<p>My son is accepted into the University and the Honors College, but has never visited the campus so we are planning a trip in Jan. He has applied to 11 schools (too many in my opinion) and really doesn’t have a favorite at this point which is frustrating for him. Lately he’s expressed a greater interest in larger schools so UA may end up as one of his favorites.</p>
<p>We will be in Tuscaloosa beginning the evening of 1/23 and all day 1/24. I set up a campus info session and general tour already, but after looking at this Forum I see many advising to arrange more specific tours through the Honors College and/or the College of A&S since he wants to major in Environmental Science.</p>
<p>I want to make this trip valuable and give him as good a sense of the school as is possible in 24 hours. Should I stick with the current tour and add something at Honors, or should I just speak with Honors and A&S and try to come up with something more tailored? Also, is there a way to see student housing?</p>
<p>Thanks, and my apologies for revisiting questions that have been asked and answered. This process is so much more complicated than when I went to college. I didn’t even visit my school before making my final decision.</p>
<p>With regard to housing, my understanding is that one dorm is included in the general campus tour, but you can visit any dorm you want, on your own, just by checking in at the front desk and asking them to open up the “display” dorm room for you.</p>
<p>Start with Honors…contact Allison and Susan…send email with your campus tour time, your child’s stats, major, interests, etc. They will arrange the day and meetings with faculty. </p>
<p>Allison Verhine
Coordinator
269 Nott Hall
205-348-5534
<a href=“mailto:allison.verhine@ua.edu”>allison.verhine@ua.edu</a></p>
<p>Susan Alley
Assistant Coordinator
270 Nott Hall
205-348-5599
<a href=“mailto:susan.alley@ua.edu”>susan.alley@ua.edu</a></p>
<p>Wow, it took Susan less than an hour to respond to my request and begin setting up our custom tour. Extremely impressive. The only other college that has shown this level of customer service and responsiveness is the College of Charleston Honors Program which has also been a pure pleasure to deal with. Definitely looking forward to our UA visit.</p>
<p>The Honors College arranged tour is awesome. Very informative and much ground was covered. Your son will love the Honors dorms. I would recommend speaking with someone from your son’s major department if possible. This can be arranged by the Honors folks as well.</p>
<p>If you are not from the South I highly recommend that you take a bit of time and go into the Bear Bryant Museum. The movie when you first come in is very good and really gives you a better understanding of why football, and BB are so very important here. Tradition, History and Values. It was another piece of the puzzle for us.</p>
<p>We are set up with a tour of the College of A&S because of his major and the School of Communication because of his interest in Journalism and working on the school newspaper. </p>
<p>We live in suburban MD but my wife is from Lower Alabama, also known as the Florida Panhandle and my son has spent many weeks visiting grandparents, driving the tractor, picking up pecans, fishing for catfish, etc. so he is very comfortable in the South.</p>
<p>I agree that if you have time to visit the Paul Bear Bryant Museum, even if you’re not into sports. Start with the movie and then tour around the museum.</p>
<p>If you want restaurant and hotel accomodations…</p>
<p>Thanks for the hotel/restaurant info. We will be staying at the Microtel and will be arriving around 830PM. Still waiting for our visit schedule but we will definitely be looking for a good breakfast and dinner spot on our tour day. Think my son will eat lunch with a current honor school student.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how long it takes to drive to UA from the Atlanta airport? Google Maps says 3hr15min but I think that might be a bit longer than it will really take.</p>
<p>Dodgersmom - there is a display room in each dorm?This is news to me. Bryant has one, but was not aware of any others. I would not advise visitors to expect to see anything except the model at ridgecrest south.</p>
<p>Ridgecrest South is where the model suite is located, and that is where you will be taken when on tour. It has specifically been asked before that prospective parents or students not ask to enter residence houses other than that one for the safety of the students. You should not be able to get in without a key card anyway. However, if you have a need to see any other residence housing, you should inquire if that option might be available, but do this before arriving on campus to avoid disappointment. I know that on tours they only show Ridgecrest South as the one example.</p>
<p>For breakfast on tour day Rama Jama’s is the place if you can get up early enough before tour time.</p>
<p>It’s across from the stadium on the southwest side. It will seem a bit like a dive, but it’s an institution and everyone goes there. What time is your campus tour?</p>
<p>Has a “dorm tour” been added to the regular campus tour? The only dorm tour that I know about is the one that the Honors College arranges at Ridgecrest South.</p>