<p>not sure here.</p>
<p>when do the dorms officially open for students?</p>
<p>I think we may need to call on Monday. I’m sure the buildings will be open on Sunday before the first day…maybe even earlier. I think the new students have their orientation on the Friday before school starts…so some will be open then. </p>
<p>just saw a fact…Bama houses over 7200 students on campus. that probably doesn’t count the ones at The Bluff.</p>
<p>The dorms, my son said, will open at 10 a.m. Sunday, January 9. That said, he scheduled his flight for that day. He does not mind returning a few days early.</p>
<p>[Student</a> Affairs | Housing & Residential Communities](<a href=“http://housing.ua.edu/on_campus/calendar.cfm]Student”>http://housing.ua.edu/on_campus/calendar.cfm)</p>
<p>my kids will probably go back the day before…LOL…No rush.</p>
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<p>That adds up - the college board website says 29% of all undergrads live on campus, and there are about 23,000 undergrads.</p>
<p>So is it hard to find decent housing off campus? Do kids there on the NMF scholarship living in honors housing tend to stay on campus longer? If housing guaranteed for these kids?</p>
<p>A lot of kids that have the NMF scholarship stay at the Bluff. It is not too far from campus (a bus can bring you to school), and it is covered by scholarship. Everyone I know who wanted to stay on-campus got on-campus housing, but it is more expensive than a lot of off-campus housing. If you start early, getting good off-campus housing is easy. University Downs, University Village, Midtown Village, The Retreat, The Woodlands, and the many apartments around the Strip are not too difficult to get if you start early. Getting an apartment is almost always cheaper than the dorms, so it is definitely something to think about.</p>
<p>getting in Monday night (of course 1/2 hour after last shuttle). Anyone need to share a shuttle?</p>
<p>I’m arriving on Tuesday and taking the 1PM shuttle bus. I’m landing at 10:30 am, so I’ll be sitting in the airport for awhile. At least BHM has free wifi and plenty of comfortable seating outside security since I’ll be very tired.</p>
<p>Assuming they request housing early enough, upperclassmen have no problem getting housing. As pramirez184 mentioned, off-campus housing is usually cheaper and offers a wide selection of living arrangements.</p>
<p>socal, call housing to see if they can wait for your son. In my experience, the bus usually runs late when picking up students at the airport. I’d also ask them about scheduling shuttles that work better with flight schedules. When flying from the west coast (Palm Springs this time), I usually have to fly overnight in order to catch one of UA’s shuttles.</p>
<p>*So is it hard to find decent housing off campus? Do kids there on the NMF scholarship living in honors housing tend to stay on campus longer? If housing guaranteed for these kids? *</p>
<p>I think the NMF kids do stay on campus longer. Housing isn’t “guaranteed”, but I’ve never heard of an NMF kid who recontracted on time not getting housing. Yes, many do move to The Bluff (son is there this year) and yes, the Crimson Ride goes there.</p>
<p>So, if a NMF recontracts on time, he should be fine. </p>
<p>As for other off campus housing…there are tons of apartments around campus. We once had to go to a student’s apt and were shocked to see how many apt buildings there are around campus. We had never really paid attention before, but when you’re looking for a particular apt, it was amazing to see that there are so many around.</p>
<p>I believe that the Bluffs will be more restricted next year. I have heard that only current residents, or people moving in with a current resident, will be allowed to live there next year.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I wonder why that would be? I heard that Bama bought the buildings. Bama needs the rooms, so I wonder what is true.</p>
<p>that doesn’t seem right. maybe the current residents should get first dibs, but after that, it should be open to whomever.</p>
<p>I’m driving back on Sunday (9.5 hr drive), so I’ll make it back to Ttown in time for dinner hopefully. There are rumors running around about housing for next year, though none have been substantiated enough for me to treat them as fact, IMHO.</p>
<p>what kind of rumors mesquitegirl? are you driving from … mesquite? : )</p>
<p>Indeed i am! However did you deduce that my dear Holmes? 
The rumors I have heard involve some or all upperclassmen being kicked out of some of the honors dorms, since there may not be enough space for all the incoming fish. I’ve also heard the rumor about the Bluffs being seriously restricted, as mentioned in an early post by momofonly1. If either of these rumors are indeed true, this is a serious issue for NMF like myself who can only live on campus or at the Bluffs. We are left with very few options. However, I feel the rumor about getting kicked out of the dorms is just that, a rumor. Yet I still have no idea what to do about housing for next year.</p>
<p>socal2Bama – my son also arrives after last shuttle – would be willing to split cost for ride birmingham to tuscaloosa if times are same…he gets in at 8:51 pm</p>
<p>D is also going back on Sunday. Since she doesn’t keep a car on campus, DH or I have to drive her down & taking her on Monday or Tuesday doesn’t mesh with our work schedules. She’s pretty sure she’ll be the only one of her suitemates there till Tuesday but she’ll get herself set for the semester. </p>
<p>Interesting rumors about housing; just read your post to D, Mesquitegirl and it piqued her interest, since she is also NMF.</p>
<p>RobD, we’re in the same boat. Have spent too many weekends picking up and driving son home. Can’t wait until spring semester when there’s only the one break.</p>
<p>But don’t be surprised if the other roomies are there early. We were surprised to find not only all the suitemates, but also the next door neighbors, had arrived early or stayed over for fall break and Thanksgiving. I think after four weeks of mom and dad’s rules, a lot of kids will be happy to get back to their newfound freedom. And some of us will be happy to get our lives back:)</p>
<p>Maybe they’re going to restrict The Bluff to NMFs or honors only or something like that. The Bluffs are really nice and there’s a lot at stake there. The school needs to make sure that they have kids in there that they can trust to take care of their apts. Since you only have an RA “in name only” so to speak at The Bluff, the school really needs responsible kids living there. </p>
<p>My son loves The Bluff…each apt has its own washer and dryer, so doing laundry is a cinch. </p>
<p>I can’t imagine that Bama will want empty rooms at The Bluff…it would seem like they would want all the apts filled.</p>