<p>I have seen Bama mentioned numerous times on here when it comes to people looking for NMSF scholarships. My dd and I looked online at the honors housing and it looks awesome. Would she be guaranteed housing all 4 years? She is undecided in terms of her major but prefers english and languages over science and math. Is that a problem at Bama? I am still not sure about her having to fly to her college alone. I don't think that there is a direct flight from Cleveland, OH to Birmingham. How hard it is to get from the airport to the college? Can you give us some other reasons why Bama would be a great place so we can convince my dh we should take a closer look?</p>
<p>Since the NMF scholarship includes housing, you get housing. However, the student does need to “re-contract” every year in the fall for the following year…otherwise the school will think the student will be moving off campus.</p>
<p>The campus is gorgeous…and I’ve been on many campuses. The academics are strong and the people are friendly.</p>
<p>there are shuttles from B’ham to the college. </p>
<p>The honors college is awesome. There are 4 different honors programs.</p>
<p>UA HONORS COLLEGE [Honors</a> College - Home](<a href=“http://honors.ua.edu/]Honors”>http://honors.ua.edu/) </p>
<p>More info about Honors College
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/804961-honors-colleges-4-different-programs-app-process.html?highlight=honors[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/804961-honors-colleges-4-different-programs-app-process.html?highlight=honors</a></p>
<p>[The</a> University of Alabama College of Arts & Sciences “This is How College is Meant to Be” - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube) </p>
<p>There is a very active Alabama forum on College Confidential …you should check it out.
[University</a> of Alabama - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/]University”>University of Alabama - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>This thread shows you where some Bama families are from…
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1096387-what-state-everybody-roll-call.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1096387-what-state-everybody-roll-call.html</a></p>
<p>What is your D’s intended major?</p>
<p>My D is undecided but is most interest in english, latin, and spanish. </p>
<p>Anyone else? I really want to convince my husband that we need to visit this school.</p>
<p>And does anyone know what type of laptop students are given for the NM scholarship?</p>
<p>The laptop is a Dell Latitude (that’s the professional line)…and has a value of about $1800-2000</p>
<p>It comes fully equipped. Also comes with 3 years of on-campus Dell support and 3 years of accidental damage.</p>
<p>linnylu,</p>
<p>My son applied broadly last Fall as a NMSF. He applied to both Auburn and Alabama due to their generous scholarship opportunities. He thought they would make fine ‘safety’ schools.</p>
<p>He applied to the Computer Based Honors Program and was invited to come to Tuscaloosa to interview. After he visited the campus he never looked back. He is tickled to be where he is. The only downside was finding a love interest towards the end of High School that he is now separated from by some 9 hours drive. She’s applying to UA soon and I believe she’ll be seeing the campus more than a few times this year.</p>
<p>I think that you would be wise to apply and visit. The campus and program sold my son.</p>
<p>My Daughter just received her laptop this afternoon. She is impressed with it so far, and all the help the engineering boys on the floor are giving her ;)</p>
<p>I can speak to the question about not being a STEM student. My daughter’s major is Studio Art! (I will add that she is planning on minoring in computer science) Two of her high school classmates that are also NMF and attending UA…one is a music performance major and the other is an English major! I know of another freshman NMF that is not a STEM major. So in other words, not all NMF are engineers or premed! </p>
<p>I can’t speak to the transportation since we are instate, but I know there is a shuttle to the Birmingham airport.</p>
<p>The housing is great! D fell in love with the campus and the people once she visited, which to us spoke volumes since one year ago she couldn’t see herself attending that “football” school, the locals in our town can get a little fanatic 
</p>
<p>I highly recommend visiting!!</p>
<p>linnylu,</p>
<p>Our son is an entering freshman and I can say that every experience we have had with UA has been outstanding. The people there are very friendly and go out of their way to be helpful. The entire campus is beautiful, and as you have already seen on-line, the honors housing is really nice. We were told that NMF are guaranteed housing all 4 years. Schedule a visit, and I bet your dh will be sold.</p>
<p>D1 is an NMF starting her 2nd year at UA but she’s already a junior due to generous AP credit as well as her ability to take up to 20 credits/semester under the NMF scholarship (she’s taken 17-18/semester plus an additional 6 over the summer.) She is currently a history major so another example of a non-STEM major. </p>
<p>Regarding flights: Birmingham is a Southwest destination. I just checked their website and while there are no nonstops, there are 1 stop flights with changes in Midway or Nashville. Total travel time about 4 hours. Not too bad. </p>
<p>So why is it a great place? Financially you can’t beat it for NMF’s. D’s bill for this fall semester was $435. Yup, that’s right. Less than $500 dollars. We were able to fund her study abroad trip this summer with the Dean Emeritus of the Honors College: Alabama at Oxford. For your English loving daughter it would be amazing: they studied the authors of Oxford & took walks through town each day highlighting places that the authors used in their books: Lewis, Tolkien, Pullman, Carroll. We had told D that if she selected some of the other schools on the list, that study abroad would be hard to pull off. </p>
<p>Housing: I haven’t seen nicer. NMF’s housing is covered for 4 years. There are some apartments that some upperclassmen NMF’s choose to move to that are covered under the scholarship, but D is happy in the amazing dorms with her own bedroom.</p>
<p>Faculty/staff: So nice & so interested in their students. D has been at a few faculty/dean homes for dinners/BBQ’s. All the personalized attention during the admissions process is true to the attitude while on campus. Even the lady in the post office is nice when you call :)</p>
<p>A lot of parents have kids who are resistant to UA at the beginning of the process because they have ideas of what a big, Southern SEC school must be like. But setting foot on campus usually opens their eyes. I’d say schedule a trip down when it’s winter in Cleveland (so say October and it’s beautiful in Tuscaloosa. The Honors College is great about setting up a personalized day. I’ve yet to hear a parent who wasn’t sold by the time they left.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>I have a son that is a freshman at UA - Economics and Russian
Been there 6-7 times at this point, so I’m getting to know the area.</p>
<p>-Southwest Airlines has plenty of flights direct from Cleveland - Birmingham, there is a shuttle from campus to the airport.</p>
<p>-You need to visit, we toured many, many universities - Alabama is truly special
For comparison the campus it is rather like Miami University in Oxford Ohio, traditional and a bit preppy - in a nice way (minus the snow, and in a larger town)</p>
<p>-Lots of Ohio kids at UA, and growing every year, one of my son’s room-mates is from Toledo.</p>
<p>-People there are too nice for words.</p>
<p>Happy to answer any questions (we are from Cincinnati)</p>
<p>Why Alabama? </p>
<p>It’s a question that we, and our son, a National Merit scholar born and raised in Hawaii, asked over and over during the fall of 2009. All it took was a visit and we discovered the answer. Here are the top 10 reasons why the University of Alabama is a great choice:</p>
<ol>
<li> Plentiful and generous out-of-state scholarships. </li>
<li> The Honors College–the personal touch and rigor of a small liberal arts college, coupled with the resources of a major research university. </li>
<li> Diversity—more than 40% of incoming freshmen are from out-of-state. Looking for a church, temple, or mosque? They’re all here.</li>
<li> A drop-dead gorgeous campus.</li>
<li> A modern, state-of-the art infrastructure—the facilities are first-rate.</li>
<li> The finest dorms we’ve ever seen.</li>
<li> An endless array of extracurricular activities, service opportunities, internships, and recreation.</li>
<li> Southern Hospitality—the Aloha Spirit, Mainland style. The folks at UA are simply the nicest, most helpful people you’d ever hope to meet.</li>
<li> Water! Kayaking, canoeing, rowing, water skiing, sailing, and swimming.</li>
<li>Deep traditions. Awesome school spirit and pride. A visionary president.</li>
</ol>
<p>I should add an 11th reason: generous application of AP credits. Our son is entering his second year at Bama, yet is only 3 credits shy of junior standing. He is double majoring in Business (Marketing) and Telecommunication & Film. He loves UA and is having the time of his life–academically, socially, and recreationally. And hey, if he can get himself from Honolulu to Tuscaloosa, it can be done from Cleveland as well. :)</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or wish to discuss UA further.</p>
<p>Aloha and Roll Tide!</p>
<p>I’m going to echo the other posters and remember when many of them were asking the same questions about UA. </p>
<p>What does your daughter want in a university? I know that UA was the only school that could offer me all I wanted in terms of academic opportunities, social atmosphere, and living situation. I am still amazed at all of the opportunities that arise as a result of attending UA, such as the opportunity to earn a master’s degree while still an undergraduate (selected departments), while ones scholarship will cover the tuition.</p>
<p>If you decide to visit Bama, this is what you need to do…</p>
<p>set up a campus tour time online…try for the early morning one.
[Campus</a> Visits - Undergraduate Admissions - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://gobama.ua.edu/visits/]Campus”>Visit)</p>
<p>send an email to Allison Verhine in the Honors College </p>
<p>In the email, include:</p>
<p>tour time and date
student name & contact info
test scores and GPA
(if a likely NMF, indicate so)
intended major
professional interests (pre-med, pre-law, pre-dental, etc)
interest in Computer Based Honors program and/or University Fellows Program (if desired)
Also, include any thing else that interests you about the school…such as touring the new Science and Engineering Complex and Shelby Hall. </p>
<p>Allison will arrange the rest of the day…meeting with dept heads, honors faculty, touring honors dorms, etc.</p>
<p>Allison Verhine - Honor College Recruitment Coordinator
269 Nott Hall
205-348-5534
<a href=“mailto:allison.verhine@ua.edu”>allison.verhine@ua.edu</a></p>
<p>Here’s a little video that gives you a look at Bama’s College of Arts and Sciences. If you’re interested in Engineering, the video shows a bit of Shelby Hall which is Phase I of the very large Science and Engineering Complex at Bama. Two phases are complete…Phase III will complete in a few weeks…and Phase IV is breaking ground promptly.</p>
<p>[The</a> University of Alabama College of Arts & Sciences “This is How College is Meant to Be” - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>Also, those who will be majoring in Engineering or Computer Science get an additional $2500 per year (for ACT 30+/ SAT 1330+ and 3.5 GPA). If you’re not NMF, then you’d get free tuition as well with those scores being in Engineering/CS.</p>
<p>This lists all the assured scholarships…
[College</a> of Engineering - Scholarship Information](<a href=“http://coeweb.eng.ua.edu/future_students/scholarship.htm]College”>http://coeweb.eng.ua.edu/future_students/scholarship.htm)</p>
<p>Go to the university of Alabama forum on CC, spend a few hours reading past posts from parents, students, and other interested people there. You will learn a lot about UA, but even more about the culture of UA. That helped me the most. I did the same for other schools, and did not come away with a warm and fuzzy feeling about them like I did with UA.</p>
<p>Wow, you all are great. I really appreciate all of the insight here and can’t wait for my husband to read it. Once NMSF scores come out and D is indeed a SF, I will book our flight for a visit. </p>
<p>I do have one question- I have seen both Birmingham and Tuscaloosa mentioned. What is the difference? </p>
<p>I think I read that the meal plan is not included- is that correct?</p>
<p>Don’t know if I can add anything different than what’s already been said, except maybe the number of positive replies will be helpful. My daughter is a NMF majoring in Exercise Science, hoping to go on to physical therapy school. She is a triathlete and was recruited by a few D1 schools to run cross country. Her backup schools were Georgia Tech and UNC (let’s just say each parent attended one of them!). I will be honest and say our first visit to Bama was financially driven – there is no way to ignore the NMF scholarship. I was hooked on that visit (and we didn’t even visit the honors college that time), but it took a second visit to convince her and dad. UA, and specifically the Honors College, recruits high achieving students in a very personal way – tailoring visits to each kids’ interests and following up by phone and letter afterwards. It was very evident that they were willing to bend over backwards not just to recruit her but also to ensure her success once she became a student. I think a lot of NMF kids have big goals, but I think UA is the place that really invests in helping them meet those goals. She participated in Outdoor Action so has been moved in to her dorm for about 10 days now. I am amazed by how happy and content she seems. In high school she was very successful but also very shy. How incredible it is to hear her confidence soaring as she makes friends and searches for ways to get involved on campus. Hope you are successful in encouraging your husband to make the trip – I think the differences at UA will be noticeable.</p>
<p>My D is extremely shy with those she doesn’t know. The best thing that happened to her was becoming editor of her school newspaper. She’s had to interview the principal, vice principals, and several teachers. I do worry about her getting overlooked at a big college, so the words here are helpful. Ideally, a small school of 5,000 or so would be perfect for her. But there is no way we can afford the price tag that usually comes along with that size school.</p>
<p>"I have seen both Birmingham and Tuscaloosa mentioned. What is the difference? "</p>
<p>Tuscaloosa is where the University is located
Birmingham is the nearest ‘real’ airport - about an hour away</p>
<p>So shuttle buses run from the University to the Airport
Actually easier than getting to cross town airports in most major cities…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Ahem, that’s y’all are great, lol. :)</p>
<p>Don’t confuse UA Birmingham with UA (Tuscaloosa). We’re the latter, the flagship University of Alabama.</p>
<p>Also, I counsel and work with lots of students who go to small universities that boast about their personal touch and none of them surpasses the personal touch my son has experienced at Bama. I know, it sounds ridiculous, even unbelievable, given UA’s size, but that’s the way it’s been with the Honors College.</p>
<p>How is the recruiting for these honors students, particularly engineering? I mean, if a kid turns down a top engineering school for Bama, will they regret it at graduation?</p>
<p>Linnylu … I can only echo what everyone else has already posted. My D has been at UA for 12 days now and loves it. What I would like to stress is just to visit because UA sells itself. The scholarship package is great, the dorms are awesome, but you need to see and experience the people and campus. You’ll all love it. Good luck and Roll Tide!</p>