<p>We started planning our BAMA visit last night. Mom2k already told us who to contact at the honors college-thanks. </p>
<p>Now for the fun stuff: </p>
<p>We would like at attend a football game during our visit. We are looking at the weekends of Nov 5th or 19th. We may be able to make a late Oct trip work. Looks like the LSU game does not have tickets available. Any ideas if we pick that weekend? Can you scalp tickets?</p>
<p>We also welcome any advise on places to stay, eat and other general must sees.</p>
<p>Sorry. I forgot. I’ve stayed at the Capstone several times and that was fine. But I think the Microtel near Target worked really well, too, and was considerably more affordable. (Sea_tide had recommended that one.)</p>
<p>I’m not sure that you will find a place to stay in Tuscaloosa for the LSU game. About a month ago, we checked for hotels and there weren’t many available. I’m not trying to discourage your plans in any way, however, attending campus during a football game weekend may be overwhelming. We visited once in the spring, twice in the summer, and our next visit is for the LSU game. I hear that it’s a totally different experience.
I loved visiting in the spring when the campus was still hopping but it wasn’t crazy. Summer was much quieter. We had a wonderful opportunity to really take in all the campus has to offer without being distracted with lots of stuff going on.
The Honors College staff is available during the summer as well. We first visited with them in the spring. I know during football game weekends they’re hosting their own tailgate party and will be very busy with that. Best of luck to you and your family. We’re a northern mid-west family and absolutely loved BAMA in every way! D can’t wait to get back there next fall for good.</p>
<p>If you’re planning on coming during a football weekend, and especially against a SEC opponent, do not be surprised if 1) there are no hotel rooms left in town, and 2) if there are you may have to pay in excess of $250 / night. We have reservations at Country Inn and Suites for the Tenn game, and we talked them down to $269 / night, and we’re now considering staying in Bham, where we can still get a room in the Hoover area for $79. You’ll have a blast coming during a football weekend, but the prices are SIGNIFICANTLY increased over a normal non-football weekend rate.</p>
<p>Sniner,
make sure you do the actual college visit on Monday instead of Friday. I don’t think you will get a true taste of what the campus is like on game day. It will be jam packed, and most (if not all LOL) of the focus will be on the game. Yes, UA is an awesome football school, and the game will get you excited, but there are many other components to this school that will be overshadowed by all the game spirit;)</p>
<p>Speaking of football tickets – DS has the B series. How and where do you pick them up? Or are they just loaded onto the Action Card? (Sorry for dumbitude…still so much to learn.)</p>
<p>At this point, it will be VERY hard to get hotel reservations during a home football weekend. Hotels book 6+ months in advance for those weekends.</p>
<p>And, what you might find, will have ridiculous prices since the hotels jack up prices for those weekends. </p>
<p>So…try to see if you can get a decent hotel at a decent price, and then decide which time to come.</p>
<p>Also, since there are 2-3 hotels that we strongly do NOT recommend staying at (not well kept), check here before a firm booking.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>I think you’re going to find that you won’t find a good rate or even a decent room for a football weekend, so be open to coming at another time.</p>
<p>The Bear Bryant Museum
The RiverWalk
if something is showing at the new Outdoor Amphitheater, that can be fun
Downtown T-town
Downtown Northport …very quant
Midtown Village (outdoor lifestyle mall…at 15th street and McFarland)</p>
<p>If you are looking to “experience” the UA Football traditions then the LSU is a good game to do that. However…I believe you will have a tough time finding hotel reservations and if you do THEY WILL be inflated beyond compare…I think I heard Hotel Capstone was going for close to $1000 a night…that is IF you can get a room . The city is crazy fun and very exciting but if you are looking to focus on “academics” then visiting on a football weekend is most likely not the way to go. You could come and do the game and them do the tour ect on Monday. It totally depends on what you are looking for in the “visit” experience. If you do decide to come jump on the UA website and make sure you sign up for Game Day info <a href=“http://www.uagameday.com/...they[/url]”>www.uagameday.com/…they</a> will send you an email telling you about traffic routes, parking and general info pertaining to the LSU game (well actually if you sign up now you’ll get updates for each game but it’s worth it to have it so that it will update you on the game you are attending). We LOVE Game Day, make sure you attend Kick Off at the Quad…it starts 3 hours before the game, there will be food vendors , games ect as well as the Elephant Stomp (the band goes it’s thing on the steps of Gorgas Library I think lke 1 1/2 hrs before kick off) and then head over to Bryant Denny to watch the team arrive and go into the stadium. There will be tons of tailgating…just walking around the Quad is fun…it’s a whole day affair!!! There will be vendors set up on the side walks all around the Stadium so you can pick up LOTS of Bama spirit wear and items. Be warned on Game Day some of the shops in town have weird hours that might not be posted for common knowledge (ie: everyone just kind of knows and expects it) so if you are planning on sightseeing and such this might not be the weekend to go. Many of us have visited on both Game Days and not…it’s not for everyone…good luck. Roll Tide!!!</p>
<p>UA has been known to give tickets to prospective students, but it is not guaranteed and it is very unlikely that they would do it for the LSU game.</p>
<p>For football games, I recommend the Greystone Inn and Suites. It’s about 15 miles out of town near the Mercedes Plant, but the rates are reasonable ($196 per night for the LSU game, possibly $10-20 less if you call them) and they have a manager’s reception in the evening and Bloody Marys and Mimosas on gameday morning. Expect to spend all day in Tuscaloosa and possibly be invited to tailgates on the quad or in the RV park.</p>
<p>FWIW, UA is offering free RV parking in a remote lot (the old Northington Campus near Target) all weekend.</p>
<p>Yes…in the past, Bama has sometimes given 2 tickets (one for a prospective student and one for a parent) for a** non conference game **that will likely have low attendance.</p>
<p>They do give prospective freshmen tickets. I got an email the other day for me and a guest to the North Texas game. I knew they wouldn’t do the LSU game lol.</p>
<p>Usually it’s for one designated game…looks like it’s the N Texas game this year.</p>
<p>The invites (offers) for tix tend to go to prospective students who live within a rather close distance (probably because of the hotel issue). </p>
<p>SFHS is an instate student. Perhaps she can PM you a name contact. </p>
<p>When they’re offered they’re for 2 tix…so if more than 2 people are going, they’ll need to buy tix and then - of course - they will not be sitting with the other 2 people.</p>
<p>Frankly, the Georgia Southern game will likely be the easiest to get tix for and to get hotel for…since it’s not on a weekend.</p>
<p>That’s what happened to us. We’re all instate. We got an email for tix when each boy was a rising senior in high school. I once asked about this and was told that they send the emails to instate students with strong stats. Since it’s impossible to get a hotel at such late dates, that’s probably why.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, you have to respond rather soon to the email because the tix are limited in number…you’re given a code or something.</p>
<p>They give you a username and password already registered. When I logged in after school the same day (1:30), 45 of the 75 bookings had already been booked.</p>
<p>It’s not just in state prospectives who get offered tix. If I remember correctly, I was offered the chance to go to a game as well, but I couldn’t attend because I just couldn’t miss all those AP classes.</p>
<p>You’re a NMF, right? Maybe they do offer some to NMSF’s that are in a certain area or had shown prior interest. I know that my nephew wasn’t offered any from Calif. </p>
<p>I don’t know how they expected those from your distance (Tx) to find hotel accomodations.</p>
<p>*When I logged in after school the same day (1:30), 45 of the 75 bookings had already been booked. *</p>
<p>Does that mean only 75 students were offered tix? If so, I really wonder how they decide.</p>
THEN make the other arrangements ;)</p>