This is my only child and I, too, lived on campus all four years. While my son might prefer to move off campus, I still prefer to have an on campus option. I’m glad to know that they were able to accommodate upperclassmen 2015-2016. One of the colleges he applied to doesn’t guarantee on campus housing for freshmen.
I totally understand how you feel, I also stayed in dorms all 4 years when I was in college and was surprised by this, but this is the way it is there. The school has added lots of new dorms in the past decade, but the admission numbers for freshman has risen a lot over that time. There are some very nice apartments adjacent to campus that are less expensive than ridgecrest living, but still it seemed like such a big leap to me as a parent of a of high school seniors, whose kids haven’t started college yet…And I wanted her to apply for housing for sophomore year and she did. There were 150 honors housing beds available, mostly all upperclassmen honors (unless they are an RA or FA) will be in Ridgecrest East next year. Well, she and her future roommates got online the first hour of the first day of the housing registration a few weeks ago, and they did get in! So they are all set for next year. But, there were a few people who I know have said their student did not get a room there, even though they registered as soon as it opened. I don’t really know all of the factors that go into it, except sophomores get priority over juniors and seniors… Students can also apply for upperclassman on campus in other dorms, I don’t remember which ones. So some of those who didn’t get Ridgecrest may get into other dorms… But my daughter wanted to stay in Ridgecrest. If you want to get a feel of the apartments, look at the student off campus housing info from the UA website. Some of those kitchens are as big as our kitchen at home! Granite and all kinds of nice features. The bedrooms are double beds, there are swimming pools and workout rooms, etc…but yet I know it seems hard to picture your high school senior there but these are very nice. There are several housing fairs that are held on campus throughout the school year and students can gather information…my daughter will be on top of that for the following year. Some of these students actually sign leases in October for the following August, to get the most popular apartments…but if you can see your way past the housing stress of this idea of enrolling early and paying housing deposit early, and that there is a chance they will not get to stay on campus in other years, then UA is a wonderful university. My daughter is loving it!
What percent of students nation-wide stay in dorms all years (especially at publics)? What percent of public schools can offer this?! I’m under the impression that most kids want to move off campus…and most schools nation-wide cannot accommodate all or even a majority of students living on campus. (Heck, some schools can’t even accommodate their entire freshman class.) Please do not let any apparent lack of housing on campus be a ‘con’ to attending UA! We’ll walk you through housing over the coming years, justathought1! 
Already been established for next year it won’t be so easy. Many disappointed sophomores already. You can’t compare to previous years. Have a back up plan for off campus.
@Justathought1 Like you said some colleges do not even guarantee housing for their freshmen. UA does! So for freshman year, it is no problem. If your student wants to remain on campus as an upperclassman and he meets all the application deadlines, he will probably have a chance (judging by last year). However, if he decides he wants to live off-campus, like most sophomores do, then there are plenty of housing options, most of which are usually cheaper than on-campus housing. Some of these off-campus options are extremely close (walking distance/some practically on-campus). The major difference with UA is that unlike a lot of other universities where the off-campus options are often lacking or in unsafe neighborhoods, UA has many excellent options.There are housing complexes that offer great amenities with spacious accommodations, exercise rooms, pools, shuttle transportation, some furnished apartments, and social activities. These are usually the newer, more expensive options but there are also other smaller buildings and local house rentals as well. Unlike many other campuses, there is a wide variety of housing options available for single students and roommates. Typically, a twelve month off-campus lease is less expensive than the on-campus “super suites”.
Thanks for the feedback. It is simply our preference for our son to remain on campus. We are very familiar with students living off campus in Tuscaloosa. We actually owned two condos at Midtown Village for many years.