<p>We are finally going to visit Bama next week. Susan emailed our itinerary today. </p>
<p>We meet her first and then go on the 10 am tour.
We have lunch at noon with an Honors College ambassador and then tour Ridgecrest
South-North Tower.</p>
<p>We then meet with Dr. Jacqueline Morgan, Dr Rodeno (spanish undergrad advisor), and
Dr. Ulmer (English Professor).</p>
<p>My D wants to double major in English and Spanish and minor in Latin. She will be in the Honors College and also in the International Honors program. </p>
<p>Does anyone here know those professors and think those are the ones we should meet?
I think my D be a little disappointed if she can’t meet with a latin professor. Do you think we should tour Ridgecrest South? It’s on the schedule at 12:45 following lunch at 1 and then D meets with Dr. Morgan at 1:30. D doesn’t want to live in that dorm and would probably rather meet with a Latin prof if one is available. And is lunch with a student something we’ll get a lot out of or should we see if D could sit in on a Latin class then or meet with a professor-maybe from the International Honors program?</p>
<p>I just want this to be a great visit like so many of the ones I read about here. D and I are sold on her heading 12 hours from home- my husband is actually worried about the distance and the fact that we don’t know anyone personally who has attended Bama. </p>
<p>We actually arrive in Birmingham at noon the day before our tours and meetings are scheduled. I wonder if we could set up a meeting later that afternoon or even see Ridgecrest South that day?</p>
<p>Linnylu, my D is an HC Ambassador and might be able to do your dorm tour of RCS on that day before and then you might be able to coordinate that extra Latin visit. PM me if you’re interested and I can ask my D if she’d be willing.</p>
<p>Linnylu, we found our lunch to be extremely informative. We actually had two ambassadors (one was in training) and we (or perhaps it was I) plied them with questions: how did you choose UA, what do you like best, did you bring your car, what dorm do you live in, what dorm do you want to live in next year, did you rush, what organizations are you in, etc, etc, etc.</p>
<p>Dr. Ulmer is a very well respected English professor – one of the “legendary” professors that every Arts & Sciences student should try to take a class with. He’s won several teaching awards and has been at Bama since I was an undergrad – I’m a parent of a current freshman. I wouldn’t cancel the meeting with him if it were my child.</p>
<p>My son found his one-on-one lunch with the HC Ambassador to be invaluable. It was an honest student-to-student exchange without any adult filters, political correctness, or input. It helped convince a skeptical lad that socialization was not going to be a problem, for, as he discovered, kids from Alabama are cool and witty, just as he fancied himself to be. (She was a sophomore from Birmingham.)</p>
<p>which dorm does your daughter want to live in. maybe someone from here could hook you up with an unofficial dorm tour. of course, i am sure the model room will be much cleaner than any occupied room.</p>
<p>we went to tour a place at another college. they only had a 2 bedroom to show us, but we were interested in a 4. so she called a student to let us come see their place. it was a wreck! didn’t show anything at all like the model room!</p>
<p>The lunch was the most informative part of my D’s visit. I wouldn’t cancel that. I’ll bet if you let Susan know you’ll be on campus the afternoon before she’ll be able to schedule something for you then.</p>
<p>*I think my D be a little disappointed if she can’t meet with a latin professor. Do you think we should tour Ridgecrest South? It’s on the schedule at 12:45 following lunch at 1 and then D meets with Dr. Morgan at 1:30. D doesn’t want to live in that dorm and would probably rather meet with a Latin prof if one is available. And is lunch with a student something we’ll get a lot out of or should we see if D could sit in on a Latin class then or meet with a professor-maybe from the International Honors program?</p>
<p>I just want this to be a great visit like so many of the ones I read about here. D and I are sold on her heading 12 hours from home- my husband is actually worried about the distance and the fact that we don’t know anyone personally who has attended Bama. </p>
<p>We actually arrive in Birmingham at noon the day before our tours and meetings are scheduled. I wonder if we could set up a meeting later that afternoon or even see Ridgecrest South that day?*</p>
<p>I do think you should visit the dorms, but if that can be done on the day that you arrive, that would be fine. </p>
<p>I don’t know that particular Spanish prof. My kids have had the Anas (there are 3 Anas)…all have been fabulous. And, Dr Janiga-Perkins is also very good.</p>
<p>If anyone wants to take Italian, any of the Italian profs are excellent.</p>
<p>Paying4collegeX4- I wasn’t thinking about canceling Dr. Ulmer. English is my D’s major, so she is excited to meet with an english prof. I’m happy to hear that he is well respected. I was wondering if I should cancel the tour since that isn’t the dorm she wants to live in and she’d rather meet with a latin professor. </p>
<p>Mike, my D’s first choice is Ridgecrest West. She’d love to take a look at that dorm. Lakeside might be her 2nd choice. </p>
<p>Dad2ild, I’ll pm you if we can get an appointment with a latin prof and would rather tour Ridgecrest the day before our official visit. Thanks.</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear that the lunch will beneficial. When I toured schools with my older daughter, a student took us into the lunch, paid for us, and then left us.</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear that the lunch will beneficial. When I toured schools with my older daughter, a student took us into the lunch, paid for us, and then left us.</p>
<p>wow!</p>
<p>Where will you be staying? Do you have the rest of your time planned?</p>
<p>We are staying at the Country Inn & Suites. I know my D wants to visit St. Francis Catholic Church. My husband wants to eat at Dreamland. I am looking forward to just walking around the campus. We’ll have from 3:00 pm on our first day and then 1 full day before flying out the following day. I have read so much here and looked at so many pictures. I just can’t wait to see it all in person!</p>
<p>Which day next week would you want to tour Ridgecrest West? Also, what time of day?</p>
<p>We would be available to tour Ridgecrest West after 2:30 pm next Tuesday. </p>
<p>Does anyone know at what time the suite for visitors to look at in Ridgecrest South- North Tower closes? Do you need a student ambassador to show it to you?</p>
<p>Normally my D would love to give your D a tour of Ridgecrest West, however Tuesday is her killer class day and next week is exceptionally bad because she is flying out on Thursday morning for a leadership training weekend at Disney (rough life!) and is doing work ahead of time to cover her two missed class days. I can ask her if one of her roomies or another Ridgecrest West friend would be available on Tuesday afternoon.</p>
<p>When my son visited in November (personalized Honors visit and University Days) we were in a similiar situation. </p>
<p>My son had stayed 10 days in Lakeside in July for the Capstone Business Leadership Academy so he/we didn’t really need the “dorm tour” and wanted to instead meet with an additional prof and sit in on a class or two.</p>
<p>The Honors College was able to honor our request to add on to our visit…he got to see the additional prof and sit in on a class as well :)</p>
<p>The dorm tour seems to be part of the Honors College Ambassador’s responsibility…meaning you have lunch with them and then they take you over to RCS and personally give you the tour. I would suggest leaving the tour in your visit even though that isn’t the exact dorm she will live in I think it is helpful for the student and parent to see the model dorm and it gave my son more time to visit and ask questions of the guide.</p>
<p>Hope you have a great visit!</p>
<p>As far as touring RCS…You do not need a Ambassador to tour the dorm. Another mom and I went to RCS by ourselves during Greek Preview Weekend. It was early, around 10am. We knocked on the door to the dorm and one of the students manning the front desk let us in and talked to us for a few minutes about 'Bama. He gave us a key to the model room. We looked around on our own and when we were done, we locked it and gave him back the key. As we were leaving the building, there were several sets of parents doing the same thing we were. We were told specifically that we did not need a guide to see the rooms.</p>
<p>We did try to walk over to Lakeside to see those rooms, but their front desks are not manned so we could not see any. </p>
<p>If you have time on the day that you get in, I highly recommend stopping by the Bear Bryant Museum. Watching the movie about Bear Bryant and UA gave all three of us chills. Made us Northerns realize what some of the traditions meant and why they were so special.</p>
<p>Mugshots in downtown has some of the best burgers ever! Nice area to walk around, not far from campus.</p>
<p>Have a great trip!</p>
<p>Linnylu … it is possible that my daughter can show you a Room at Ridgecrest West if planned ahead of time for your “free” day. She has friends there. While the rooms between the dorms are similar, there are some differences. Looking at the RCN sample room is helpful though to visualize amenities generally. Again, let me know via PM if you want me to ask her. I’d echo the comments of others though to use your lunch to ask as many questions as you can of your Ambassador … don’t be shy. I’d also recommend you go by the Post Office in the Ferg to “see” the amenities there, which you can set up at your Bama Bound session. You can also stop by the credit union and they can fill you in on the services they provide, etc. Then … just EAT your way through town. Since you are staying at the Country Inn and Suites (where we stay when we come) you should know that the “original” Dreamland is located just up the hill behind the Country Inn and Suites, and it is what you might expect from an old smoke house BBQ joint … highly recommended!!! Roll Tide and let me know …</p>
<p>Some ambassadors will give you a tour of their dorm room; it isn’t standard procedure and some ambassadors might live off campus and thus not have a dorm room to show you, but many will do it if you ask nicely. </p>
<p>One of the issues with using RCS as the model dorm is that it has a different layout than most of the other super suite dorms. There is a picture of the other room layout in the model dorm, but it is the same thing that one can see online.</p>
<p>I know this is only applicable to guys, but when we visited (last Nov), it was the day before Uni Days, and yet we wanted to tour Bryant dorm (combo Eng’g/sports dorm), which is normally off the menu at any other time. It was difficult to find someone to open the door for us (no manned/front entrance) at Bryant. Someone in the posh athletic recruiting offices next door was very gracious to call the front desk and then someone came and let us in. They do have a special ‘model’ room set up in there, and it was worth the effort to try and see it. The suite was HUGE, for starters - those athletes are big guys! - secondly, it is professionally and tastefully decorated completely in dark greys, crimson, and houndstooth, with many athletic banners and paraphernalia on the walls. (I can only imagine what the athletic recruitment process must be like!) The whole thing turned my son off completely, tho, so it was one of those ‘bad’ experiences that turned out to be ‘good’ as far as narrowing down his living choices. But I was ready to sign up to study engineering (or somehow get an athletic scholarship to UA), that’s for sure!..</p>
<p>Any suggestions for a decent hotel by Birmingham Airport? We now have a 7:40 am flight, so instead of staying in Tuscaloosa we’re going to stay by the airport.</p>
<p>Also, do any of your students live in Lakeside, Riverside, or Ridgecrest West and would show my D and I their suite on Tuesday, April 10th after 3:30 pm? I am not a health inspector, so it doesn’t matter to me if it’s messy. I’d just really like to see the dorms since I have a hard time visualizing it from the floor plans.</p>