I hope this doesn’t get too confusing, but I am trying to put the final $$ numbers together and the travelling is going to be a greater impact than I thought.
Looking at the calendar, it looks like we will have to contend with:
Bamabound: July
start of school: Aug
Mid semester break: Oct
Thanksgiving break: Nov
Holiday break (Xmas): Dec/Jan
Spring break: March
Then school ends in May(?)
I am trying to figure out how we are going to handle this w/ an OOS student. DS can stay in the dorms for the Oct and Nov breaks, but if he is in Ridgecrest dorms he will need to leave for Xmas and spring break?
I am assuming if he moves off campus for sophomore year, he really wouldn’t have to leave for any of the breaks, not that he wouldn’t come for Xmas, but he could stay in Tuscaloosa for spring break?
For those w/ OOS students, how do you work this?
I am thinking travelling can add several thousand to the COA.
You are correct in that most of the dorms close for the Christmas (Dec. - January) break and spring break. There is an option to remain on campus in certain dorms (Burke maybe?), but you would need to check that out before selecting a dorm. Yes, students move out of the dorms when school is out in May regardless of whether they plan to re-contract. The dorms are used for summer programs and camps during the summer. The dorms remain open for the October break and Thanksgiving break. Your student may find it helpful to remain on campus during these two breaks to catch up on studying/sleep. There is a Bama Bound usually just before school begins if that would help to eliminate the July travel for you. Have you considered one of the early August Bama Bound just before Alabama Action or one of the two mid August Bama Bound sessions just before regular move in? The first two would work with early move in for Alabama Action. Your student may be able to arrange a ride share to cut expenses once on campus.
The first year was the biggest hurdle for us since ours moved off campus after that. Most apartment leases begin in August and end in July, so you’re set once you move in and can come and go as you please. For us, moving off campus was much cheaper and way more convenient.
A lot of far-away OOS students do NOT travel home for Thanksgiving…it’s a short break AND it’s really close to end of semester. Many spend a day or two with “fairly local” friends they have made at UA (meaning in AL or connecting state).
We live on the west coast. Our son comes home for Christmas break, Spring break and summer. His roomate from North Dakota, though, only comes home for Christmas break and summer. One strategy his friend used for Bama bound and move in was to combine the dates near the same time. They attended the last Bama bound (as an incoming freshman-and still got his classes!). It was the few days before move-in and worked well for the family and the student! For Spring break, he gets a lot of invitations to stay with friends he met through UA.
For Thanksgiving, the roomates have made it ‘tradition’ to cook a turkey at the dorms! I call in an order for a turkey dinner (includes turkey, mashed potatoes, other sides and a dessert) and the boys walk to Publix grocery store (located almost right on campus!) to pick it up. Just make sure students pick up the turkey at least 2 days beforehand, so they can thaw out the turkey (it’s cooked, but comes frozen!). They’ve REALLY enjoyed their ‘new tradition’!
Having had an OOS student, I will say that Thanksgiving breaks were always spent at college. It really did not pay to fly home for just a few days but we had discussed this in advance, so it was not a surprise. Your student will most likely be invited to another (local) student’s house for a Thanksgiving meal, my student had multiple invitations each year. Every alternate year they will want to remain on campus for the Iron Bowl football game. Breaks can be a time for catching up on schoolwork, laundry, cleaning, shopping and sleeping. For example, Ridgecrest South remains open for Fall and Thanksgiving breaks. Check the housing website for more info on all residence housing.
I copied this from their page about Burke:
“University Breaks
All residence halls are open for fall and Thanksgiving breaks. This residence hall is also open during winter and spring breaks”.
If you need to limit travel and travel costs, your student might consider this residence dorm as an option.
We’ve decided to do the orientation just before school starts so we can eliminate a trip. Alabama makes it sound like there will still be plenty of classes to choose from so we are taking them at their word. At other schools I would be concerned going this route but at Bama everyone always has glowing reports:)
I attended school OOS and only went home for Thanksgiving the first year. I remember it being way too rushed with crazy busy airports. After that I stayed at my friend’s house and enjoyed her mom’s cooking…much easier considering I was going home for Christmas in a couple of weeks to be with family.
For spring break my son will have to figure something out as our high school spring break overlaps with Alabama. I’ve also told him to plan on staying in Alabama for Thanksgiving so no surprises there for him.
@laralei, if you change your orientation to right before school starts that would eliminate one trip. Fall break I assume is 2 days off? They stay on campus and study so no need for him to come home. Have him stay for Thanksgiving and then for Christmas fly him home or he can find a ride on the ride boards. Spring break he can spend somewhere with friends or stay on campus and that would leave just one trip to pick him up in May.
It is a 12 hour drive door to door to get to Tuscaloosa for us. I can do that twice a year for the first year or two until he brings a car to campus. We plan on flying him home for Christmas every year to avoid him driving with other kids in what can be sketchy weather that time of year.
How many hours does it take you to get to Tuscaloosa?
Flying during Thanksgiving break isn’t necessarily that stressful unless one wants to make it stressful.
I typically went home for winter, spring, and summer breaks. The other breaks were not long enough to fly across the country and then have to fly back two days later. I could save the money and instead go on a vacation or two during the summer. Campus does get very quiet during such breaks, but there are still people around and it’s a great time to get caught up on things.
I did enjoy flying home for Thanksgiving one year where I got tickets at a very good price and almost all of my first class upgrades cleared as there are very few business travelers at that time.
If you are within easy distance of an airport for Southwest Airlines, and you watch their sales and buy tix WELL in advance, you can get to BHM (nonstop) from most places for as low as ~$130 each way and sometimes under $100!
Late registration: I have considered this, but I am worried he won’t get the classes he needs. He isn’t starting with a lot of AP credits, so to graduate in 4 years, there can be no foul ups with the semester sequences.
How big a deal is early registration, Honors?
Dorms: I have looked at the dorms that are open during spring break, but they are in south campus, and do not seem very convenient for the engineering buildings. The walking will be a problem for him, as he has orthopedic issues, not severe, but he tries to limit the amount of walking he has to do whenever necessary.
Plane tickets: Looking at the schedules for his freshman year, the dates don’t seem all that definite as to when he will actually be free to travel. When do they know “exactly” when they will be leaving campus. Per the schedule:
Dec 4: classes end
Dec 7-11 final exams
Dec 24- Jan 3 Classes dismissed.
When day do the kids actually leave campus?
Once he moves off campus, I know the break situation will ease considerably, so the first year might be the most expensive travel wise, but if I can cut back and leave more money for him, it would be preferable.
I would make a phone call to see how likely it is that he will get the classes he needs.
As for plane schedules, I would book as soon as the drop date for classes is passed and they verify when they take their last exam. They can leave that day if they have time or the following day. Students are leaving at different times according to their exam schedules. I remember picking up my daughter her freshman year because everyone from our area was home already. She had the last possible exam and ended up with less than 2 weeks of break. The campus was a ghost town when I was waiting in the Union for her to finish .Typically kids in dorms seem go back within 1 or 2 days of classes starting in January.
Hopefully spring break takes care of itself and he can go somewhere with friends or catch a ride home if you are trying to avoid paying for a plane ticket. My son was in a dorm that remained open during spring break at his school last year and it was filled with internationals. I can see why you are more concerned about dorm location. Would a bike be helpful to him getting around campus?
Students can return to the dorms as soon as they are re-opened after a break. Keep in mind that the past 2 years the winter weather has caused serious delays to many students who planned to come back…but were unable to until a day or two (or even 3!) later due to flight disruptions. I would make plans to return at least 48 hours before the start of classes. Besides travel delays, there may be books to buy, and other supplies to stock up on, and just getting back into the swing of things, so the extra day or two is nice to have as a cushion.
^ How big a deal is late/early registration? As an incoming FR, many have noted in other posts that there doesn’t appear to be a problem with attending the last BB session and still getting the classes required. I have no doubt that an incoming Honors student will be able to register at the last BB for every class they require…it is just not a problem!
This is the only time you will face this ‘problem’ - it is a 1-off. Once an Honors student has some credit hours under their belt, they will receive priority reg for subsequent semesters. Spring reg starts in late Oct/early Nov for returning students; Fall reg starts in late Mar/early Apr, depending on your # of earned hours.
Discuss with your student ahead of time (like, now) that in order to limit the expenses, they are expected to not come home for breaks other than Christmas and Spring. (And even for Spring, sometimes the kids will find friends to stay with instead of coming home, esp as they get older.) This is the ‘price’ you are paying for attending a school far from home…and if the student is not on board with this, then you need to re-think things. Some kids do fine with not coming home at all; others are terribly homesick if they don’t see their family every weekend. No one can predict how your student will react, but you can at least sow the seed of limited visits home now, as preparation for it.
While final exams are supposed to be scheduled based on the meeting time for the class, some classes may not have a final or allow students to take their final at a different time. This can usually be determined within the first week or so of classes once the student receives his/her course syllabi. Some students purposely choose class sections with earlier finals as well. You’ll likely be fine with buying winter break airline tickets in August/September as finals dates are relatively early in December. Thanksgiving and Spring break tickets tend to rise in price quicker as the dates are similar for a lot of people.
I typically scheduled myself to fly overnight from the West Coast and arrived the morning before classes started after a break. This gave me plenty of availability to be booked on alternate flights in the event of delays or volunteering my seat on an oversold flight.
One thing to remember about Southwest is that they do not have interline agreements with other domestic airlines, meaning that they will not rebook you onto other airlines in the event of delays.
I want to thank everyone for their suggestions, they have been very helpful.
Found out today that my FIL will cover some of the travel costs for DS if he needs it. That was one incredible blessing today, and I won’t have to worry so much.
DS is obviously aware of the tight finances, but I have been trying to be practical without weighing him down at a time when he should be looking forward to his future at UA.
If your son cannot come home as often as you both would like, perhaps you can use Skype to fill in some of those special moments.
For instance, for a birthday, you can arrange for a birthday cake (have a roommate pick up a prepaid cake or have a cake delivered), then arrange a Skype time, have your own small cake and celebrate together. It can be a special time to talk and catch up on things or have him invite a few friends over to meet you and share cake.
Be creative for these special occasions and though it is not the same as being home, it is close.
I am sure that others will chime in with ideas that they have used to stay connected from out of state.
If you are in an area that Southwest serves, get the SW credit card when there is a 50,000 point offer. If you need a link I may be able to find one. By getting that card when my son was a senior in high school and charging regular expenses and UA housing we were able to book tickets for almost every flight home for free as well as a couple of trips for us to visit him.