DS got an email with a May 7th date for housing selection.
Is this late or early or just right. 
Anything major he should know ahead of time? Any pitfalls to avoid?
Here’s the complete schedule: http://housing.ua.edu/new_students/selection_schedule.cfm
Have in mind what dorm he prefers, what floor, and be flexible. Rooms tend to go quickly, so be ready to make a decision. There are plenty of rooms, but if the room he has chosen gets taken, he’ll need to have an idea of which room he wants next. Last year, we had friends that had a time slot earlier than us that would tell us what was still available - especially since the kids wanted to be on the same floor/dorm as the earlier group.
I also saw that they released more rooms later in the selection process, so those that had a later date still had an opportunity to get a 4 person room.