Oh an enrollment deposit too ? If it’s substantial, you can likely wait. People will east $50. But if $300 or $500 they won’t. It’s very early.
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Yes, based on what I i’m reading on the housing website, it says it can take a day for the enrollment deposit to show up and then you pay the $175 housing deposit and it looks like only that is refundable. I’m willing to eat a couple hundred bucks if need be, but if it’s unnecessary to deposit this early, I would rather wait
I don’t know if your student will be in Honors and want Ridgecrest and I wasn’t involved in housing - but I wouldn’t pay hundreds, if that’s what an enrollment deposit is, this early.
Yes, you roll the dice but how many people don’t even apply til January, February, etc.
Obviously it’s an individual call.
Maybe you can go on last year’s Bama thread and see if there was discussion about this, etc.
Correct, you can’t pay the housing deposit without the enrollment deposit, and correct, the enrollment deposit is nonrefundable.
Again, it really depends on how much control & requirements your kid has. I haven’t seen but two dorms at Bama, both totally great. (I’ve seen some awful spaces at other schools.)
But if your kid knows they want to go to UA, wants the spiffy suites and wants a say in roommates - and is not going to be in an LLC - then paying for an early slot seems worth it.
Understand that this is one year, and almost everyone moves off-campus after the first year.
Right, I wish I could see the “non spiffy” rooms to know what worse case scenario is for him. We were blown away by the housing tour and neither my husband nor I had anything close to what they showed us so I know he will survive.
Here’s a comparison chart; there are tons of pix and videos online.
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If he is going to be in honors housing then he can wait. Son decided in March and had no trouble finding a single room in Ridgecrest. The general pool fills up fast as it is a very popular school. Also, what would take for him to decide? For us, it was a visit mid-Jan to the scholars weekend. Once you visit the campus and experience the Crimson hospitality, it is almost impossible to say no. Lol!
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He visited last April and loved it. But he also loved a couple other schools that he won’t hear from until spring unless he is lucky enough to get admitted EA.
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Good luck - yep, find the right school unless you have money to burn - Bama could be right for now 
But yeah I think you can wait - we were later.
Don’t forget, it’s October 3rd - most haven’t even looked at applying to college yet.
What you’re hearing from on here likely isn’t the norm.
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S23 came home for a super short weekend. I barely saw him but I am flying out next month for family weekend at Cuse. He looks genuinely happy. He seems to have found a really nice friend group from all over the US. He gets along with his roommate. He has A’s in all his classes except one (a first year seminar class which has a lot of participation and he says he struggled on what to contribute during culture and diversity discussions). Zero regrets thus far about college choice. He was respectful to me and has thanked me a few times. Only thing questionable is he will be rushing for a frat in spring and that worries me a bit.
Slowly revising the school list for D25. Interesting contenders: Creighton, Dean, Butler, Ohio Northern, Shenandoah, and U of Southern Mississippi.
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We saw S23 last weekend for Cal homecoming. He is happy with his decision in choosing Berkeley, but he’s homesick. Roommate is fine, but he doesn’t like sharing a bathroom with 8 guys. He hates not having any privacy. He said he wished he’d come home for homecoming weekend rather than us going there. He just wants to be home as much as possible because he just can’t be totally relaxed and comfortable at school. It makes me sad. We have him flying home about once a month and knowing he can do that seems to help his mood. Berkeley is a little too urban and a little too far from home for his liking.
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Curious - how did So Miss make this list? It’s very different than the others.
Great cost!!!
It’s a big adjustment, sending him good vibes and hugs. Will he be able to get a single next year or move off campus to a space with more privacy?
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We’re not sure yet. Housing is pretty rough at Berkeley. He’s looking at the possibility of rushing a frat, which is one way students secure better housing.
Sounds like he is really thinking through his options and not getting mentally stuck. Impressive to be able to do that. 
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Awe, thank you. He’s a good boy and he is invested in thriving at Cal. This kind of transition is tough though, especially for an extreme introvert.
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Feeling super blessed with pod bathrooms and a split double for my son. I think its helped a ton. Hope your son settles in!
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Is he considering transferring do you think? I know plenty of kids do. I have told S24 that while choosing a college might feel like a hugely stressful thing, if it ends up not being the right choice for him he can always transfer. This has taken a little bit of pressure off of him to pick the “perfect” choice. My husband went to Cal and said he def found his groove sophomore year. That is when he made his best friend there, was in a way better roommate situation, and overall just felt more settled.
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As with s23, we have some TE schools on her list. Seeing how academically competitive they are, my 3.0 d25 has fewer chances. Shes interested in criminology, some sort of social work, and dance. Little to no overlap with big brothers list!
With touring schools shes been able to verbalize its not the number of students but actually more the campus layout and acreage. Cuses 700 plus acres is too big. 200-300 is fine (i think her max would be 500).
U of South Miss dance team popped up on social media. Ended up reviewing majors and it has everything shes interested in. Even has a criminal justice with juvenile studies focus she finds intriguing. With big bro getting full tuition scholarship, this does open up some money for her. And yes, the potential price point at South Miss is possibly doable. Plus its warmer weather which she likes and seems to have okay diversity.
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No, he’s committed to sticking it out at Cal. He feels Cal has the best possible opportunities for his major of the schools he was accepted at. He would have chosen UCLA over Cal due to the proximity to home, but he didn’t get in. He was accepted to Irvine, Davis, UCSD, and Cal Poly, but was pretty set on Cal, even with it’s drawbacks.
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