<p>Mike, that’s a great suggestion, the RA room. Perhaps if the boys could get a threesome together, that might work.</p>
<p>I had always thought Bryant would be a good option for their senior year, where the honors choice would be moot, but I do not think it will be an option for them. The boys actually eat most of their meals at Bryant, and I think it would have been a good option for them.</p>
<p>Upstate – I am not a housing rep but can give you some background. As of the incoming class of 2013 housing scholarships are only for one year for National Merit. For classes prior to 2013, National Merit scholars received four years of housing. It was one of the attractions of the scholarship program. </p>
<p>Nobody’s housing scholarship has been revoked. This past year, due to a greater than anticipated demand for freshman housing, some of the upperclassmen were offered the chance to move in to a brand new apartment complex near the law school not owned by the University called “East Edge.” (There was also another complex that mostly housed mostly current seniors called The Bluffs.) The University leased the East Edge space from the complex to meet its housing obligations to scholarship students (and non-scholarship students) who had been promised housing. </p>
<p>The University has notified the students in the spaces that are leased by the University from East Edge and The Bluffs that the University will not renew its contract with those complexes and that students in those complexes must plan to move back on campus. Students on the National Merit housing scholarship are guaranteed that they will be able to move back into Honors Housing or live elsewhere on campus. Students who are not on National Merit housing scholarship have to recontract just as any other non-freshman student. Those not on housing scholarship are not guaranteed housing. (The University only guarantees housing for freshman, but most sophomores who want to stay in University housing are able to stay.) </p>
<p>There is plenty of student housing in Tuscaloosa – even within walking distance of campus, but for students with a housing scholarship who don’t want to give up the financial benefits of that scholarship for their last two or three years, their options are limited to moving back into the honors dorms with mostly freshman or moving to non-honors University owned apartments, which are older buildings and also filled with mostly freshman and sophomores. Most of these kids would prefer to be able to continue to live with their upperclassman friends – and are disappointed that they won’t be able to. It will all work out in the end. Some will choose to give up their scholarships and move off campus with friends. Some will stay in University housing. All will find someplace to live.</p>
<p>^^^ I just want to be clear to be sure that you have not derived the wrong impression from my post. UA has NOT revoked any scholarships. My D still has the “option” to use her scholarship if she chooses to stay in the dorm … she can stay in her room … no issue there. Juniors and Seniors may be able to find rooms, but the priorities have changed to highly favor Freshmen and Sophomores, as it should. Remember, there is also another brand new dorm coming within the next year or so, that will change the dynamics of the situation. I think what we’re writing about now is the situation that we’re faced with NEXT year specifically. Certainly I am NOT saying that I think that UA is required to provide off campus apartment housing to upperclassmen or those with housing scholarships … merely it’s something that has been offered in the past, which at least for this upcoming year will not be available. My wife and I discussed it, and we both moved out of the dorms into apartments as Juniors when we were in school, so we’re allowing her to make that choice. Would it have been nice for her to have the option to use her scholarship off campus … absolutely. However, that is not the case for next year. But housing at UA is AWESOME for Frosh / Soph as it should be!</p>
<p>Montegut - it is my understanding that only incoming Freshman male engineering students will be able to choose Bryant. I’ll try to find the thread/post by UA Housing that stated that. Stand by…</p>
<p>…I can’t find more specifics other than someone posted that only existing Bryant dwellers (and incoming Freshman male eng’g students) would be able to choose Bryant for 2013-14. I take that to mean that Bryant would not be an option for anyone wanting to transfer there from another current location? Call UA Housing to be sure.</p>
<p>Thanks all, glad to know that existing scholarships weren’t changed, that wasn’t clear on some of the posts (not that we had one!). I just want to make sure for at least sophomore year there is a good chance he can stay on campus, I can see moving off campus at some point, but it shouldn’t be because they get booted…</p>
<p>I agree with upstate13 that these posts are causing angst. Upstate13, I don’t think anything was revoked in terms of housing scholarships. The scholarship offer did change for incoming freshman to be only one year free housing instead of four (but they knew that upfront) however those under the 4 year scholarship are still guaranteed 4 years of housing - it just might not be in a dorm they want. </p>
<p>My son is a rising sophomore in honors housing and would like to stay with his current NMF roommates next year (my son does not have a housing scholarship). I’m hoping, because he signed up as soon as he could on 1/2, he has a shot for next year. I have no illusions about junior or senior year but that would be OK - he probably will want out of the dorms by junior year (I know I did!) and it would be good for him to experience something else. If he did have to move off-campus his sophomore year, as an OOS parent, it WOULD be something that would give me pause if I had a current senior considering UA. You shouldn’t have to worry about housing for the next year your first semester as a freshman - you have enough on your plate already.</p>
<p>But I am hopeful he WILL be in the dorms next year - January has been full of crappy news for my family - so I am optimistic February will start off differently!</p>
<p>As long your student pays attention to deadlines and applies early, I don’t think you’ll have any problems sophomore year, Upstate.</p>
<p>Thanks, I have to agree, this will have an impact on OOS students choosing Bama. The merit money is fantastic but the housing situation (if not dealt with) will be a big negative. They should be able to start school as a freshman and not have to almost immediately start worring about where they can live the next year. Good or bad, my 17 year old isn’t quite ready for that 
I am not one to just ‘hope’ it will work out, so this is going to weigh on my mind long after 4/2 when he hopefully gets into his freshman super suite with the 3 boys that are trying to room together…</p>
<p>I think a lot more will be clearer in the next week or two when we find out how many rising sophomores are able to recontract for on-campus housing. We chose UA relying on the fact that honors housing was guaranteed if you chose it from the start (because it was a living/learning community). That guarantee is now gone, even for those who relied on it. I would be OK with students only being guaranteed housing for 2 years (lots of kids are ready to move out of the dorms by junior year), but it’s tough for sophomores. The best complexes fill early (some in the fall), and most freshmen, especially OOS kids who come not knowing other students, are still getting the lay of the land and finding their friends in their first semester. So even though Housing sent out a warning that housing might not be available, it was too late as far as I’m concerned.</p>
<p>I’m hopeful that the sophomores who want campus housing will get it; I guess we will know soon.</p>
<p>upstate13 and others: the housing situation has already been improved by UA. Prior to this current year, Freshman (and other existing students) had to signal they wanted to recontract (stay in the dorms) in October or November, some just weeks after landing at UA! This year, existing students were asked in January (so a full semester after starting school) if they wanted to recontract. UA Housing felt that this gives a more realistic view of just how many students will end up choosing to recontract, whereas in years past, nearly EVERY student said they would recontract back in Oct/Nov because these newbies really had no clue where they might end up. </p>
<p>I’m very confident that all of this will work out for the vast majority of us. One more week to wait and all will be revealed…</p>
<p>Upstate 13, I think the housing landscape will look a little different when your son is a rising sophomore in 2014-2015 since an add’l dorm will be open AND it will be the first year that you will have NMF sophomores without housing scholarships for the remaining three years. I am sure not all those sophomores will remain in dorms without the scholarship – some will move off-campus for monetary reasons, some will move into greek housing, etc…. It might just be this upcoming year that will be a bit unsettling.</p>
<p>First, I would suggest that everyone stop, take a breath, and really assess the situation. I really think that you are overly worried.</p>
<p>Upstate13: your student will get housing as a freshman, it is guaranteed. All the suites have slight variations (floor plan/furniture) but they are all great. Most colleges do not guarantee to give housing even to freshman. Some colleges even triple stack their students, not UA.</p>
<p>Fall 2015 will see the opening of the second phase of Presidential Village increasing room inventory.</p>
<p>Many students CHOOSE to move off campus after their freshman year for various reasons including costs. It is usually cheaper to live off campus.</p>
<p>Montegut: Your son has a housing scholarship, right? So he is guaranteed a place on campus. The only question is where he will live. He can always opt in for his same room. It doesn’t matter that his building will no longer be honors. Only the designation changes. If he has the opportunity to pick his own room in his current suite, why will that be a problem? If he has liked living there before, what changes? His roommates? Why does everyone seem to be worried about non honors housing? </p>
<p>If your son moves into a two bedroom suite, he will pay the difference between the cost of a room in a four person suite and the cost of the room in a two person suite. Perhaps he can use his engineering scholarship to pay the difference.</p>
<p>UA housing has stated (for a while) that East Edge and The Bluffs would not be available for fall 2014.</p>
<p>Dad2IlLD: UA makes it clear, when you first accept scholarships, that although housing is guaranteed for students with a housing scholarship, moving off campus voids the monetary portion of the scholarship. UA will not pay for off campus housing. Your daughter could still move back to campus because housing would be available for her there if money is an issue. That is a large amount of scholarship dollars to give up. There are even brand new suites at Presidential Village, which opened at the same time as East Edge. The reason that The Bluffs were offered in previous years to upperclassmen was as an incentive to move upperclassmen off campus to make room for incoming freshmen. Now that Presidential Village is open, they are not going to do that.</p>
<p>It will be just a few days till the recontracting decision comes out. There should still be plenty of time to make informed decisions and there are a variety of choices for off campus living, especially with all the new apartments being built.</p>
<p>Robot: I hope/think/pray/love Pres Phase II will be open Fall 2014 (not 2015)?</p>
<p>^^Yes, aeromom, Phase 2 of Presidential Village is supposed to open Fall 2014.</p>
<p><a href=“Titanium Chef | Home”>Titanium Chef | Home;
<p><a href=“http://www.sa.ua.edu/spotlightPresidentialVillage.cfm?p=1[/url]”>http://www.sa.ua.edu/spotlightPresidentialVillage.cfm?p=1</a></p>
<p>^^^No,I don’t think that there is a chance that Presidential Village phase II will be opened for fall 2014. They are just starting on the structure, and judging by the time it took to complete the first building, I don’t think it would be done in time. The Presidential Village buildings are huge.</p>
<p>Edited to say that according to BamaGirls, I stand corrected. But I still don’t think it will be ready. I guess we will know for sure, if that is offered as a housing option.</p>
<p>^^Fingers crossed, robotbidmom.:)</p>
<p>there are about 200 - 250 NMF kids this year. that is about 2 - 3% of the total dorm population. (although i am not sure about that number because i am not sure how many dorm spaces there are.)</p>
<p>there are a number of ways that the university could solve the housing problem.</p>
<p>they could:</p>
<p>not require that freshman live on campus. i think the school has grown too much for them to still require that. i don’t think it is the norm at other schools of this size. </p>
<p>they could allow scholarships to be used for greek housing. this is still “on campus” housing. and much of it is cheaper than what a dorm room would cost. even the new sorority houses will probably have costs similar to a comparable room in a dorm. i know delta gamma does. letting sorority girls (or frat guys) live in their houses, and filling the room they would have occupied with a paying student would be a win-win for housing. most NMF students would choose to live in one of the super suites, and the live in cost for most greek houses (that i am aware of) is less than that.</p>
<p>honestly, all those nice dorms at UA are EXPENSIVE (for the majority who are NOT on housing scholarship). i wonder how many students are actually being bumped out. seems most kids that i know of move off campus for that reason alone.</p>
<p>my kid is one that LOVES living on campus (would not even consider living off campus) and is willing to put up with some of the drawbacks (this year, sharing a room when she previously had her own room) just to do so.</p>
<p>UA has not always required freshman students to live on campus. I, for one, am glad that they do. It fosters stability and safety for the students, a sense of community, and allows the students to immediately connect with their new lives as college students. I think removing that requirement would be detrimental to the “feel” of the university and to the incoming freshmen’s satisfaction.</p>
<p>Mike…I am pretty sure that UA wouldn’t let students use their housing scholarship to pay to “live in” a sorority or fraternity since they do not own the structure (just the land it’s built on). I don’t think it would make sense for them financially to do this. They already forfeit their income from the Greeks eating in the dining halls.</p>
<p>Robotbld … we are very much aware of commitments UA made. Her meetings with UA staff was based on what she was told at the bluffs about granted exceptions in previous years. She’s currently in RCS-N in a 2 bed, and certainly could stay there. Her issue is that all of her female friends are moving out of dorms due to the new policy about upperclassmen. She’s not willing to go pot-luck in a double. Also, since she’ll be 21 in September, there’s the big age / social difference too, which we certainly understand. This is our choice, and we realize that it is driven by UA’s “current” stance and situation re: room availability, which will change again presumably once Pres 2 is open.</p>