<p>M2CK,
Found the link for the new shuttle:</p>
<p>[ACR</a> Express From Birmingham Int’l Airport : ACR Express](<a href=“http://www.acrexpress.net/acr-express-from-birmingham-intl-airport/]ACR”>http://www.acrexpress.net/acr-express-from-birmingham-intl-airport/) </p>
<p>Costs $33.50 for a round trip, which is quite reasonable.</p>
<p>The shuttle only has one run this summer but hopes to have two in the fall. I was going to use it for bama bound to try it out and was disappointed I couldn’t. Son and I had to rent a car as the cheapest rt fare was 180 plus tip.</p>
<p>On the nmf subject offering the great scholarships got our attention but now that I have seen ua s2 might have gone here even without it…but so much sweeter with it!</p>
<p>We live in Alabama and never thought son would seriously consider Bama. Neither wife or I went to Bama. Son made NMF and we felt he needed to at least look at Bama. We did a visit with Honors College last Fall and then he did an “official” visit for athletics in January and Bama moved to the top. He chose Bama over Williams, William & Mary (Monroe Scholar), Davidson and others. Daughter, a HS junior, said Son can’t go to Bama cause he’s “too smart and everyone goes there”…remember we are in State. She now understands the great opportunity that Son has at UA with the HC and generous scholarships. </p>
<p>Have to admit that the info here on CC was pretty enlightening and peaked our interest in what UA has to offer. I actually told an admissions person at another SEC school with a great HC that they needed to increase their school’s presence/activity on CC if they wanted compete with the Bama forum. Lots of good schools out there that are under the radar. Bama was right under our noses before we found CC and started looking deeper.</p>
<p>Roll Tide!</p>
<p>I’m waiting to see if the new, federally-funded “scheduled” bus to the Birmingham airport is successful. The company running the bus seems to be very disorganized (they kept telling me that the UA stop was located at the address of the bus station in downtown Tuscaloosa) and doesn’t want to run shuttles that are unprofitable (never mind that many public transit organizations operate with fares that barely cover 25% of operating costs). As it stands now, the one shuttle run that is operating as scheduled runs in the middle of the day and would require long waits at the airport to catch most flights. </p>
<p>UA started growing just before Dr. Witt became president. It has been exciting to watch UA grow not just in size, but also in quality. CC has been a great help in attracting talented students and I am glad that UA has kept its official involvement in CC to a minimum as it would jeopardize the helpfulness and frankness of the large group of contributors to the UA forum. </p>
<p>People are amazed when they come to UA and for good reason. For a reasonable price, even for full-pay OOS students, students get a world class experience. Yes, there are some aspects of UA that could use improvement, but that is the case at any school.</p>
<p>Day in and day out, I am very happy that I’ve chosen to spend my undergraduate years at UA. It is my hope that others did/are/will enjoy UA as much I have, maybe even more. </p>
<p>Roll Tide!</p>
<p>lattelady, I so hear you! Wake Forest is practically in our backyard. It costs over $50K per year and gives away relatively little merit money. (You have to go through a grueling battery of interviews to compete for scholarships, and even top students often fail to snag the prize.)</p>
<p>Bama’s scholarships made the crucial difference for us. What slippy2000 said!</p>
<p>BTW–does anyone know how the NMF and Presidential stats have affected median SAT scores? What are the latest data for SAT medians, acceptance rates, etc.? (As a Massachusetts native – now transplanted to NC – I am more familiar with the SAT than with the ACT, although I’m very open to the ACT for son # 2.)</p>
<p>I don’t know if the latest data on SAT and ACT is out yet. I’m not sure if the median numbers get reported like the middle quartile range will, cuz that is what matters in ranking. </p>
<p>I’m curious to know if the upper quartile for the ACT will now be a 31+…and if so, will that change scholarships for those who apply in Fall 2013. </p>
<p>The acceptance rate has dropped to around 43%.</p>
<p>I do hope the shuttle company gets it’s act together before Thanksgiving. I selected DS’s flights based on the posted schedule runs (4 runs each way per day). I called the shuttle company and they told me that the buses where already running on the scheduled routes…hmmmm…</p>
<p>*I’m not sure if the median numbers get reported like the middle quartile range will, cuz that is what matters in ranking. *</p>
<p>D’oh! I’d forgotten about that. I was thinking in terms of the old days (pre-US News & World Report), when medians and averages were usually reported. </p>
<p>Yes, I would love to know the middle-quartile range as soon as it’s available. Thanks!!</p>
<p>WOW re the 43% acceptance rate, BTW!</p>
<p>vlines, re your excellent presentation of the typical UA Enlightenment Process (LOL!), I would modify only one element:</p>
<ol>
<li>introduction to UA by CC Banner or word of mouth</li>
</ol>
<p>SHOULD BE:</p>
<ol>
<li>introduction to UA by CC Banner or word of mouth OR mom2collegekids</li>
</ol>
<p>LOL!! We owe so much to mom2ck. Had it not been for her, we would never have found out about Bama, and my son would not be receiving an excellent education at minimal cost at a school he loves. 
:D</p>
<p>Lady Di,</p>
<p>You know full well your son would have done well no matter where he went. He will also do well in Tuscaloosa AND graduate without the debt with a top notch education. Smart young man!</p>
<p>Ladydi…of course M2CK was very important, as were many people on this forum. However, the non-stop pop-ups on CC for Alabama were the reason I looked up the UA forum and found M2CK and you all!! I still smile when I see one of those pop-ups!</p>
<p>I have pop-up ads disabled on my browsers, so it was only recently that I saw any CC pop-ups when I was on my iPad. They do look good!</p>
<p>I guess Bama should be grateful that more people don’t use Adblock Plus… No banner ads or pop ups :)</p>