5w#ugcImageMaster]The”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/vibe/the-university-of-alabama/?entry=image_1_dn5qsj5w#ugcImageMaster)</p>
<p>Thanks for that link. An electronic drumset is smaller than a regular acoustic drumset. It would likely fit under a lofted bed…but he would put it smack dab in the middle of the room, if he had to. No way he could ever do this in any of the other dorms we have looked at. Definitely a lot of benefits to having a room to yourself.</p>
<p>He should try for a Room D in a Riverside, Lakeside or Ridgecrest West hall.</p>
<p>We can confirm that a keyboard can fit into the room in Lakeside West without putting any of the other furniture under the bed.</p>