I’m looking forward to visiting Alabama this weekend for the CBHP finalists’ weekend. Do any CBHP-ers or parents of CBHP-ers have tips for the interviews or weekend in general?
Thanks!
Be polite. Be yourself. Dress nice but casual. Enjoy!
Don’t text. Don’t pay attention to your phone. Don’t act like you are too good to be there. (Yikes!)
Seriously, don’t overly stress. Relax and put forth genuine effort to understand what the program can offer you and what you can bring to the program. Engage with the other students there interviewing, the current students in the program, as well as the adults.
It will be a great experience. Our son had a wonderful time while he was there. He is looking forward to meeting several of this yr’s finalists. 
Good luck and look for a roommate!
The info said dress is casual… do they really mean casual or “business casual”? My D is taking that to mean jeans… hoping this is right.
Most of the weekend casual is your best bet. Jeans casual is fine, especially with a blouse for girls or a polo shirt for guys. There is one dinner where you might want to look a bit nicer, but definitely not business casual. In general it depends on the student. I tend to dress nicer than jeans casual every day, so I just wore what I normally wear. But oversize t-shirts and Norts is too casual.
Yep, son wore nice jeans and a collared shirt over a T-shirt. For him, that is nicer than his typical casual.
My daughter wore jeans and a nice blouse.
Perfect! Thanks for all of the good advice :->!!!
Meh, I’ll probably be in jeans and a t-shirt for most of the weekend - I’ll bring a polo just in case
CBH tips
Remind your child of the tips for a successful interview weekend…
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greet people with a friendly expression.
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when meeting the profs, greet them with a smile, good eye contact, a firm handshake, and introduce yourself (practice this ahead of time). This is the South, this is expected.
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do not be seen looking at or playing with cell phones. If you need to text or read a text, then excuse yourself, go to a private area (bathroom maybe?) and use the phone there. Same with phone calls.
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Do not talk about other schools that you also like or would like to attend.
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Be friendly to EVERYONE…do not be impatient or rude to anyone…especially to current CBH students or to the secretaries. Be nice to EVERYONE!!! Each CBH applicant will have a file with their name on it. EVERYONE will have access your YOUR FILE and they will be encouraged to write comments about what they’ve observed…so if you’re impatient or rude to a current CBH student or to a secretary, they will write a notation in YOUR file.
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they are looking for mature students who have poise. The CBH students need to be able to make presentations, speak clearly, etc.
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be well groomed. This is the South. There is an expectation that CBH students not look disheveled. lol
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do not appear bored.
Good luck!!!
Thank you for the advice!
I agree with everything that M2CK listed.
My son called me after the CBHP weekend every year to tell me his thoughts. Some were not kind. One young man thought it was okay to make reference about women and their lack of intelligence. Then, he added some stories about smoking pot. He did not make the final cut! Another young man thought it was all right to spend all night texting his friends instead of talking with other candidates and the current CBHP kids. He got selected, but chose to attend another school, which made my son very happy because he felt the young man thought he was just too good and too smart to be in CBHP. One of my son’s friends was with the Fellows program. She had the pleasure of escorting a student who was so rude towards her. She must have thought that, because she had some connections to the program, she was an automatic choice. She did not earn a spot in Fellows.
What scored points with my son was personality. Look happy to be there! This is an honor! And do not be afraid to mention football. CBHP kids are fans, too.
Well it looks like I’ll bring polos… starting to feel the south already jeans and a t-shirt is default here for casual wear, looks like most people’s game is stepped up down there
We have had threads with multiple comments about this very question each year, so a quick search should yield some really good advice.
I will add that although the dress code says casual, it is always better to be over dressed than under dressed in any situation. I would also caution about using any “bad” language or slang terms.
Remember that your weekend begins with that pickup at the airport. Best of Luck to the candidates!!!
Roll Tide!
Hi, When you get a chance, let us know how the weekend went :-h
My DD is there, and it is killing me to wait to hear about everything! Because of mom2ck’s advice (and hopefully her own common sense), her phone is virtually off-limits. She has only sent very brief texts that everything is going great.
I guess we’ll get the full scoop tomorrow, or maybe this evening! Since we are in CA, she is flying home tomorrow. Good luck to all of the finalists!
^ I remember that feeling well. It is hard to believe it has been a year since I was in your position. I hope your DD had a fabulous time.
DD is home, and we got the full scoop. She had a fabulous time, and is super excited about the CBH program! She really liked the current students she met, and was very impressed by all of their accomplishments. She was also gushing about the biology and CBHP labs, and the research that one of the professors is doing.
She says she can really picture herself at UA. I, however, am getting cold feet about her (possibly) being so far away - and I am the one who suggested she apply there!
Looking forward to hearing how the weekend went for other kids.
@SFBayMama I believe I met your daughter this weekend. I’m so glad she enjoyed it! I’m from Los Angeles so I understand your concerns about the distance. In the end, however, I decided it was worth the travel to be at Alabama in CBH. In fact I think that with booking Southwest flights cheaply in advance I have been home just as often as my friend who goes to UC Santa Cruz!