<p>M2K - The value of Alabama’s scholarship relative to other offers will, of course, vary depending on the cost of dorms at those schools. In our comparisons, Alabama’s dorm prices are 1500-2000 higher than first year offerings at other schools, therefor we don’t find it useful to value the scholarship at AL housing costs. Likewise, we do not penalize Alabama in the comparisons because they charge less for tuition than other schools. The out of pocket cost is the bottom line. Many also offer other sweeteners, though not guaranteed by stats as Alabama’s are.</p>
<p>But as I said, my bigger concern is that the Honors community will scatter at such a large university. The fact that so many kids want to continue living on campus – NMF, Honors, OOS or otherwise-- but cannot, is a negative to consider among other factors.</p>
<p>are you comparing apples to apples in dorm price comparison? i haven’t looked lately, so you may be correct. but sometimes, other schools dont even HAVE similar dorms to the ones at UA.</p>
<p>Good point. At other schools, “standard doubles” (or triples) is the norm for frosh. those are cheaper, just like the standard doubles at Bama are much cheaper.</p>
<p>But I would not pay the premium for my child to live in a single at another University freshman year, though the 4 person suites at AL made quite an impression! And since we are not offered the cash difference to lesser housing, the value to me for comparing offers is just other Honors housing. As an intangible, the beautiful dorms are indeed a selling feature with the potential to cost me MORE in the end – after living the good life how will they go back to sharing a bedroom?</p>
<p>My son applied to university X, we’ll call it. They had what they called suite-style dorms, at about $1500 more than a traditional dorm situation. I really balked at the additional cost at X. And then later, after seeing UA’s suites, and after the X’s dorms turned out to really be 2 shared bedrooms for 4 people (very large, granted), with common kitchen + dining + living…there was no comparison possible. It is funny how we all justify the additional cost of the suites at UA in our different ways. We are indeed fortunate to have them available.</p>
<p>The Honors ‘community’ is already scattered. Not all honors students live in honors housing even as freshman due to housing costs, because they want to live with a non-honors student, or they simply have a different preference such as girls that want to live in Tut to be near the sorority houses. There is not a requirement that honor’s students must live in honor’s housing.</p>
<p>Also calling Honors a LLC is somewhat misleading. In a typical LLC the students have classes together and have other bonding activities that make them a cohesive group, like Blount, but for Honors housing the community doesn’t expand past all of the students in that dorm (or this year in that building or wing of a particular dorms) all being honors students. So although students know that everyone on their floor or in their building is an honor’s student, they often don’t know all of them, especially not very well as the only interaction they have with them is in floor meetings, passing in the hallways, and on occasion in the laundry room.</p>
<p>The Honors students who do get to stay on campus will get to select to stay in honors housing and will continue to be part of the Honors LLC living with other honor’s students, albeit younger ones. The other students who move off campus can still elect to live with honors roommates in off-campus housing, just as many honor’s upperclassmen currently do.</p>
<p>I’m afraid you highlight my concern, rather than assuaging it, jrc. I am aware that there is not an Honors Living Learning Community, which is why I said “almost”. The very large size of the Honors College itself, as you say, will not alone bring AL down to size. However, when NMF had scholarships, it appeared that the vast majority of these (largely) out of state, very studious kids were likely to live near one another for 4 years. This had appeal at such a large University. In the absence of a housing shortage, the choice for groups of these kids to continue living together on campus in an Honors environment would be an option. But that looks unlikely. Of course one can choose with whom to live off campus, but it is not an equal substitute. One factor among many.</p>
<p>Many seem upset by the shortage of housing at UA, in our tours over the past year we have never been led to believe that on campus housing would be available for D’13. Was that different at some point?
However this is in line with every school we toured with the exception of Duke. In fact one of the turn offs for u of Miami is the cost of off campus housing and I also happen to know there is a shortage of housing at all of the major state universities in Florida.</p>
<p>^^ There was language on the UA website when my '12 D was applying that pretty much said that housing was guaranteed for four years for those in Living Learning Communities, and Honors was considered a Living Learning Community. So yes, there was a change.</p>
<p>My brother told me today that he recently signed his son’s off-campus lease (school in Calif). He’ll be paying $900 a month, for his son’s share of a 3 bedroom apt (one bathroom!) for 6 (SIX!!!) students. My nephew previously was on campus in a crowded triple. </p>
<p>I think once the incoming Bama students see how much nicer some of the off-campus complexes are, they’ll be begging their parents to let them move off campus as soon as they can.</p>
<p>I know the honors dorms are awesome and UA does use them as a selling point. However I think it really depends on the kid as to whether or not it makes a difference. My DS stayed over night at Georgia Tech on Sunday night. The dorms are cinderblock 11 X 15 rooms with 2 people in them and community bathrooms. I asked him what he thought about them… he said they were fine and this was him crammed in there, sleeping on the floor with 2 students and 2 prospect students. A lot of colleges don’t have dorms as nice as UA. I’m sure most kids would like a dorm room like the Honors suites at UA… but I don’t think that should be the only reason to attend a University or not. I lived in a dumpy house when I went to college and I survived.:)</p>
<p>We were also told that my son would have the option to remain on campus since he would be in honors housing. </p>
<p>As Slippy says, it really sucks that roommates cannot stay together. Not every student has the resources to forfeit a housing scholarship and move off campus. So it’s very possible that four bright engineers, who have a highly successful study and chore routine, will have to break up when the ones with housing scholarships stay on campus and the ones without are not allowed to live on campus. </p>
<p>Of course they would still be friends but it is NOT the same. </p>
<p>And I also agree with Slippy whole heartedly when he says everything on this forum is spun by some to “UA can do no wrong”. UA is a great school with many positives but it is far from perfect.</p>
<p>I think UA handled this change poorly. They should phased it in, with an allowance to housing scholarship students to live off campus or allowing housing scholarship students to pull in existing roommates, regardless if those RMs have housing scholarship or not. My heart breaks for those students who cannot stay together next year sure to this new policy.</p>
<p>I didn’t even have A/C in my dorms in college…</p>
<p>I am sure there are many fine apartments off-campus, but quality of the residence aside, you cannot discount the advantage to being on-campus. </p>
<p>I like to use the Disney World analogy here. Sure, you can go and stay off-property less expensively, but you have to remember why you went there in the first place. It was to immerse yourself in the experience, and get as much time with the Mouse as possible during your time there. Do you want to spend 30 minutes on a trek back to your hotel with your dogs barking and cotton candy stuck in your hair?</p>
<p>In my opinion, College is no different. It is just flat-out more convenient to live on campus, period. Even if your complex has a shuttle, there are schedules to those. The commuter lots are (at best) at the periphery of campus. </p>
<p>Just seems counter-intuitive to me. I agree everyone sees things differently, and we all place different priorities on different aspects of our lives, but college is hard enough as it is without the headaches of real-life logistics.</p>
<p>My issue is simply that UA hasn’t married up their enrollment ambitions with their housing offerings. I know it is a supply and demand game, but you should build it before you expect them to come. I am the biggest Tide and UA fan there is, but Coach Saban’s oversigning might be rubbing off just a little bit too much is all I am saying.</p>
<p>I guess I don’t understand what changed from last year to this year. Housing was not guaranteed last year either:</p>
<p>Application
The online application for current campus residents who wish to live on campus in fall 2012 is available beginning October 1, 2011. Students must submit this application between October 1, 2011, and February 1, 2012, in order to be eligible for housing; however, returning students are not guaranteed housing. The initial housing application serves only to indicate a student’s interest in returning to campus housing, and make him/her eligible for the remaining recontracting process. No contract or deposit is due with the initial application.</p>
<p>Housing Contract
Students who submit their housing application prior to the February 1 deadline will be eligible to complete the recontracting process by submitting their contract and deposit, depending on available space. Students who can submit their housing contract will be notified by HRC in early February through their Crimson e-mail address to complete this step online. Students who cannot complete the recontracting process at that time will be placed on a waiting list for housing.</p>
<p>Housing Deposit
Students who submit their housing application prior to the February 1 deadline will be eligible to complete the recontracting process by submitting their contract and deposit, depending on available space. Students who can pay their $250.00 housing deposit will be notified in early February through their Crimson e-mail address to complete this step online. Students who complete the recontracting process (application, contract, deposit) are guaranteed on-campus housing.</p>
<p>Room Selection
Students who are able to complete the entire recontracting process (application, contract, and deposit) will be eligible for the online room selection process, which begins in early spring. The entire schedule will be posted on their HRC web site and e-mailed to students through their Crimson e-mail account.</p>
<p>I specifically remember hearing that housing could not be guaranteed beyond the first year (with the added comment that most kids who want to stay on campus are usually able to…but they could not guarantee it.)</p>