<p>My ds has not committed to attending UA yet. He is waiting on scholarship info from another school, but they don’t release decisions for quite a while. I am concerned about delaying a decision on housing at UA bc it is definitely his second choice after this other school.</p>
<p>Do students have to say they accept UA’s offer in order to apply for housing? Is it unethical to do so knowing they might change their mind? </p>
<p>He does not know a single person headed to UA. We have been to visit and the campus and dorms are beautiful. If he wants an honors dorm that is more on the academic conservative side (as in not into drinking or athletics, but more into nights hanging out playing board games or cards) is there a dorm that might fit? He is not an athletic kid (one of the reasons I worry about UA as a choice) and is studious. But he also likes to hang out and goof off, but he is definitely not your typical stereotype partier. His version of fun is a massive Risk competition.</p>
<p>It is fine to deposit and apply for housing, even if you go elsewhere. It’s only bad to do that AFTER May 1st.</p>
<p>There isn’t a particular honors dorm that people would say, “that’s the hall for those who don’t like sports” or whatever. However, if I were to guess, I would say that Ridgecrest East or West might be.</p>
<p>As for interest in sports…my older son was a LOT like you described…quiet, super studious, nose in a book, likes card/board games. However, when he went to Bama, he did get the student football tix. He went to the games with some friends and became a die-hard Bama fan…and still is 3 years after graduating from Bama. He had a 4.0 perfect GPA at Bama, so it didn’t distract him from school/grades. He’s still on the shy side, but he loves the Tide.</p>
<p>IF your son does go to Bama, I highly recommend that he go to either Outdoor Action or Alabama Action…since he doesn’t know anyone at this point. By the end of the program, he’ll have a bunch of new friends.</p>
<p>With a school the size of Bama, there is every type of student. the whole student body isn’t some homogenous group. There are certain majors are stereotypically the nerdy academic types. lol. Both my boys (one a Math major, the other Chemical Eng’g) were certainly surrounded by similarly geeky kids. ;)</p>
<p>We are traveling to UA the end of this month, would waiting a couple more weeks at this pt be too long for housing? I am wondering if we might be able to fit in time to visit the suggested dorms.</p>
<p>Would you be willing to discuss somethings via pm? I tried to pm you, but I don’t have enough posts.</p>
<p>I would not wait a couple of weeks. That would be like Feb 1st or later. </p>
<p>The rule of thumb is…if you’re going to care about which dorm you’re going to be in (rather than potluck), then you have to deposit ASAP.</p>
<p>Sure, you can contact me. You don’t have to PM, I’ll send you a message.</p>
<p>With majors in EE and physics (I assumed he put EE as his primary major for scholarships??), you don’t have to worry about him being around studious people. Only studious people are in those majors…especially after the first semester. Anyone who isn’t serious will be changing majors pronto. lol</p>
<p>I just don’t understand why Alabama doesn’t go potluck for all freshmen. It seems much more fair for students to have the chance to evaluate their financial aid packages before they would put down a deposit for housing so that they have first pick.</p>
<p>I can understand that. I would prefer that Bama let people apply for housing w/o depositing for enrollment. </p>
<p>Bama has considered doing potluck and may do so at some point. But, I think there are just too many kids who really want to pick their roomies. </p>
<p>As it stands, a person can deposit w/o violating anything. The rules about double depositing concern AFTER May 1st…not before. After May 1st, a student is not supposed to hold double deposits w/o the schools’ knowledge.</p>
<p>I am reluctant to say he has accepted their offer bc I am pretty sure a couple of schools he applied to RD say students are not to formally accept other offers without notifying them. He still wants to consider those schools.</p>
<p>Mom2agrtds - Welcome! My son sounds a lot like your son. He is on the quiet side, doesn’t drink, and his idea of a fun night is watching a movie, playing card/board games and then going out for a late night bite to eat. He is a sophomore at UA and has not had any problems finding people to hang out with. His friend group consists of mainly people he has met through church. He stays very busy socially, but in his three semesters at UA he has been able to make the President’s List twice and the Dean’s list once. </p>
<p>Attending Bama has been such a good experience for him, that his sister (a current HS senior) has deicded to join him there next year. Like your son, she will be an engineering major and is considering adding a physics major. Maybe ours kids have “met” through the FB page for the class of 2018?</p>
<p>Good luck to your son with his decision. Although it is a very stressful time, it is also a very exciting time! :)</p>
<p>ProudBamaMama, would you mind sharing your ds’s housing experience?</p>
<p>I don’t know if ds joined the Facebk page since I don’t Facebk. Ds met the dean of the physics dept and he really like him a lot. I would say it was meeting him that tipped UA into a solid option.</p>
<p>I am reluctant to say he has accepted their offer bc I am pretty sure a couple of schools he applied to RD say students are not to formally accept other offers without notifying them. He still wants to consider those schools.</p>
<p>Are you sure? Usually that rule only applies to AFTER May 1st. Not before.</p>
<p>I have no problem with kids being able to pick friends who they want to room with in college. But I totally don’t get picking your dorm as a freshmen based on when your deposit was sent in. Dorms should be randomly assigned to students. It’s just one more thing to stress about and is very unfair to those who need to look at financial aid packages before making decisions about which college to attend.
I’m very glad my 2 oldest were randomly assigned to dorms at their universities as freshmen. I do believe my son does get to chose as a sophomore what dorm he is in next year.</p>
<p>I guess I’m different in that regards. I’m glad they get to pick which dorm they are in. When you have such a wide range of types of dorms (suites vs traditional), financial cost of each is vastly different (much more for the super suites vs traditional), and locations.</p>
<p>My D wanted the traditional style dorm and the location that was best for where she would be spending most of her time on campus and her classes. </p>
<p>Those that are barely able to afford college might have their kids drop out if they were assigned a super suite and could not afford such. A girl in a sorority that is heavily involved in her chapter may want to be closer to her house vs over in Presidential (clear on the other side of campus). Some kids just need their space due to sleep habits and being in a traditional dorm could greatly impact their grades. There are a lot more pros to picking your dorm than there are cons. </p>
<p>Having room selection based on when you made your housing deposit just helps make it fair. For those that it really matters the most if they are in a particular type of dorm, they know to get that deposit in early. For those that it does not matter cost wise, type of dorm, etc, they don’t mind waiting. It really is not that hard nor much stress. You also know way ahead of time what you will need for your dorm, cuts down on the parental stress level knowing in February that you will need to furnish a super suite or traditional dorm. We had to furnish a super suite for the summer and traditional for fall. There were things we needed in the summer that we have no use for in the fall.</p>
<p>I just wish I understood the culture of the individual dorms better. I wish there was a dorm that was known for the non-drinking, studious sort of kids.</p>
<p>Don’t fret too much, Mom2agrtds. There are many other families in the same situation as you, and with similar kids. When I contacted the university about this conundrum, this was the response I received:</p>
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<p>As long as they’re other Honors College students, I’m not sure it’s any more of a risk letting UA choose his roommate than if he chooses the person himself. But my kid is pretty" live and let live" and is used to sharing a room with his “annoying” younger brother. ;-)</p>
<p>I don’t find it unfair that Bama does first come, first served. I understand that not every one knows in October where they will attend, but many do, and rewarding those students with options is a good thing for both the school and those students.</p>
<p>In my D’s case being able to pick the room and roommates factored into the decision to attend. Being happy and comfortable at school is important, especially during such a huge transitional period of life. She knew which building she wanted and found compatible roommates. If it were potluck for rooms and roommates she may have chosen a different school.</p>
<p>Up until a couple years ago, all students living on campus, except for those in some of the smaller living learning communities, selected the exact bedroom they wanted to live in. This has been since modified such that incoming freshmen who wait to place their housing deposit after a specific date will have their room assignment selected by Housing. All things considered, UA students prefer being able to select their own room as opposed to going potluck because they immediately know where they’ll be living and the names of their roommate(s). Just because a student chooses a specific room doesn’t mean that they chose their specific roommates; many students simply select a space and see who selects the other spaces.</p>
<p>In terms of wanting a dorm with a bunch of non-drinking, non-partying, studious students, individual residence halls typically do not attract only a specific type of student. In addition, there are a number of students who are extremely studious and occasionally have a drink at a party. They still can be good roommates for a student who is studious and doesn’t drink or party.</p>
<p>My two kids go to University of Michigan and Michigan State. Son 3 is most likely going to Alabama:). They are able to pick what style room they go in but typically not what dorm they go in unless they pick a living learning community. My son bikes everywhere and sometimes hoofs it in the winter when there is ice, buses are available to him but he would have to pay and is too cheap for that! My daughter walks or takes the free buses that are available to all students. Yes, it would be great to be close to their classes and be able to chose their dorm, but I still feel that pulling their names out of a hat and randomly assigning them to a dorm is the most fair for all as freshmen.
And trust me, walking or biking in Alabama weather is a walk in the park compared to what my 2 kids deal with in Michigan to get to class.
This policy of rushing to get your deposit in for housing before financial aid has been awarded seems absolutely insane to me.</p>
<p>“Honors College typically reserves enough housing for all freshmen in Honors but he won’t have ability to select suite mates.”</p>
<p>I’m really surprised housing is still setting the above expectation, given that they did not have space for all who wanted honors housing last year despite the same assurance – and scholarships have been sweetened to presumably attract even more honors-caliber students. Perhaps they are planning to have even fewer upperclass rooms available? Or expand honors dorm choices?</p>