<p>*Alabama is hosting the nation’s top defensive tackle prospect, Eddie Vanderdoes (Auburn, Ca., Placer High) this weekend, and the former USC commit and what I had thought to be a strong UCLA lean is looking like he’s loving it in the South.</p>
<p>*The offers continue to pour in for Placer (Auburn, Calif.) defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes.</p>
<p>The latest was from the defending national champs Alabama. According to Placer coach Joey Montoya, coach Nick Saban talked to Vanderdoes on Monday to extend him the offer.</p>
<p>Vanderdoes has now received offers from Penn State, Nebraska, Boise State, California and Notre Dame to name a few. </p>
<p>The 6-foot-4, 285-pound junior will start the baseball season in early March. Last year, Vanderdoes batted .364 playing first base. He also went 4-2 on the mound.*</p>
<p>Thanks for posting information about Eddie Vanderdoes. Auburn, CA is a 20 minute drive from our house so he is a local kid for us. It will be interesting to see where he accepts to play.</p>
<p>Yup…during a recent interview, Saban was asked what he does with all of his rings and he said he has them displayed on his coffee table in his office for the recruits to look at. </p>
<p>He’s got a bunch…This year, he gets 3 more rings…BCS, SEC, and one from Bama. His coffee table must look like Breakfast at Tiffany’s - Sports Version.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if Bama is more generous with scholarship money for out-of-staters? I would really love to attend UA but the difference in tuition will be a deal breaker unless I can ameliorate the OOS tuition. I won’t qualify for any automatic scholarships because my ACT is unfortunately only a 25. I am touring UA in March over spring break with my mom (SO EXCITED) and I am planning on scheduling a meeting with the financial offices. As a last resort maybe I will be able to persuade them for a little more scholarship money? Worth a shot!</p>
<p>On the website: If you have a special talent or ability — such as music, debate, art, or athletics — that you might like to develop at The University of Alabama, financial assistance may be available to you through that specific department. To find out more about performance-based scholarships, please contact the appropriate department; or for guidance, call Undergraduate Admissions at 1-800-933-2262 (BAMA) or (205) 348-5666 for more information.</p>
<p>I will be attending next year and I am from Long Island NY. A place where everyone goes to michigan, maryland, miami or syrause. I discovered the university when I was looking for a school with great spirit that also gave scholarships. I am still nervous as to how I will do in the South and in a smaller city then what I am used to but I am also excited for a new and great culture!</p>
<p>DustinG,
We are from NY and my son will be starting at UA next year as well. Think of it this way, you will still be living in a city with 32,000 others all contained within the UA family and campus. 32,000 plus all the towns residents, stores, restaurants, a first class hospital just off campus, major chain stores all close by. No different than living in any Long Island town.</p>
<p>Hi, my son is a freshman and we are from Long Island. He was the only one that went to Alabama from his high school and he loves it. There are a lot of out of state students and he gets to meet kids from all over. I highly recommend it. Good luck!</p>
<p>Welcome, DustinG. We are also from LI, son is a current freshman loving life at UA. Turned down some elite schools, even better than the ones you mentioned, and has no regrets. Has made lots of friends. We were concerned about that, but he fits right in. He’s living in a suite with private rooms, probably nicer than his first apartment will be. He had front row seats to every game of a championship football season, and now sits front row at the basketball games (he’s friends with The Face). Not content to be just a spectator, he also plays on the UA volleyball team. Sports and school spirit are unbeatable. If that’s your thing, you’ll fit right in too. As for academics, he gets priority registration thanks to the honors college and generous AP credits. That means he makes pretty much the exact schedule he wants. He must have enjoyed his classes so far, he got A+ in every one. As time goes on, we’ll learn more about important stuff like research, internships, and recruitment, but so far it appears he will have every opportunity he would have had at those other schools.</p>
<p>Feel free to post or PM with any questions.</p>
<p>Hi everyone, I live on Long Island and my daughter was accepted to UA and got a nice scholarship. She loves the school. I am not sure if she will be going (btwn UF and UA right now) but I was wondering what others have found to be the easiest way to get there. We flew into Atlanta for University days and then drove about 3 hours but she will not be doing that. She will most likely fly to Birmingham and somehow get to campus from there. Is that the easiest way? I noticed there are one or two non-stop flights out of Laguardia.</p>
<p>There is one nonstop a day from Laguardia to Birmingham, but it usually doesn’t work time-wise. Be prepared to take connecting flights, which isn’t so bad. So far this year, S has connected in Charlotte, Baltimore, and St. Louis with no problems. He took the UA shuttle from the airport once, otherwise he has gotten rides with other students each time. There is a facebook rideshare page.</p>