My son is likely NMF for class of 2016. We are in Hawaii and planning on college visits in October.
UA is a strong candidate, however my biggest concern is campus housing beyond the freshman year. I know he may be more mature or able to live on his own in 2-3 years, however knowing that he has guaranteed on campus housing for his entire college career eases my mind.
I worry about his personal security and having access to regular meals. He has ADHD and his meds affects his appetite. Therefore, eating regularly is very important for keeping his weight up. I know I’m being a worrywart but that’s just the way I am.
He will most likely join the Honors College but he is extremely undecided regarding his major.
He also will not have access to a car and there will be no family nearby that he can rely on.
We have only so many days to visit a certain amount of colleges, and because of geographical challenges I have to choose the schools we visit carefully. Given our (my) situation, is UA still a good choice for my son?
UA is a wonderful school, but it normally does not guarantee housing after freshman year. I would call housing though to see if they ever make any exceptions before you rule out the university for this reason.
Hi. Definitely recommend contacting Housing directly. That said, from the information provided to students wanting to recontract for the sophomore year, the Housing FAQs state that if a student needs on-campus housing due to medical issues, they need to submit request with documentation by February 1 for the Fall semester. So it looks like there is a process in place at least. But definitely check with Housing.
From my son’s experience, he was approved to re-contract for on-campus Honors housing for next year. All of his current roommates are moving off-campus, I believe, and, from what he has told me, a lot of freshmen in Honors are moving off campus. I’ve read local news articles about the state of college student housing off-campus, and, apparently, there is now a glut of student housing, so prices are coming down, making moving off campus more compelling. Still no guarantee of on-campus housing, but if that is a trend, with cheaper off-campus, that may bode well for your son to continue to be able to live on campus, at least for the first two years. I wanted my son to stay on campus this upcoming second year, and he’s just going to move to another Honors building.
As far as food and being in Tuscaloosa with no car and no local family - that’s our experience, though I can drive up there in 12 hours, and you, obviously, are not within driving distance. Let me share some info about the issues that also concerned me - food and how to get around without a car.
Food: there are a lot of dining options, including the places included in the mandatory meal plan, and then retail places where your son would use the mandatory Dining Dollars or use cash. I was surprised that my son was not able to use the meal plan locations exclusively, most often due to his class schedule. He often eats lunch at Fresh Foods, but due to evening classes, finds himself at the Latenight Dining at Lakeside, which offers mostly pizza and burgers. But students could be a lot better than my son at working their schedules to make sure they have time to get to Lakeside for breakfast (well, not really breakfast since they don’t open until 10am), lunch, and dinner.
We have spent a lot more on groceries than I expected - I send boxes of Amazon pantry items and my son walks or takes the shuttle to Publix or Target. He was really sick with a sinus infection recently, and I ordered soup for him via Crimson2Go. For his birthday, I also used Crimson2Go to send him an ice cream cake and birthday dinner from his favorite place in town, GloryBound Gyro. He has ordered himself a couple of times, and ordered pizza a couple of times early on, but too expensive to rely on that, of course. My son keeps breakfast foods in his dorm. He keeps milk and eggs in the fridge. He has often cooked food on the weekends in the community kitchen. One thing is for sure: your son, like mine, will get himself to some food. Maybe not the highest quality, or the healthiest all the time (too many burgers for my taste), but they won’t starve.
As far as access to a car: well, the truth, at least based on my son’s experience so far, is that, as great as the shuttle program is to local stores, or the shuttle to the airport (both of which we use), the school still runs as if most students have cars, and a lot students have cars. The Tuscaloosa city bus service is an option, but the hours are limited. My son has utilized those transportation services, but has also just gone walking. I was not too happy to learn of his walk to Walmart, all the way down McFarland to Skyland. It’s only about 5.5 miles one way from his dorm, but traffic is heavy and, to my view, not pedestrian friendly. I told him just please don’t tell me about it and also leave a note somewhere so we know where he went if he goes missing (yes, paranoia can kick in, and I was never paranoid before he left home - I am discovering I am more a nag and a worrywart than I ever imagined I could be with my first child - I mean adult - going away to college 
My son is taking a wonderful Honors service class this semester, but it requires frequent travel out of Tuscaloosa. It would have been too stressful and unreliable to try to bum rides off of other students. But, thankfully, I discovered that Alabama has Zipcars on campus. I had never paid too much attention before, but given the requirements of the class, and really wanting him to be able to take it, I researched it and having access to Zipcar has opened up his world immensely this spring semester. He has had a car every weekend for the last couple of months, traveling off campus in some cases two hours away, and often rents it for an hour or two during the week to go to the store if needed. He rents it to get to church when his ride comes late or does not show up. It has been wonderful. He has had to take a taxi once or twice, but using the Zipcar is much more preferable. Yes, it costs, but it is far cheaper for us than for him to have a car on campus. If he had a car, our insurance would triple, and he’d have the gas and maintenance. With Zipcar, they even provide a gas card. So, if you and your son are interested in that program, make sure he has his driver’s license. He needs to have been fully licensed for at least a year in order to get a Zipcar card. But for the out of state student, access to the Zipcar is fantastic. There are no shuttles or buses to the movie theater in town, so being able to take a Zipcar to go see a movie has been great. Check it out at zipcar.com
One school break that I did not even notice is a fall break the school does in October. Many students went home, and we had made no plans for him for those three or four days. We had only made plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The dining halls stay open but things are really dead around campus. He had not yet established a zipcar account, and had he had access to the zipcar, he would have had a better time. He and his roommates and the RAs had some fun, walking down to the Strip for midnight sushi. But there was nothing to do on campus, and nothing to do around town. So just prepared for that.
Definitely keep the University of Alabama on your list, despite the distance, and despite your concerns about your son’s health and food and being from out of state with no local family or family friends. The school offers such a wonderful program, and I really don’t worry about my son’s safety. Your son knows his medical situation, and he will eat. Just let him know that his gift to you will be that he takes responsibility for taking his meds and eating what he needs to eat. He has to take on that responsibility sometime anyway. In the event he needs some medical attention, the Student Health Center is good. My son had some unexpected issues last semester and the Health Center offered some good care. I wanted him to get established with a local family doctor, too, so he has one down at DCH, the hospital down the road from the university (though we schedule his doctor and dental appointments here at home during breaks.) But it’s nice to know, especially since your son is taking some meds. I recommend having him get himself established with the Student Health Center immediately - in the event he has issues with his meds, or gets sick, it will make getting appointments that much easier.
Congratulations to your son! And best wishes to you all as you explore his options.
Getting housing as an upperclassman is less of an issue now when compared to a few years ago. The building of the Presidential dorms combined with the dropping of the NMF housing guarantee for all 4 years deal must have freed up spaces. Our DD will be a junior next year and has gotten on campus housing all 3 years. In fact, she will have the same suite and bedroom!
From what I’ve been hearing via the UA Parents Facebook page, ALL sophs-to-be and juniors-to-be who requested housing for next fall were given on-campus housing; they all met the application deadline required by UA Housing. Not sure if I’ve heard from any parents of seniors on this topic (but I suspect that 95+% of seniors live off-campus). Roll Tide!
No matter which school he chooses, unless its the University of Hawaii, he will be faced with many of the same challenges. A school with a four year residency requirement will take one issue off the table for you, but he still will have to figure out how to get himself up & out to eat…and to class…and to the laundry…and to the library etc. The good news is for nearly all students, their high school self magically undergoes a transformation and the college self is way more responsible and develops a semblance of life-skills! Every school has it’s own quirks and challenges. During the college search, whenever I found something strange or seemingly difficult, I just told myself, if all the thousands of students who go here can figure out the situation, I bet my children can too. Good luck!
Even if your son lives off campus for later years, he can still purchase a meal plan if you’re concerned that he won’t eat regularly if he has to make his own food.
If he does live off campus later then I suggest that he pick somewhere that is very close to campus so he’ll have similar access to dining halls. There are MANY apt complexes that surround the campus…so being off-campus can be very similar to being on campus.
Frankly, as much as you (mom) wants him on campus, he’s growing up and he’ll want to do what the others are doing…and that is moving off campus. He’ll make friends and they’ll be moving off campus, and he’ll want to move and live with them.
Your son will “grow up” a lot in the next year or two. Right now you’re looking at him as a 16/17 year old. Those couple more years will make a difference.
I suggest that during the next year, help your son work on his life-skills, which I know are a challenge for those with ADHD (my H has ADHD and one son has it as well).
BTW…few schools can guarantee housing for 4 years simply because of what that guarantee would entail. A school would have to literally have a bed for every student…obviously larger schools can’t do that without risking financial loss by having a bunch of empty beds when kids then choose to go off campus.
^ chesterton, you’ve outdone yourself! very helpful info and reassurance for any long-distance family considering UA. 
One word I will add for OP is that many many MANY students get tired of the dorm and dining hall life after 1 or 2 years, and want/need to move off campus and are very ready to do so! Do not make your college decision solely based on being able to live on campus all 4 years - recognise that it is nice to have that option at UA (and I agree that it is much easier to get dorms all 4 years now than a few years ago)…but your student has other off-campus options (often within walking distance of campus/stores/food) as well.
Former parent and CC poster Malanai is a great resource for students and families from HI. Search old posts and threads for his advice and input.
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MANY students get tired of the dorm and dining hall life after 1 or 2 years, and want/need to move off campus and are very ready to do so! Do not make your college decision solely based on being able to live on campus all 4 years
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this is so true. Kids tire of dining hall food rather quickly, even at large schools that have several dining halls and choices.
I know how ADHD meds can lessen appetite, but many college students get on a rather late-ish eating schedule anyway. It’s not unusual for college kids to eat light (or nothing) before class, and then eat during their first morning break, then eat lunch later, and then eat dinner later.
I know that this often is a question for new parents, but students don’t typically go to the dining halls for breakfast before classes anyway…most just/can’t schedule the time in. College kids are NOTORIOUS for waking up with just enough time to shower, dress, and maybe eat something small in their dorm…before heading to class. Few students have schedules that allow a trip to a dining hall before class…unless they have a late schedule and their first class is at 10 am. lol
College kids are notorious for staying up late and sleeping in…so don’t sign up for 8 am classes unless the child is a natural early riser!
Publix has a supermarket right on the edge of campus nearest to the Ridgecrest South residence hall. It is a full supermarket with plenty of prepared items, fresh meats, produce, frozen items, a bakery, and full deli. Perhaps it seems a little pricier than Walmart or Target, but to me, prices are right in line with my local supermarket here at home. They make great hero sandwiches too! The women who work at the deli and bakery are super nice and helpful. They would let my student know when to shop to get hot fresh loaves of bread.
Perhaps each shopping trip may be a few dollars more than a warehouse store, but the quality and variety is very good. You could also use a customer discount card and shop the weekly flyer to save additional money. Since Publix is easily within walking distance, no car is needed, and in the long run, not having a car puts you way ahead in terms of expenses.
^ not having a car at school is our family budget bomb-diggity! $-)
Publix can actually be cheaper than Target or Walmart if one shops the sales. One part of growing up is understanding that one occasionally has to delay getting something in order to save money. For example, one might have a craving for Oreos. Instead of paying $5.99 for one package at the convenience store, wait until Wednesday and get it on sale at Publix for $2.50. With Publix, Rite Aid, many clothing stores, and soon CVS (Long’s Drugs in Hawaii) just off campus, students can find most everything they need without much walking. Unless one has lots of time, it’s probably not worth spending a couple hours just to save $5 on groceries. If one somehow gets their college student into extreme couponing, Publix, Rite Aid, and CVS are popular stores for that.
If one wants to eat, it’s very easy to find food in Tuscaloosa, especially if one is okay with fried foods. Food is an important part of Southern culture.
One of the benefits of going away to college is the need for students to learn how to be adults without having to dive headfirst into all of the realities of adult life. Doing laundry and going grocery shopping are a lot easier to learn compared to purchasing health insurance, selecting a retirement plan, raising children, etc.
Thank you all for the very valuable responses & advice.
It’s great to know that there are resources fairly close to campus that my son can utilize.
I’m sure the Publix prices are fairly reasonable considering the prices we pay here
Chesterton, love the idea of a zip car. Son recently got his license so he’ll definitely make the 1 year requirement. Now I’ll just have to worry about him taking his meds before driving. This one will put me in the grave with worry well before my other son that is 3 years younger. But I have to let my baby bird go out into the world and try his wings.
The info on the Student Health Center is also very reassuring. He’s had several massive sinus infections where he literally can’t walk very far. I do know (logically) that he’ll have to develop his life skills and be forced to rely on himself for his care. That will most likely result in my feeling less anxious about him likely living off campus after freshman/sophmore year.
Your responses have really helped me to keep UA on my list. He’s pretty enthused about what he’s read about the campus and hopefully this will be a good fit for him.