<p>If I missed any of you last night, I apologize…boy, was it was packed. I saw the waiters bringing in extra chairs so people wouldn’t have to stand. It was exciting to see such a huge turnout!! I did get to chat with some of my CC group mates and met plenty of prospective parents and students.</p>
<p>As always, the beverages and food was plentiful…love those little “tasting” desserts. The hotel where the event is held is a landmark and they have recently been renovating because of new management, so it is quite lovely.</p>
<p>I grabbed several of the new brochures (I hadn’t seen these yet). My husband and I (along with the recruiters and other staff) helped to greet the parents/prospective students and answered many questions both before and after the event (from our parent viewpoint, of course). They were the usual questions that concern parents -Housing, Honors College, Transportation, Shopping (girls), Football (guys), Restaurants, Campus size, Need for a car, Scholarships. These topics were not necessarily in that order.</p>
<p>We had a parent speaker who did a great job, and a wonderfully engaging young lady who spoke from a student’s prospective and represented the university well. Kudos to these two, it is a hard job to give that speech.</p>
<p>To top off the evening we had Dean Karr as our primary speaker and he was great. I have never had the privilege of hearing him speak and I was excited by his enthusiasm for the university. He has a good delivery that keeps you at attention while enumerating the many unique qualities of the University of Alabama. I really enjoyed his speech. All the speeches were moderate in length.</p>
<p>There were several staff members of Bama scattered around the room to answer questions afterwards. There was no official question and answer period. I haven’t seen that done in the last several years.</p>
<p>I would expect that some NY’ers have already made their decisions as I saw some “houndstooth” in the audience. I also met many Juniors which indicates to me that word is getting out.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, I only had one question about the “adjustment” from the Northeast to the South. I think that hearing the statistic of 62% Out of State Students in the freshman class helps negate that question.</p>
<p>If you were there, I would love to see any additional comments or questions.
Oh yes, we ended the evening with a very hearty “Roll Tide”</p>
Your son is a great example of how much Bama has to offer if you work hard and get yourself out there. We are impressed… Regarding the reception, I don’t know where to start. First, as you already pointed out Robot, the venue was beautiful, the food display was beautiful (and delicious) and most importantly, the representatives of the school (including parents like you) made fish out of water like us feel welcome, wanted and informed. All the speakers were excellent, and incredibly, covered almost every topic on our list plus more. Our son was excited, impressed and anxious to visit the campus. H and I share his enthusiasm. Thank you to Bama for welcoming us so graciously, taking the time and making the effort to educate us and, of course, thank you Robot. Roll Tide.