<p>Are there scholarships available for high scores on the ACT? If so, what and where? We did not take the PSAT because we did not know about the National Merit Scholarship.</p>
<p>The University of Alabama offers full Out of State Tuition for four years to students that score 32 or above on the ACT. If your child is a 2011 Senior and has not applied to the U of Alabama, the scholarship deadline has passed. I strongly encourage you to still take a look at UA. Their Honors Housing will make your jaw drop! Private 10’x10’ bedrooms in suite style layouts.</p>
<p>We live in Ohio. My middle son was a NMF (scored 35 on the ACT) and chose UA over ten other top tier schools. Even though he did not want to apply to UA, I saw to it that he met all the deadlines. He agreed to visit UA spring of his Senior year. UA moved from the bottom of his list to the top in a matter of a week!</p>
<p>Son is now in the middle of his third year. HE LOVES UA! He was even a walk-on athlete to their Division I XC and track teams. He did not get any Athletic money his first two years at UA. This fall he was awarded a book scholarship after he was named ESPN’s Academic All American in April. He was just recognized by the NCAA as the “Elite 88”. This award is presented to one male and one female athlete at each of the 88 NCAA Championships that have the highest GPA. </p>
<p>My youngest son is a HS Senior. He scored 34 on his ACT last year. He too is attending Alabama this fall.<br>
UA is very upfront about their efforts to attract the best of the best! Our family is thrilled with UA for offering scholarships for high scores. </p>
<p>I hope you take a look. ([Undergraduate</a> Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://www.scholarships.UA.edu%5DUndergraduate”>http://www.scholarships.UA.edu))</p>
<p>momof3boyz, I would love some more information from you. We also live in Ohio. Can you please tell me about travel back and forth to UA? My DD is only a junior- she scored a 32 on her ACT but will probably retake. She hopefully will be a NMF. She is shy and very studious. She loves learning but not socializing. She does not like sports. Would this school appeal to someone like her? I am trying to decide if we should make a visit this summer.</p>
<p>Thanks momof3boyz. Love your screen name. Maybe we should hook up and let my three girls meet your three boyz - Ha! Sounds like you have some smart ones! Thanks for the info on UA. I have a friend whose daughter goes to UA and she absolutely loves it. The beautiful campus won her over, enough to pay the out-of-state tuition. We are in GA so it’s a short drive for us. Think we’ll visit and talk with someone. My daughter is actually graduating high school early. She is only 16. So I could keep her home another year and have her retake the ACT and the SAT in hopes of higher scores. Then we could apply for 2012 admission as a freshman in hopes of academic scholarships. Do I read correctly that the National Merit requires no application? What about the honors scholarship program from UA? I assume there are deadlines for all. Can you give me a general timeframe? Thanks again for your input.</p>
<p>linnylu,
My son did not take a car to campus until mid October of his first year. The university’s bus system (Crimson Ride) is sufficient and now has regular routes off campus to Target and a near by mall. Since my son is an athlete, it was helpful that he have a car since some of his training is done off campus (running) and most of the other team mates are foreign students without cars.
We live near Columbus, OH. Drive time with stops has been any where between 9 to 12 hours. Travel time depends on whether we stop at the Outlet Mall, Mammoth Cave, weather and road conditions. We always stop at least once for a sit-down meal (Cracker Barrel). The first time I drove down to leave the car, I purchased a one way ticket from BHM to CMH airports. When son comes home for the summer, I fly into BHM and my son picked me up at the airport. We drive back to Tuscaloosa. I help move most of his belongings to a climate controlled storage unit. Since all of his suite mates had left for the summer, I slept on my son’s bed and he slept on the front room couch. We spend that night cleaning his dorm (apartment), washing his bedding, packing his car with items he takes home for the summer. He has the RA complete the room inspection first thing in the morning and we head north to Ohio by 9:00AM. When son comes home for winter break (about 30 days), I purchase a round trip ticket. The first leg is used to get down to BHM and we drive north from the airport. I will drive back to Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, stay one night and fly back the next day. Since my youngest will attend UA in the fall, I will miss sharing the drive with my son that is at BAMA now. This last trip home, we agreed to drive a freshman home (and back to Tuscaloosa) that lives in the Cincinnati area.</p>
<p>As for quiet, studious students, the Honors Housing is full of them. Most of the time when I have been in my son’s dorm, I never hear loud gatherings. Heck, the first two years, my son rarely even saw much of his suite mates. Some of that had to do with his early morning practices and his busy extra curricular obligations. If your daughter attends church on a regular basis, you will be glad to know there are plenty of students that get up on Sunday mornings to attend services. There are not to many Universities that can boast on that. Depending on your daughters field of study, I’m sure she would find herself in a study group with like students. </p>
<p>As for momof3gls (and linnylu) get familiar with the UA website. Also start reading and asking questions on the University of Alabama forum. There are many people that can answer your questions as well.</p>
<p>momog3gls: You may want to call the National Merit folks and see what needs to be done to make up for missing the PSAT. If that works out well for you, both Alabama and Auburn offer excellent scholarships for National Merit finalists. </p>
<p>Both Alabama and Auburn have December 1 scholarship deadlines. Financially, your daughter may be better off not graduating this year. Start the application process early next school year.</p>
<p>momof3gls, I would have to agree with Yankee Belle when it comes to having your daughter stay in HS one more year. Does your school district offer Post Secondary option or other AP courses your daughter can take if she stays in your school district? I know that in our school district, a student that applies for Post Secondary for their Senior year attends college classes at one of the State Universities or Community Colleges near by. I know I am bias toward Bama but another thing to consider when selecting a college is finding out how many AP/Post Secondary credits a school will allow a freshman bring in. UA allows up to 45 credit hours. My son started his first year as a Sophomore. Class Registration and Housing are opened to upper classmen first. Students with the higheat number of credits get first dibs.</p>