Questions and concerns

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
1

<p>IF DS gets accepted to UA, and he is seriously considering it as an option, what can he/we expect?</p>

<p>Living 14 hour drive away, he won’t be able to come home all that often nor would we be able to get there. The travel expense is a huge concern. He has never flown, so even that is somewhat of an issue.</p>

<p>Will he be ok on campus during breaks and holidays? Are there times when we are expected to be there? I know we will make the trip for move in, but are there other times? Are there times when he would not be able to stay on campus, and he would have to come home?</p>

<p>Are internships easy or common in engineering? Are some areas better than others? When do they occur? Do they extend the time in school, making it difficult to graduate in 4 years? Right now he is undecided, but he will have to make a choice at some point, and I know it is easier to get hired with experience.</p>

<p>If he goes in undecided for engineering, will that have an affect on delaying graduating in 4 years?</p>

<p>Is it difficult to schedule the required classes? A friend of ours just paid Penn State an extra $8K for her DD to take some classes before even starting her freshman year, as she wouldn’t be able to get the classes she needed that first semester, that is just crazy.<br>
.</p>

2

<p>I can address some of the concerns you have. I am a parent of a sophomore in engineering. So far our student has not had trouble getting classes and has not mentioned to us that is a future concern. Honors college registration priority probably helps.
We visited Labor Day weekend because we thought he would be alone on campus, that most students would go home and he was too far to do that. The campus was hopping with all those (60 percent) OOS students! The only holiday I think campus would be cleared out for, although not completely would be Christmas, I think. So far, many of the classes he has taken would apply to most engineering majors. Even with heavy AP credit he is just now hitting specific major coursework. Overall, we have not had any disappointing surprises. If you can spend some time on campus before he commits, that will bring your student confidence in his or her decision. Best of luck!</p>

3

<p>Living 14 hour drive away, he won’t be able to come home all that often nor would we be able to get there. The travel expense is a huge concern. He has never flown, so even that is somewhat of an issue.</p>

<p>— When we anticipated that a child would have to fly alone, we first flew with him, but made him “do everything” (find where to check-in, where to check luggage, where to go thru security, where to find the gate, etc). We went along, but kept our mouths shut. This gave him the confidence to later fly by himself. </p>

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<p>Will he be ok on campus during breaks and holidays? Are there times when we are expected to be there? I know we will make the trip for move in, but are there other times? Are there times when he would not be able to stay on campus, and he would have to come home?</p>

<h1>— Your child may find car-pools back to your home state (what is your home state), so he may end up coming home. And other students do take OOS kids home with them during breaks. There will also be kids that stay on campus…to study, they have jobs, etc.</h1>

<p>Are internships easy or common in engineering? Are some areas better than others? When do they occur? Do they extend the time in school, making it difficult to graduate in 4 years? Right now he is undecided, but he will have to make a choice at some point, and I know it is easier to get hired with experience.</p>

<p>— it is always harder to get internships right after frosh year unless the student comes in with AP credits and was able to take “higher up” classes frosh year. Having a higher standing helps with getting internships…this happens everywhere. </p>

<p>My kids did both REU’s and internships during the summer. I think they preferred the REUs, but some prefer internships. </p>

<p>Both of these things occur in the summer. (Co-ops happen during the school year. )</p>

<p>Yes, some are better than others. They don’t extend time in school. Co-ops do extend time in school, but shouldn’t affect scholarships as long as there is still 8 semesters of instruction. </p>

<p>Students do have to pay attention and do “their job” in getting internships/co-ops. They don’t fall into your lap. That means paying attention to emails, having a good resume, attending the job fairs, getting good grades, etc.</p>

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<p>If he goes in undecided for engineering, will that have an affect on delaying graduating in 4 years?</p>

<hr>

<p>It shouldn’t. However, I would still have him select a likely discipline so his FEP classes are fulfilled. I think that if he changes disciplines, his new one will accept that “other” FEP class. </p>

<p>===============</p>

<p>Is it difficult to schedule the required classes? A friend of ours just paid Penn State an extra $8K for her DD to take some classes before even starting her freshman year, as she wouldn’t be able to get the classes she needed that first semester, that is just crazy.</p>

<p>— that is crazy, unless the student wasn’t calc-ready or something.</p>

<p>As long as the student comes in Calc-ready, and he pays attention to sequences, he get classes and should graduate in 4 years.</p>

4

<p>We are PA residents. I can tell you Bama is NOTHING like Penn State Engineering. Unlike Penn State, it is possible to graduate in 8 semesters. In the event there is a registration issue, the Department Heads are very good with helping kids get into a locked out course.</p>

<p>Has your student taken AP courses or dual enroll courses? Bama’s generous AP/CLEP credits aid tremendously in graduating in 4 years. </p>

<p>We are from outside of Philly. The distance and travel costs are not easy. My kid will not be coming home for Thanksgiving this year. He also is not coming home for Fall Break. I will not lie, it sucks. But the OOS students are numerous and he will not be the only kid staying. Do check the Housing site carefully. Most dorms close over Christmas break. </p>

<p>Undecided Engineering vs choosing in advance – No difference in the first semester for most engineering disciplines. All will take a 1 to 2 credit intro course and all will take a 3 credit Foundations course. I personally recommend choosing a specific major in advance. It is easy to change. Going in with a specific major can lead the kids to clubs and professional organizations early on.</p>

<p>Each major does have a Flow Chart available on the website. <a href=“http://students.eng.ua.edu/degrees/flowcharts/”>http://students.eng.ua.edu/degrees/flowcharts/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Internships - I hear of Mechnical Internships the most, but that is likely because it is one of the bigger majors at Bama. Internships during the school year will extend graduation beyond 4 years, but remember, Engineering internships/co-ops pay well.</p>

5

<p>There are not times when parents are " expected" to be there. Parent weekend comes in Sept shortly after move in, but the events planned are for parent benefit. In 3 years, we have not attended. It is always on a football weekend and campus is very busy. I prefer to visit when the focus can be on spending time with my son. Campus is open on fall and Thanksgiving break. Son has roommates from Wisconsin and Delaware. There are many who will be staying during the short breaks. </p>

6

<p>Travel costs are a concern so definitely put them in your budget which you compare college costs so these are not a surprise. We are 12 hours away and my first son at UA had never been on a plane by himself before (and only once as a 14 year old with the family.) It was a big help that when we went for orientation, I made him take charge at O’Hare airport, and then Birmingham airport. We were glad to see how small and easy it is to get out of Birmingham airport, since we wouldn’t be on the “other side” there. For his freshmen year, travel costs were a little high as orientation, visiting him for Fall Break, getting him home/back for Christmas and Spring break all added up. We drove him back/forth to drop and pick him up which totalled about $500 each time. His second year cost us less as we didn’t visit and he only came home for the major breaks. Our younger son is now at UA. Do I miss them - of course I do, but they are at a school they love and a school we can afford and we are all okay if we don’t see each other for a couple of months. If your son is more of a homebody, this might not work.</p>

7

<p>laralei: We live in VA, so our drive is a little shorter than yours. We’ve sent two sons to Alabama. One is a 2013 graduate, The other is currently a freshman at UAH.</p>

<p>Both boys have loved their time in Alabama. My older son, who has degrees in economics and political science, lived with engineering majors three of his four years. Some of his fraternity brothers also were engineering majors. All had really nice internships/co-ops. One worked abroad for Exxon/Mobil. He now works for the British Embassy. Another is an engineer in Kansas City. One of his best friends got her degree in mechanical engineering. She won several prestigious scholarships and is currently earning her PhD at Stanford. Her internships included Gulfstream and NOAA.</p>

<p>As for traveling home, my older son came home for Thanksgiving his freshman year. Because the turnaround time is so short, he chose not to come home the next three years. He stayed with one of his roommates near Birmingham. This year, we will have him home (he is in his first year at UVA Law), but my younger son will stay with his roommate’s family in Huntsville. He runs on the cross country team, and it may qualify for nationals, so he needs to stay because of practice. We will see both sons at Christmas time. Sure, we do miss them, but they are doing their thing, enjoying classes, etc.</p>

<p>M2CK: The Penn State story is not uncommon. My husband has a good friend whose son selected Pitt over Penn State for two reasons – merit money and the knowledge he had that he may finish in four years. I’ve met other students from PA who tell the same story.</p>

8

<p>Bookmarking this thread, as I have similar questions as OP.</p>

9

<p><<<
first son at UA had never been on a plane by himself before (and only once as a 14 year old with the family.) It was a big help that when we went for orientation, I made him take charge at O’Hare airport, and then Birmingham airport. We were glad to see how small and easy it is to get out of Birmingham airport, since we wouldn’t be on the “other side” there.
<<<<</p>

<p>This is important for those of us who worry about a child flying for the first time…especially if you have a child (like one of mine) who would be more nervous the first time by himself.</p>

10

<p>Penn State Engineering – It may have a great rep, but the horrors of folks we know to get courses as well as the up-charge for being an Engineering student had me pull the parent card and tell my sons they could not even apply. And we are in-state. </p>

11

<p>“Is it difficult to schedule the required classes? A friend of ours just paid Penn State an extra $8K for her DD to take some classes before even starting her freshman year, as she wouldn’t be able to get the classes she needed that first semester, that is just crazy.”</p>

<p>We did a Mechanical and an Aerospace Engineering tour this passed September and was able to talk to two professors. Mechanical engineering has classes that are held in Fall and Spring so if you co-op there are no issues with getting classes in. Aerospace is a different story. </p>

12

<p>bandmomof3: not sure what you mean that ‘Aerospace is a different story.’</p>

<p>I have never heard of any students at UA being unable to register for any required aero classes that they need, so I just want to emphasize that, in case people read that sentence as such. In fact, I have not heard of any students in UA engineering who have had any difficulty registering for their required courses. Period. Yes, some students cannot get into their favorite section of the week, perhaps, but they do all fit their requirements into their schedules and can graduate on time!</p>

<p>Starting in their Junior year, all AEM (Aerospace Engineering and Materials) majors follow the same menu of core classes, together as a cohort. These classes are taught in only one semester (either Fall or Spring), so yes, if you miss that semester (due to a co-op, e.g.), or fail (horrors!) then you would need to wait that out until the next opportunity. There used to be only 1 AEM-required course which students needed to be careful of, and that was Algorithms AEM 239, which used to be taught only in the Fall of the Sophomore year. Miss/fail that and you used to be waiting until the following year. I notice that this course is now taught BOTH semesters - yay! This means that there are enough students enrolling at UA who need that course, that they have enough to offer it both semesters…and this gives some increased flexibility to the student’s schedule in Aero.</p>

<p>AEM is still a small department at UA, and they will work with you on fitting in co-ops and getting all of your courses (and graduate on time). There is not a formal process for co-ops in the aero major, but my S was assured that if he wanted to do a co-op, he would be accommodated somehow. </p>

<p>Regarding internships & co-ops in aero - just my $.02: students need to be very proactive in exploring these on their own. The college is not (currently) set up to offer a plethora of opportunities. These are not handed out to students (as some other schools might brag about). Students very often need to find internships and co-ops on their own. Once found, UA will bend over backwards to help mesh it with your studies. But can’t emphasise enough that students need to make the effort to find those internships and co-ops, not the school. </p>

13

<p>" But can’t emphasise enough that students need to make the effort to find those internships and co-ops, not the school. "</p>

<p>Now this would be a concern to me. I would hope the college offers guidance in this. DS is way too laid back for his own good, and if left totally to his own devices, it probably won’t happen. </p>

<p>In that vein, it seems that many students move off campus after their first year? Do students get them for the entire year and stay and work? Or just do the school year?</p>

<p>Also, he is bound and determined to give Cornell a shot, so we won’t be picking a dorm until very late compared to the advice here. What can he expect in that case? Will he have trouble getting into a dorm? or is it just the selection that won’t be available?</p>

14

<p>I too am from PA and I am a current freshman majoring in 2 different types on engineering. So Im coming from a very similar background. From my experiences and from my friends at Penn State I agree you will be able to graduate here in 8 semesters with no problems while at Penn State I know multiple people having to take summer classes to graduate with an engineering degree. The long distance has impacted me. I am coming home for the first time on wednesday and I am very excited. But personally the distance factor was good for me. In college, students need to get away and sometimes this far of a distance is helpful. I loved not being able to come home. If I wanted a home cooked meal I needed to make friends that I could go home with. I am from central PA so I lived in a fairly small town and was nervous going to a university bigger than my town. But I can assure you that it becomes home. Dorm wise I would suggest filling out the housing application ASAP. The suite style dorms go fast and getting random roommates is scary. But if he has a friend who is coming here or makes a friend coming here they can always pull him into the dorm with their earlier room selection. </p>

15

<p>laralei: You say that your son is very laid back. Well, college just may change that. We worried that my younger son would keep to himself a lot in college. Although he did a lot of volunteer work in high school, he was pretty much a homebody. He really has come out of his shell. Just saw a photo of him on Facebook all dressed up at a sorority’s fundraiser. He is always doing something, and we are thrilled. He would love to spend his summer at his school doing a class or two and working, and he announced that decision just a month into school. So they do change.</p>

<p>bamagirl18: Glad to hear that you have made such a smooth transition from PA to UA. My older son made his first visit home his freshman year at Thanksgiving. He did the same as you have. He made lots of friends, and he spent several weekends visiting their families. It was a great experience for him.</p>

16

<p>Re my post #11 above: just to restate that my comments were very specifically related to an aero-engineering major. My S does not have experience w/ co-ops or internships w/ any other engineering major at UA. UA does have a co-op services department, and can be helpful to students in guiding them through the co-op process.</p>

17

<p>My son has completed an internship and is currently completing his first co-op work session in civil.</p>

<p>I am STILL not impressed with the Career Center at UA that hosts the job fairs and ‘assists with’ finding internships. I’ve posted before that other schools (even including auburn) host job fairs for specific branches of engineering and bring in hundreds of employers. I think auburn now has both a fall and a spring job fair specifically for civil engineering. UA has a single technical job fair (I believe they do have a fall and spring job fair, but it is for all technical disciplines and there are not job fairs for specific disciplines) encompassing computer science as well as engineering and has less total employers in attendance.</p>

<p>I definitely felt completely on our own when searching out internship opportunities, but I also had confidence that I could provide son guidance. It took a lot of legwork, but I found multiple opportunities for him to apply to and he did successfully get an internship in his field after his freshman year. It was low paying for an engineering positions (at $10/hour), but since it was following a single year of coursework, I was more concerned that he got the experience to put on his resume.</p>

<p>On the other hand the co-op office at UA has an enthusiastic, dedicated group of employees that go above and beyond to help the students. During one of our visits to campus, we met with the co-op office and there is nothing negative I have to say about the office. The only downside of a co-op is that it can delay graduation by up to a year (however does not impact using scholarships for 8 complete semesters of courses).</p>

<p>In a co-op you alternate semesters of full time work with semesters of classes. So for example my son began his co-op in fall of his 3rd year -</p>

<p>1st year fall - classes
spring - classes
2nd year fall - classes
spring - classes
3rd year - fall - co-op work session #1
spring - classes
summer - co-op work session #2
4th year - fall - classes
spring - (final) co-op work session #3</p>

<p>and if you count above only 6 semesters of courses have been completed/6semesters of scholarship utilized, so he will have 2 remaining semesters of courses/scholarship, which he can either take in the summer/fall and be a Decemeber graduate or can take in the fall/spring and delay his graduation by a year (for students with a significant amount of AP credit, they may be able to complete a co-op without delaying graduation, however would then sacrifice semesters of scholarship)</p>

<p>ALL co-ops (by law) are PAID positions. A co-op provides an entire year of professional experience to add to a resume in a student’s field prior to graduation. Many co-ops are in technical fields, but they also have co-ops available for students in other majors.</p>

<p>My son wasn’t certain about doing a co-op because he was reluctant to delay graduation, however after his first year he seemed to be getting a little ‘burned out’ with classes and I convinced him to at least apply for co-op opportunities and make up his mind. He was able to get a co-op position at a business located right in Tuscaloosa, so he is still living in his student apartment, still has his student football tickets, can still participate in student activities, but just goes to work every day instead of going to classes. He really seems to enjoy his job (most days) and it also gives him some degree of confidence that he will be happy with the type of work he is tasked to do when he finishes his degree.</p>

<p>Even for students who are not on scholarship, since co-ops are paid posistion, the money earned during each work session can be used to offset the costs while students are in classes.</p>

<p>For anyone who is willing and able to delay their graduation, I HIGHLY recommend speaking with the co-op office.</p>

18

<p>Just want to add for any parents of non-engineering students - outside of engineering,there are internships, which are NOT necessary paid positions. </p>

<p>We have a couple of friends who did co-ops with NASA (one majoring in engineering, the other in accounting) and I have an accounting-major nephew who co-oped with an accounting firm. All were paid positions. Our engineering friend just retired after 38 years with NASA, and our accounting friend retired after 34 years with NASA. Nephew’s firm paid for him to get his master’s degree in accounting.</p>

19

<p>So, it appears DS could have a real problem w/ housing if he waits until early 2015?</p>

<p>I know it was suggested in other threads to pay all required fees just to get the housing early. Seems like a waste of money, but a good dorm is really worth the expense?</p>

20

<p>What is a good dorm for some students might not be the best dorm for others. I lived in honors housing because I had my own bedroom, a bathroom shared with only one other student, and a kitchenette and living room shared with only three other students. It was worth the extra money to have a space where I could go and have time to myself and had plenty of room to cook meals on occasion. It was much like apartment living. For a student who is fine sharing a room with a bathroom down the hall and doesn’t need a full sized refrigerator, a traditional dorm would save them a good amount of money. </p>

<p>As for putting down a deposit and then deciding to attend another school, that is the chance you take. $225 may seem like a lot of money, but it can be recovered in other ways. For example, instead of buying a water bottle from a vending machine three times a week, use a promotional water bottle and fill it up at the many water fountains. One could save over $140 each academic year by making this simple change. Add in the savings of having water instead of a soft drink when eating out and one can easily recoup the $225.</p>