I still think sophs who meet the deadlines and want to live on campus will get spots on campus. That’s how it’s been the last couple of years (with no problem) and we’re NOT talking about 1,000 of them wanting sophomore housing…probably close to 95% want to - and do - move off campus for sophomore year.
Paty will be open to all returning students, but I know DS & his roommates do not want to live there.
Also, I know there were some parents on the FB page complaining about their freshman ending up in Paty & they were not happy as one of the big sellers was the suite style dorms.
So I think the suite style accommodations probably are going to be more limited for returning students than over the past years in order to leave the suites available for these freshmen.
DS still plans on trying for on campus housing. He has 3 friends, 2 from Paty, who want a suite. Time will tell how that works out.
Newest email informs returning Honors College students that there will only be available Honors housing on the 3rd and 4th floor of Ridgecrest East (there may be other “returning student” spaces, but this email focuses on Honors housing.) And eligibility to attempt to get one of those spaces will be given only to the very first 150 returning Honors students who get their applications turned in by the January deadline and are informed on February 2 that they are eligible to recontract. If you get one of those 150 slots for Honors-designated housing, you will be able to add people to your honors suite - from among the other 149 people who also submitted their applications.
I realize that many students move off campus by their second year, however, does the university make this absolutely crystal clear to prospective Honors College students when they take their tours? The school did not in 2013/2014, and I contrast that with Ole Miss, whose tour guides were very open about the fact that Honors students, in fact, most students would have to live off campus by their sophomore years (Ole Miss did not have enough housing built, though by now, I know they have added a lot more housing.)
Yes, it’s cheaper to live off campus, perhaps, but a student needs a car despite all the touting of the bus system. The university functions as if all students already have cars, even those coming from out of state, whose parents may have appreciated the possibility that their students could have a residential college experience, living on campus, or within very close walking distance (and safe at all times of day and night), and, as we are told all the time, the most successful students are those who live on campus.
Some Honors students my son knows have private scholarships paying for their Honors housing - as long as they are living in on-campus Honors housing. You can imagine their surprise when they received their emails and learned their chances for on-campus Honors housing are slim.
Other students, who will be seniors next fall, have had the opportunity to live in Honors housing since their first year, and some have even lived in the same exact room all of this time. Are they old enough and mature enough to handle a move off campus? Sure, but they are also extremely involved students and have surely benefited from not having to drive to school every day as if they were commuters.
I am sure UA Housing is doing all they can do to make this a fair process, but there just seems to be a major disconnect, and an inexplicable hesitation to just be upfront from the start. I hope that students being taken on tours are hearing the words “Honors housing only guaranteed for Freshman Year” over and over again. Certainly makes it seem like the university may have become caught up in reeling in ever more top students, with lesser regard for the already enrolled Honors students who already committed to the school. I suppose that may seem easier for me to say, since my son was able to enroll in 2014 on the same scholarships and Honors Housing promises that were make-or-break factors in deciding between schools (yes, for out of state students, those things do matter a great deal.) I think it would be better for the school to just go the University of Florida route, which is to tell touring students that their chances for on-campus housing are nil from the get go. Financially speaking, being free of expectation of Alabama’s freshman year Honors Housing would have also meant being free of the expensive mandatory all-you-can-eat-if-you-can-find-something-edible-to-eat dining meal plan. I would not have minded that at all.
My only complaint is that I have been told that Aramark, via the dining halls, does not serve biscuits and gravy anymore. My son said the gravy was never that great (too watered down), but he thought it was one of the more edible dishes available on campus. What’s a university in Alabama doing not serving biscuits and gravy? 
Suite style dorms for returning students would be the 150 slots in Ridgecrest East (honors) & then Riveerside West, for all returning students… Not a lot.
I knew from the get go that DS would probably be moving off campus his sophomore year. I think that was pretty clear, so don’t know why anyone would expect differently. I was not too concerned because there appeared to be tons of off campus housing.
The surprise was the costs. Without a car, DS would need to live fairly close, so those places seem to be very expensive. We won’t be saving all that much between dorming & off campus housing. However, it is still a great relief that there is plenty of availabllity.
I have friends with kids who don’t have this at their kids school, so we are very fortunate in that regard.
I don’t know why (maybe it’s because I moved into a sorority my sophomore year), I never had the expectation that my Honors-eligible son would live on campus at UA after freshman year (if he does in fact go to UA - he is a senior in high school). I had already glanced at some off-campus studios, just to see what was out there.
I didn’t realize that off-campus probably requires a car. Was hoping to find something with a shuttle (?).
On our personalized tour, we were told that every year thru now All Honors students who wanted to return to honors housing after Freshman year, could return. I specifically asked the question if something could change this year and was specifically told - not likely. Clearly, that has changed. Yes, this would be a factor in the decision on whether or not to attend. Most of the other schools that my student is considering offer four years of guaranteed housing. UA is the only one that only offers only one year. All so far are also offering scholarships. I am kind of surprised that UA hasn’t built more housing, given that they see, to have a lot of money and space. I bet aloft more kids would stay on campus if it was available. This definitely moves UA down on the list for me as an oos parent whose kid will not have a car on campus.
Ps my older student goes to a school that offers four years and 98percent live on campus. I love that. So does he.
I think it could get more important when you have a growing non-Greek population of students who want to stay on campus.
One of the turn-offs for us, at Vandy, was the requirement that students live on campus all 4 years (other than a small percentage of seniors who get permission to move off campus).
It just never occurred to me that our son might want to stay on campus (dumb as that sounds).
My ds lives off campus, rides his bike or walks to campus, and his rent is low compared to living in a dorm. There is off campus housing that does not resemble those shiny brochures for the super nice apts with a gazillion amenities. Ds lives with some friends in a really old house. I think next yr he is moving into a different house, still with low rent.
Our family was joking that we wanted to rent out one of the Ridgecrest suites for all of us, and our doggie. 
I have never seen such nice dorms! Wow, I would have wanted to stay on campus too.
@southfloridamom9 The dorms are not what I am referring to. (Check out the link if you thought the dorms were nice.)
@2018eastorwest There are much nicer places available. These apts are just one option:
http://www.alphaalabama.com
I do know returning students for Fall 2015 were asked to give up their rooms on campus. Not sure if this was dorm specific or only a selected group got the message m or what but the freshman class was bigger than anticipated! I was told this by a housing person. If the freshman class next year continues to grow and no new dorms are being built…I can do simple math…there’s no way every upperclassman will get on campus housing.
I’d go ahead and apply but have a Plan B and research which off campus places would work for you. You may have to take a sublet or already have apartment mates in place (there will be quite a few rooms available where folks are looking for one more apartment mate), but at least you’ll have a plan.
@SouthFloridaMom9, many off-campus apartment complexes DO have shuttles. Even East Edge, which is close enough to walk from, has a shuttle. (Comes in handy during downpours!) But, as with most things in life, the more amenities, the more you’ll likely pay.
New parents, seriously, I understand your angst. I was in the same boat a couple of years ago. All you can do is weigh your student’s options, both in terms of choosing another school over UA because of a guarantee of four years of on-campus housing or whether or not to move off campus after freshman year.
Like the majority of UA students, my son chose to live off campus sophomore year. He could have stayed on campus if he’d wanted to, but he didn’t, for a number of reasons. Maybe if he’d been in Ridgecrest he’d have wanted to stay, but Ridgecrest is VERY pricey and many freshman honors students choose NOT to live there for that reason alone.
Look, every family has its own budget and comfort level about these things. What works for one family won’t work for another, but I can assure you that UA has an ABUNDANCE of housing available. No, there’s not enough ON campus for every student, but that’s primarily because there isn’t the DEMAND for it. Off-campus housing represents a HUGE range of options and, if your child is like the vast majority of students, both in-state and out-of-state, everything will be fine.
Honestly, compared to the options I had at the Ivy I attended, I find the range of options at UA to be vast and reasonably priced.
" My ds lives off campus, rides his bike or walks to campus, and his rent is low compared to living in a dorm. There is off campus housing that does not resemble those shiny brochures for the super nice apts with a gazillion amenities. Ds lives with some friends in a really old house. I think next yr he is moving into a different house, still with low rent. "
@Mom2aphysicsgeek How did you go about finding these? We are OOS so won’t be there to see anything before end of the school year. All his friends are OOS as well. The one mom will be there sometime during break, so thought she might be able to look around, though her time there will be limited.
I have been reading that a lot of the kids don’t even use a lot of the amenities, so I too would consider all that just a waste, I’d rather have lower rents.
@laralei, while it’s true many students don’t use all the amenities (which are mostly just marketing tools IMHO), be sure to consider RELATIVE VALUE when considering your options. “Lower rent” may sound good, but you have to factor in furnishing many of those less-expensive apartments and whether or not your student is committing to a single or group lease. (What happens if one of the roommates backs out or leaves during the semester? Is your kid responsible for covering that rent?)
As an OOS parent, with a kid who wouldn’t have a car as far as we knew (that changed for unrelated reasons), I placed a high premium on proximity to campus, reputation of the complex, and the ability for my kid to travel through his remaining four years with as little STUFF as humanly possible.
Other’s needs will be different, but make sure you’re factoring in all the costs and comparing like to like, both in terms of cash outlays (my husband and I haven’t set foot in Tuscaloosa since moving our son in freshman year) and worry. If they stay on campus, you’ll either need to travel down there to move all belongings home or pay to store stuff.
We found that there are some pretty hefty expenses for living on campus (besides the dorm fee), and this is hinted at by @LucieTheLakie, because every time you go down from wherever you are…it is another $700-1000 for the trip. There are hidden costs to visiting, to helping moving in/out, and so forth, in terms of airfare/transport, hiring a rental car, parents’ hotel accommodation, eating out, etc.
There is also a rather large opportunity cost to living off campus in terms of time: you will need to find a ride to campus - even if you have a car, you may then have to drive to a campus parking lot (usually an outlying area), which requires a Crimson bus onto the inners of campus, and then walk to class. Students will have to ‘budget’ for this time, and some may find that cheap(er) rents far from campus translate into a greater cost in terms of time lost. Bikes are great, but students need to be prepared for the weather and have alternatives in place.
Families need to weigh up carefully the monetary pros of living on-/off-campus, and how far you are away from campus if you choose to live off. Cheaper rents far away from campus do not necessarily mean ‘cheaper’ in the overall scheme of things. Good luck everyone with their decisions.
PS: My son has not renewed his apt lease for fall 2016, and he is right next to campus. Initially he thought the rent too high for what it was…but now that he’s looking, I think he realises that time=money, and it sure is convenient to live nearby. He has not yet found a place to live (and I don’t think he is even actively looking). He is obviously very confident about finding a place - as stated, there is a plethora of places for all budgets and needs. He’s not sweating, so neither am I…or trying not to! 
Be aware that the shuttles end at 6pm so later cases or activities will not work. Also be sure to check into the safety of some of the complexes (number of arrests, ambulance visits, etc.). My thought - if you build it, they will come. the reason why so many upperclassmen leave is not necessarily b/c it is cheaper, but b/c they HAVE TO leave. Honestly, it is the biggest downside of UA for me 
@Chesterton I don’t think that there are many students who still receive free housing after their first year, even NMF 's only get one year of housing. Maybe a few Academic Elite Scholars?, but if there are some, I would very much doubt that they would no longer receive a housing placement. UA’s policy in previous years has always been to guarantee housing to those with a housing scholarship.
Where have you heard that this has changed? Did you hear this from a student, were they told that although they had a housing scholarship, they had to leave? If the student’s are strictly going by what is in the email you referenced, I am sure that was a general email, not intended to cover all cases.
If my student had a housing scholarship, I would have them call UA Housing directly and clarify the terms of the agreement.
In addition, I still don’t think it is necessary to have a car on campus. Convenient…yes, necessary…no. Many students and people live day to day, go to school and work using public transportation. Heck, I used to travel 2 1/2 hours in one direction via public transportation each day, that’s 2 trains, 1 bus and a good walk to get to work, and the same for the return trip. One does what needs to be done.
I wonder just how many colleges/universities guarantee housing for all four years. The reality is that UA has great residence choices and the surrounding area has a multitude of housing choices in a range of prices.
While I don’t have a kid at UA my high school junior is thinking about UA. From what I saw when we considered UA for our college Junior, living off campus is not a bad thing.When considering a college I think you need to look the surrounding areas when deciding if guaranteed housing for 4 years is necessary. When I mean necessary I’m talking mostly about safety. DS is at Georgia Tech which has guaranteed housing. I wouldn’t consider off campus housing by GT “safe” so I want him on campus but I would think most off campus housing by UA is “safe” so I would be fine with my younger son in off campus housing near UA.
DS has lived in Honors housing 3.5 years, currently at RCE. He graduates May 2016 and will be staying at Bama for grad achool. He likes the convenience of walking to class & his on campus job. After graduation he will be looking for an apartment. It will be interesting to watch him figure it all out.
My son is now in his third year of living off campus. I moved off my college campus after my freshman year of college and always assumed my son would do the same. Personally I like the fact that he has to take care of paying utility bills and worry about cooking his own food, it’s one more baby step toward the independent living I expect him to be doing when he graduates.
My son has a car on campus, but rarely drives it to classes, he rides his bike almost every day. He thinks it’s a bigger hassle to drive since he can’t park right near his class buildings, so even when he drives, he still has to walk or bike from the parking lot to his class buildings. As an off-campus student it is convenient for him to have a car to make grocery trips, but if he didn’t have a car, I’m sure he’d manage. I didn’t have a car as a student and I managed taking groceries on buses without any issues. The biggest caution I’d make to those that intend on relying on the shuttles is to check how late they run.
Freshman year my son found the apartment he’d be moving to all on his own. I didn’t have time to look over parents weekend when I visited that year and recommended that he start looking first semester, but he managed to talk to friends and look at apartments on his own and was ready to sign a lease before I even had the opportunity to look. I trust his judgment and he’s the one that has to live there, not me, so when he asked me to sign a lease (since he was still under 19), I signed it and faxed it back before I even saw where he wanted to live. And it worked out…he spent 2 years living at the Woodlands, which are pretty nice apartments for students, nicer than any place I lived as a student, yet still affordable, didn’t have to worry about furnishing it and didn’t have to worry about moving out or storing stuff after the first year.
He then decided, mainly because of roommate issues, to move to a new location and found it on his own as well and is now sharing a 2 BR unit with another student he attended high school with that he convinced to transfer to Bama with him. He took care of contacting management companies, setting up appointments, and viewing the units and made the decision where he was comfortable living. He did move from the furnished Woodlands unit to an unfurnished apartment, but we were able to furnish his apartment relatively affordably by buying used furniture from The Attic and furniture that had to be assembled. It also gives him ‘starter furniture’ that he can take wherever he goes after graduation and then choose to upgrade it to better furniture as his budget allows.
For our family the off campus experience has had some learning moments, such as the issue with cockroaches when he moved into his current unit, but overall has been positive. Maybe its because I had experience going through the same when I was younger and anticipated going through it with my son rather than having an expectation that the dorms would be a good fit for him long term.