Honors Tour / Engineering / Distance / Sports / Music

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
1

First post…here goes…

I would like to thank all of the contributors to the Alabama threads on this site. You have been immeasurably helpful in guiding our research and understanding of the college application process and opportunities at UA.

My SON is a senior in HS in NY (Long Island). He has been accepted and received the Presidential Scholarship. He is considering the Engineering program (not sure which discipline) starting Fall 2016.

We have scheduled our tour of AU for this fall and will be arriving on a Sunday, touring on a Monday, and returning on a Tuesday. We have contacted Honors Recruitment as per mom2collegekids advice and are awaiting their response.

We have a campus tour scheduled at 10:00 AM. We hope to be meeting with the Honors College after that. That should help us with the Engineering and Honors information we are interested in. I think that the academic/honors portion of the tour is taken care of from following the posts. Let me know if there is anything we are missing.

The main reason for this post is to inquire about three specific items and what we can learn during our visit to help understand better:

  1. My Wife / Distance / The South: My wife is hesitant to send her first born to Alabama because of the distance and culture difference. My goal with this trip is to alleviate her apprehensions (I spent a few years at LSU…I’m GOOD). We booked a flight to Atlanta, will rent a car/drive to Tuscaloosa, and we are booked in the Capstone Hotel right on campus. It looks very nice and hopefully will give a good impression to her and be comfortable. Advice on travel from the northeast would be appreciated (not really for this trip, but relating to school breaks, holidays, etc.). If you have any advice on where to eat, what to do, things to avoid… it would be appreciated.

  2. Baseball: My SON LOVES the sport. He pitches for his school team and travel teams. He is NOT a D1 recruit, but could play at a D3 or club level. Can anyone shed some light on how competitive/difficult making the club team is? Are there intramural or local leagues etc. What is the time commitment for the club team? Other options?

  3. Music: My SON plays the Piano at a high level and has been the school Jazz Band Pianist for 7 years. He also plays the Bass Clarinet in the school concert band. I would appreciate any information about music at UA for NON MUSIC majors. Are the Jazz Ensembles pretty much monopolized by the music majors? Could he play in the Million $ Band or is that competitive/hard to get into? What are the time commitments? Are they worthwhile? Should he try to investigate this further while visiting? Has anyone on this thread participated in the above as a Engineering major?

We understand that his involvement in music and sports may diminish considerably with the Engineering workload. These are not “musts”, but if he could continue to pursue both or either it might be good for his social life and give him productive outlets to break from studying. He will probably not be in a fraternity.

Thank you for contributing. It is because of this site, and specifically the UA threads, that we are seriously considering this wonderful opportunity.

We will follow up with a detailed summary of our tour experience once completed.

2

OK. Will take the first shot. I am sure you will get many.

1 - Distance and culture - From a distance perspective once you got outside of normal driving range it is all the same as far as I can see. Flights are flights unless you are talking international. Even from a driving perspective if you are more than a few hours they really wont make the drive all that often. Culture - If you really check the threads you will see many kids at UA from all over the place, including NY. T-Town will feel small if you are from a big city, but the campus is fairly diverse. I have seen MANY posts over that past 4 years referencing that fact that it really isn’t very hard to fit in and feel comfortable.

2 - Baseball at a club level. Sorry have no input to this one. DS can name most sports but that is about as far as he goes :slight_smile:

3 - Music - You kind of asked 2 questions here. non-music major concert participation. DS didn’t participate but I have seen a few others who’s kids have. From what I can tell there are a number of options and opportunities. Million dollar band and Engineering - Not sure if they use Bass Clarinets as it is the marching band so not sure what instrument would be used. DS participated as a freshman trumpet player in ChemE. with no issues. During football season the band practices every afternoon, I think it takes about 2 hours a day and will take up all of Saturday on a home game weekend. For the away games that the band travels to distance will be a variable, figure traveling out on Friday and returning on Sunday should be a worst case scenario. But remember they don’t travel to all of the away games just a couple a year during the season and the other major games (bowl game or “preseason” special game). Worthwhile? - YES even more so as a freshman. It gives them a community that they can settle into during this high change period of their lives.

Hope this helps

3

Thanks MemphisGuy. Great info. Much appreciated. 3) I looked on the site for Mill$B and they have Clarinet. Doesn’t specifically mention Bass Clarinet. 1) I agree to a point on travel. If you go to GA Tech, or Miami, direct flights are easy. Tuscaloosa looks more difficult from what I can tell. I could see a group of 3 or 4 students breaking up the driving duties and taking the 16 hour drive to New York together over thanksgiving for instance. I was wondering if people did that or had experiences with break/holiday getting home and back etc. Thanks again.

4

We recently flew nonstop from LGA into BHM and drove the hour to UA. It was a Sunday. We toured on a Monday and returned to Newark on Tuesday (no non stops available - we had to connect in ATL which was annoying b/c the first flight was only 29 minutes.) At first, we didn’t hear back from Honors College. We re-emailed Susan Dendy and heard back immediately. She set up a great tour for us. We were both very impressed. We ate at Carackerbarrel b/c my daughter always wanted to go and there is not one near us at home. The school has tons to offer. Still not sure how I feel about the distance and the hassle of not many non-stops flights. Wish the school would offer shuttles to ATL as well as BHM/ Maybe we can suggest it?!

5

When you contacted the honors college did you mention your son’s interest in club baseball or musical groups, if you request they will work to arrange a meeting with someone who can provide more information. The honor’s college tours are not just about the honor’s programs, they work to set up very individualized tours for students to address their interests.

There is a parent who is working to coordinate shuttles to ATL for the major breaks. Feel free to PM me and I can tell you how you can learn more.

6

3 Re: shuttles to BHM ....... there is a very good UA RideShare Facebook page and a group of reliable UA students routinely offer rides to/from BHM for very reasonable rates.

7

jrcsmom…Yes. We mentioned that in our email to the honors college. I was wondering if they would address that. Thanks.

2018eastorwest…I was “up in the air” (pun intended) between connecting through to BHM (making it a 4-5 hour flight) and driving 1 hour additional or driving from ATL (3 hrs.) after a 2.5 hr. flight. Since I hate flying and we wanted to minimize variables such as connecting flights delayed etc. we opted for the Atlanta and drive 3. I will report back how that was after the trip. I’m glad to hear you had a great tour.

I assumed the shuttles were OK from previous posts. It seems that they are most active around holidays, start/end of school etc. due to increased demands at those times.

Thanks for the info and replies.

8

@SOSConcern can tell you about MDB and clarinet. Her DD plays clarinet for MDB.

lol…It’s UA…not AU…don’t make that mistake! lol

Tell the HC that you want to talk to someone with MDB

9

Perhaps robotbldmom could make some comment. Her family is from Long Island. Her son sang in a choir while attending Alabama.

10

Yes! @robotbldmom can provide info

11

I am not too fond of flying either :slight_smile: just so you know, the non stop from lga to bhm was two hours door to door in the air. I was shocked bc the schedule allowed for 2:45 but that must be to keep them on time. The connecting flights home were 29 minutes bhm to atl and 1:29 atl to ewr. Both “flew” by (pun intended!)

12

Hi, thanks for the shoutout @momreads & @mom2coIIegekids

Okay, @LINYDadtotwo Let’s try query # 1, part 1 …Distance
Well no doubt, in terms of miles, UA (abbreviation for The University of Alabama) is far from New York. However, I certainly agree with @MemphisGuy that after a certain distance, it almost makes no difference. Heck, once you’re flying, it’s just a matter of time. But, that’s me, I like to fly. The distance does come into play if you drive, but you probably won’t be doing that very often.

Let’s look at the transportation options. Flying is very easy, since you can fly from any of the New York Area airports. You could fly into Atlanta and drive from there but the closest airport is Birmingham, which is about a 50 minute drive to UA. This would be the usual option for a student flying solo. True, there aren’t many direct flights from the NY area airports, so changing planes is the norm. You can fly on one of the major carriers like Delta or you could use Southwest. If you fly Southwest, the usual transfer hub is in Baltimore. If you book flights well in advance, the fares aren’t too bad but don’t expect the $79 sales you see on TV. You generally won’t get these from NY. In addition, Southwest is generous with their luggage policy, two bags per person carries no extra charge.

You could drive, but that is time consuming. However, this is a great way to initially move your student and dorm stuff down to campus. Some parents opt to do that drive for the first move-in, but others just ship packages, and fly their students down.
Just a note, there are no university bus shuttles for move-in but there are shuttles for holidays. Just make sure to leave ample time between shuttles and flights when booking reservations/tickets. I believe that the cost is $30 one way (unless there has been a recent fare increase). Recently, I have heard of one parent arranging a private bus company to shuttle to/from Atlanta but I don’t know how that is working out.

Of course, there is also Amtrak. I know you are now going "Whoa, what are you saying…the train?? " But wait, it is a good option. Book in advance, and fares are relatively low compared to flying. You’re not doing the driving, you’re relaxing, reading or sleeping. In addition you generally meet a wide variety of interesting people. Also, Amtrak’s luggage/box allotments are very generous and cheap. Best of all, you arrive directly in Tuscaloosa, just a short cab ride away from UA.

Part 2 Culture
Honestly, I can say that there was never any culture shock on either my or my student’s part. The people are genuinely warm and friendly and True Southern Hospitality does exist. Perhaps, you will have to get to like grits or delicious BBQ

13

Sorry, the part of the answer about music was lost. I will rewrite later.

14

Yes OP I can address MDB. There are a lot of engineering students in MDB. It is a great experience for the band students. The Directors are excellent. Some instruments have larger numbers of music majors, while others don’t - some of the music majors are in other ensembles in addition to the practice time they have for their progress with private lesson and are not interested in marching band, while some music majors are looking to be MS/HS band directors and are in MDB all their years at UA. My daughter Katie is an engineering major and has played clarinet in MDB last year and this year. You probably will be on campus for their late afternoon rehearsal (M - F, 5 - 6:29 pm) Butler Field (new field and tower this year, nice) which is right across from the Moody Music Building. Clarinet has three section leaders; looking at last year’s picture, there were around 25 - 30 clarinets. There are 400 in MDB (scaled down from being a bit bigger a few years ago) - they adjust to have spots for the right musicians - sometimes more spots on some instruments, depending on the talent. The audition is playing scales, prepared piece, and sightreading. If score above 90, MDB scholarship of $500. I know some students have arranged audition via Skype. Katie bought a plastic clarinet (used but reconditioned Vito) to march with just before beginning MDB, and uses plastic clarinet reeds for marching too which hold up pretty well and is good for marching (in MS she marched with alto sax until she was a drum major; was at college prep HS w/o big band 10-11-12 so no marching then). She played both clarinet and alto sax, but auditioned on her ‘best’ instrument - orchestra, etc on clarinet. She did a lot of jazz with alto sax. Don’t know if Katie will have room in her Fall 2017 schedule for MDB - she wants to (their opening game will be against USC). The full MDB sometimes doesn’t have spots for everyone in the other team’s stadium, or the travel cost has them take the pep band rather than the full MDB. Last year full MDB went to all the away games except Ole Miss (not enough seats allotted) and Arkansas (football and band flew to game). TN the band was spilling over into the aisle because they gave them each about 10" of seating room per student. Katie says they will take 4 clarinets to TAMU game - section leaders plus one (she wants to go because of family that have attended TAMU - a cousin and me). MDB is a lot of fun but a commitment. It is competitive to get into MDB. Knowing the demands, Katie was in better physical shape this fall with working out at the gym almost every day last summer - that makes it easier for her this year, plus she knows what to expect. She moved up to first part this year. The new MDB members come to campus a few days before the rest of MDB in the fall for Rookie Camp. A student has to be successful through Rookie Camp. Band posts the music scholarships to student account after they are sure about all the band students.

The band provides uniform, shoes, travel bag, shorts, shirts etc. The uniform is changed after so many years, but the rest is issued new each year. There is a $200 fall participation fee, so having the scholarship helps cover that. Since UA has a strong football team, going to SEC championship game and bowl game were fantastic experiences for MDB and Katie last year. All travel, meals, accommodations paid for by the University. The band prepares for opening game (last year in Atlanta, this year in Arlington TX) and does ‘recruiting’ with playing at area HS. The pre-game show doesn’t include all 400 band members - last year Katie moved up to pre-game show after a month or two. Grade for MDB, so not being tardy to rehearsals.

Last year Katie did concert band all last year and had a $500 scholarship for that too. This year, she may do concert band second semester. Katie takes a heavier schedule for the spring term - she did that last year and also plans to do so this year.

If your son decides to come to UA, and audition for MDB, he can perhaps borrow or rent a clarinet - then purchasing a plastic clarinet if he can claim a spot. Katie has a piccolo friend that didn’t audition freshman year (thought she would be too busy) but did and joined MDB sophomore year. Better to come in freshman year IMHO, because keeping up the musician skills a year later…

Don’t know about intramural baseball, and if that would overlap with MDB. Maybe do one or the other.

UA does have an engineering co-ed fraternity that is not like the other fraternities, from what I understand. Katie is in Society of Women Engineers and hasn’t joined the eng fraternity. Perhaps worthy exploring if planning to attend UA.

Hope this helps you explore this UA opportunity and answers your pre-visit questions.

SOS

15

@LINYDadtotwo I won’t address the MDB question since SOS gave you lots of information but I just wanted to mention two things. Regarding the travel time, I am a student at UA from Los Angeles. I would say that besides people who live <4 hour drive away, I am able to travel home just as often. The flight is not always especially cheap, but when you have the Presidential scholarship can you really complain compared to the cost of attending other schools? When your son is traveling back and forth for breaks he can easily book the shuttle to BHM or take the Amtrak.

About the baseball, make sure you ask the Honors College to talk to Clay, a sophomore in the Honors College Assembly. He played on the club baseball team last year (not sure if he still does) and is an engineer. I’m sure he would be a great source of info.

16

Does amtrak go right to BHM airport? ATL airport? Thanks for the info.

17

^^^No, Amtrak stations are not near the airports.

18

@LINYDadtotwo Sorry, about the truncated answer.
Here is my answer to your third query about music. First, let me say how proud I am of the Music School and their professors/conductors and student musicians. If you have the opportunity to watch some of the live streamed recitals and concerts, you will see what I mean. These student musicians are talented, talented, talented!!

There is quite a bit of information on the Music School website, it is worth taking the time to explore those pages:
http://music.ua.edu/

There are various ensembles that are open to both music and non-music majors. There is an orchestra and several different ensemble groups including vocal groups. Most of these groups (to the best of my knowledge) require music proficiency, sight reading skills, and auditions. I believe that previous performance experience is a given. Each of these ensembles has a class component and are taken for credit. You are paying for that credit/credits with your student’s tuition. Be aware, that the performances and practices count towards the grade. It is also possible to take private music lessons with first priority going to music majors. These lessons are at an additional cost. if your son wants to continue his playing and his musical education, I highly recommend taking a class and joining one of these groups. Now, I don’t know how many students they need in instrumental groups, there may be a cap on the number of students, and I assume that the spots will go to the most talented. However, there are other classes that are specifically for non-majors, though I don’t know if any performances are included.

Here is a link to the instrumentals ensembles:
http://music.ua.edu/ensembles/instrumental/

I can tell you from personal experience that my student enjoyed going to all the music classes and performances. I believe they also did some community outreach as well. Although, I would have Loved to see the concerts firsthand, the distance from NY to UA precluded us from seeing any of these performances in person. However, I was able to view some of them live streamed, which was great.

If your son would like to continue his music education, I am sure he can find a group to accommodate that. Just make sure to leave some room in his schedule for music courses. Also, he needs to be prepared for extra rehearsals (sometimes evenings) outside of the class schedule.

Students who are in performance based ensembles need to have the appropriate clothing. For example, my student needed a tuxedo complete with bow tie and dress shoes. This seems to be the norm for mem, although some groups may require other types of “uniforms”.

19

@LINYDadtotwo Forgot to say Congratulations to your son on his scholarship. I know that when you visit, you will all fall in love with The university of Alabama. Your wife’s apprehensions will evaporate.

Roll Tide!!!

20

Thank you for your replies. Excellent information. Much appreciated. I’m amazed at how quickly and thoroughly all my questions were addressed. Robot and sos especially.

Mom2college…I can’t figure out how to edit my original post to change the typo AU to UA in the third paragraph. Touched a nerve there! Won’t happen again. You should see my PM inbox about that one.