Hey y’all! I am currently a sophomore at the University of Alabama, and I wanted to give prospective students and parents some advice that I have learned during my time so far at UA! A little background info on me; I am an out of state student from Massachusetts, a Public Relations major with a minor in Sociology, and a member of a Panhellenic sorority. I LOVE Alabama and I hope that y’all choose this amazing school too!
- Meet with your advisor and really get to know them. I was originally a biology major, but the coursework was very challenging, so before I switched to Public Relations, I met with one of the PR advisors for more information and she was so helpful in helping me make my decision. She is still my advisor and I meet with her a few times each semester to make sure I am on track with the courses I am taking so I can graduate in 4 years. Because Alabama is a large school, it can sometimes be hard to get into certain sections of some gen ed's or upper level courses for your major, so its really helpful to have a close relationship with your advisor so they can help get you into the classes that you need.
- No one lives on campus after freshman year (with a few exceptions). Housing on campus is only guaranteed for freshman, with the exceptions being Athletes, Resident Assistants, and Sorority and Fraternity members that live in their on campus houses. There is not enough housing available for all students on campus so upperclassmen move to houses that are in walking distance to campus or one of the many apartment complex's around Tuscaloosa. Most of the apartment complex's have buses that run from campus from around 7am-9pm M-F and there are usually separate shuttles for weekend and game day service. Since I am so far out of state, I didn't bring my car to school, and it has made getting around Tuscaloosa a little challenging for me, but not impossible. If you are able to bring your car to campus, I would HIGHLY recommend it. You can usually get away with not having a car freshman year, but I would definitely recommend it as an upperclassmen.
- If you come and tour UA, ask to see the facilities for your major that they don't show you on the general tour. On the campus tour they show you a typical suite style dorm, Denny Chimes and the quad, Gorgas (the main library on the quad), and the Ferguson student center. After the main tour, you can head over to the housing office and ask to see a traditional dorm if you are interested in that style, if you are an engineering or science major walk around Shelby Quad and get familiar with the lab buildings, if you are in the college of communications check out Reese Phifer Hall, go to one of the dining halls and try the food, check out the Bruno Business Library, or the McLure education library, etc. There will always be faculty and students in all of those places to show you around or answer any questions. You can also schedule an appointment to meet with someone in the college that you are admitted to/interested in and ask them questions, and they can get to know you and remember you which can be really helpful for the future.
- I know many out of state students come to UA for the honors college and scholarships, go to Nott hall on the quad where the Honors college is housed, there will be staff there to answer any questions.
- Get on a bus like Gold 1 or 2 and ride around campus and see where the different bus routes go, how long it takes to get from the dorms to the quad, etc. The bus maps are kind of confusing at first so riding around when I visited really helped me get a feel for campus before I was a student there.
- If there are any particular things you are interested in getting involved with when you get to campus, set up a meeting with their office and let them know you are visiting. For example, I knew that I wanted to be in a sorority so I had a meeting with the staff from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority life and they answered SO many of my questions and it was super helpful to talk to them. If you are interested in Student Government Association, or any clubs, I'm sure that they would be happy to meet with you.
- This one seems like a no brainer but... go to class!!! Yes I am being serious with this one. Many students see optional attendance classes as an excuse to show up but they miss out on so much valuable information, and the professors know which students show up every class and which ones only show up on test days, and it seriously affects your grade. My History class last year was optional attendance but the professor gave so much extra credit just to the students who showed up to the classes that it ended up raising my final grade so much.
- Wait to buy your textbooks. I rented a $200 "required" textbook for one of my classes and on the first day the professor said we didn't need it! So definitely either wait or check with your professors before you spend $700.
I definitely have more info but this is all I can think of for right now, feel free to leave any questions or comments, and ROLL TIDE!!!