<p>My D2 is interested in the SITE summer program at Bama. She’s a sophomore in high school.</p>
<p>Problem is that she is waiting to see if she gets into the FSU YSP program. We won’t know until May 10th. If she doesn’t get it she wants to go to SITE. </p>
<p>Will the SITE program fill up early? Has anyone’s son or daughter tried this program? What were their impressions? Did it help them decide which engineering to pursue? (That’s her hope.) Ideally she would like to go to both programs but the dates don’t work.</p>
<p>Student Introduction To Engineering (SITE) is a summer program for rising high school juniors and seniors who are interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, hosted by The University of Alabama College of Engineering.</p>
<p>My son attended SITE last summer. He was a rising Junior and used it to get a feel for what programs are available in Engineering. Yes, it was helpful. BAMA has 4 areas of Engineering?This camp is basically their chance to show off a little. Son really enjoyed it.
He particularly liked materials (metallurgical?) and the part pertaining to air and space.
Go ahead and sign your daughter up. It seems like you “applied” then got a letter of acceptance. Chose a week, but we did not pay anything until right before camp. I believe I wrote the check when I dropped him off. It seemed odd, but it was very organized once he got there.
It was a good experience staying in the dorms, eating in the dining halls, they went to some math and English classes as well. A couple field trips, and social activities. Someone posted a schedule on college confidential last summer. I will try to find it.</p>
<p>I will echo the comments from ParkTN. DS attended summer after his sophomore year. It was a great overview of different engineering disciplines and great way to see what the UA campus is like. They stay in the 4 room suites and eat in the dining halls, and take a “field trip” to view Engineering in action at a local business. All this comes at a very reasonable price, which I believe is $700 this year. My son enjoyed meeting other students, many of whom he still keeps in touch with on fb. Our DD is a current sophomore and we are encouraging her to attend. If you have any specific question, I’d be happy to answer if I can.</p>
<p>Thank you ParkTN and Spacecoastmom. That is just what I had hoped to hear! </p>
<p>Did the students have classes and experiments? Where did they go on field trips?
Would you send your child again? Or is it really a one shot experience? </p>
<p>Thank you for the info. It does sound like a great program. Roll Tide!</p>
<p>I know they attended some tours and classes. The field trip was to a steam plant in Bham. My son (a floridian) said he had never been so hot!! The field trip was not his favorite part, he was not too interested in that type of engineering. He was there with some kids who had been the previous summer, so a significant number are repeat attendees. He said he would not recommend that. It’s great though, especially for students exploring different engineering fields.</p>
<p>We are from FL as well! Thanks for the tip about not repeating the program. That was one thing I wanted to know. So each week is probably the same info, just for different students. Sounds like a great experience though. My D will definitely go this year or next. Thank you for your insights!</p>
<p>I would recommend attending after Soph year if you’re not sure if you want to go into eng’g - whereas I would recommend attending after Junior year if you know you want to go into eng’g but just need focus on what branch and/or what school. </p>
<p>My S did a similar program at two different universities (neither were UA) the summer between Junior and Senior year. It really helped cement his interest in aero-eng’g, and was a great way to compare the two schools. I remember at the time thinking $750 for 3-4 days?! But it turned out to be a great investment - insurance $, I called it, afterwards. (At 1 of these programs, they packed in 100s and 100s and 100s of kids, so they were really taking in a lot of money, which turned me off as a parent. And, in non-airconditioned 2-person dorms, to boot.) It was overwhelming, if not frightening, and really turned my S off to that particular school (and turned me off to trad dorm living in hot climates - Roll Tide, thank you Jesus for UA suites). I do not think UA’s summer program is crowded. As with everything, tho, apply early.</p>
<p>aeromom: What a great idea to do the different engineering weeks at different schools. Thanks for your insight. Not cool (pun intended), to put the students in non-airconditioned rooms. Yuk!</p>
<p>We just discovered this program at UA. My DS filled out the application, but it seems sparse compared to some school’s programs (no questions about ACT/SAT scores, GPA, courses completed and no requirement for LOR or transcripts) How do they choose who attends? Do they request more information after the initial application? My son will be attending the STEP program (it seems similar) at Purdue this summer and they required much more information. UA and Purdue are his top two choices, so it would be nice to get a similar experience on both campuses.</p>
<p>MaryJay - These are vastly different schools, with different admission steps. The Purdue entrance application mirrors its STEP application: Purdue will ask for an essay and all sorts of info; UA’s only asks for minimal info. </p>
<p>The STEP @ Purdue is a bit competitive to attend. SITE @ UA might not have to turn students away (if at all) like Purdue does. But, then, Purdue’s eng’g program has more than double the # of students than UA’s. Also, attending STEP @ Purdue would look good on the Purdue application (as well as their scholarship app), as it shows commitment to their program, if it is a serious contender. If those are the only 2 schools student is looking at, then attending both summer programs (if you can swing it financially) is the best way for your student to see first-hand how they might fit into each program. It will either cement your student’s decision to choose the eng’g field, or will turn them off completely - both of those outcomes save you the price of the summer camp in terms of ‘insurance’ money!</p>
<p>I agree with aeromom. DD attended as a rising senior to 1) make sure she really wanted to major in engineering, 2) learn something about the different disciplines, 3) see how she felt about UA after being on campus 5 days, and 4) meet possible future classmates to decide if she fit in socially.</p>
<p>There were kids there who took the project VERY seriously, those who were there to see what engineering was all about, and others who seemed more socially focused. Being a less competitive program than say, Purdue, you would expect to see that range of students. </p>
<p>The counselors were great. DD was on campus for Sorority Preview in Feb and ran into her counselor on the strip - they shared hugs, caught up a bit and had me take their picture. DD stays in contact with about 10 kids she met at SITE - most will be attending UA in the fall. </p>
<p>Just wanted to echo the other comments about the program being a very good experience. It helped my D, incoming frosh this fall, cement her interest in engineering and even led her to change her anticipated area of focus in engineering. </p>
<p>Per MereMom’s point there was a very wide variety of how serious kids took the project work and it kind of opened my D’s eyes on how focused some of the high achievers were. She got to work with kids far more disciplined than those she’s going to HS with and had a lot of fun at the same time.</p>
<p>Before SITE, UA was just a curiosity but after the program UA jumped way up the list and ended up as her top choice.</p>
<p>I agree it would be nice to attend both STEP at Purdue and SITE at UA. My son is certainly willing and able to attend both. </p>
<p>My son’s main requirements for college are 1) Big school 2) Big-time sports program he can root for the rest of his life 3) Traditional college experience (he’d love to be the guy in the woody wagon with the megaphone and the raccoon coat) 4) Engineering classes 5) Snow (lacking at UA!)</p>
<p>He has narrowed his choices to Alabama, Purdue (where his dad and I attended), Minnesota and Mizzou (our state and his “safety”), in that order. </p>
<p>We’ve been to visit all but Alabama. We did go to a lovely reception - loved the reps - put on by Alabama. While my son had Alabama in his sights, his dad and I hadn’t really listened to him until this reception. The Dean of Engineering attended and was charming. Also have found out since then he would qualify for Honors College and full-tuition plus at UA. </p>
<p>So, we have to visit UA, but can’t until summer. If he still likes it, he will apply and he will probably make another visit when classes are in session in the fall. </p>
<p>We did fill out the SITE application, but is it just luck of the draw whether he will be chosen? Or do they get back to him for more information (like transcript, test scores, etc)? Or is it pretty automatic as long as they are still accepting applications?</p>
<p>We are getting worried here. It had been about three weeks since my son applied to SITE and we haven’t heard anything. (He did get the email that they received his application, so I know that went through.)
After a week and a half, I contacted the SITE people though their online link and got an email saying we would hear by the end of the week. It has been a week and a half since then and nada.
My DS REALLY wants to attend the SITE program. We also need to solidify other summer plans and would be nice to know if this is a “go.”</p>
<p>So, those of you attending, did you hear via snail mail or email? And, if you heard via email, did the email go to the student’s email, parent’s email or both?</p>
<p>I don’t know whether my son should try to contact them, or if that would just annoy then?</p>
<p>You will probably get your letter shortly. </p>
<p>You can try writing to Greg Singleton <a href=“mailto:gsingleton@eng.ua.edu”>gsingleton@eng.ua.edu</a> or call him at 205-348-1447. He is the co-chair of the SITE Summer Program.</p>