<p>My NMF son has been accepted but has not yet seen the campus. I have been trying to get reasonable airfare to Birmingham from the Milwaukee/Chicago area but come up with $400+ roundtrip to travel there (and that is at some weird times) and for a one-stop. Does anyone have any airfare tips? (Midway is pretty far away since we are in southern Wisconsin but would consider it but rather not if possible.) Also if it is this hard to try to schedule something in late March, how hard is it to get your child home at the holidays/spring break? Is there a shuttle back/forth from the university to the airport? I remember reading that there was some, but they did not travel very often and that an op had to pay $150 to get to the airport on her own.</p>
<p>Finally, if my son decides to go to Alabama, how often before he starts his freshman year does he have to visit the campus (orientation etc.).</p>
<p>We are west of Chicago and try to find fare sales on Southwest out of Midway. Sometimes there are very good deals. Other times, not so good, but we are still saving a ton of money because of the greats NMF scholarship. Example fares: For the fall break in October, son’s fare was around $280. For the winter Holiday break, son’s fare was aroun $210. Currently looking to book for end of spring semester, and fares are around $310.</p>
<p>There are UA shuttles for specific breaks from UA, but you do have to watch the times and days offered. Otherwise there are private shuttle services, but I think they are typically cheaper than $150 (my son paid $50 one way when he used a private shuttle service).</p>
<p>Twice, if he wants to visit before orientation. Otherwise, just the one trip for orientation.</p>
<p>kjcphmom…if you are flying with him, you can check flying into Atlanta. It’s a 4 hour drive, but right now Southwest is running a sale on fares and they are anywhere from $69 to 99 in and out of Midway. Southwest does fly out of Milwaukee but you can only see their available flights by going directly to their website. I would suggest trying that.</p>
<p>We live in Chicago and have been to Bama twice, and heading up there again in March for Greek Preview weekend. After that Iknow that Bama Bound is the orientation weekend where you get an overview of life at Bama and register for classes. There are many Bama Bounds to choose from including one that is right before classes start.</p>
<p>There is a shuttle from B-ham to campus. We have not used it, but will probably use it for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have heard that it is very reliable. We rent a car when we go, and have found very good rates at the airport.</p>
<p>So realistically, after your interview weekend you don’t have to go back until school starts.</p>
<p>Hope this helps somewhat. My D gets more excited about attending school everytime we go to campus.</p>
<p>United Express (often operated by ExpressJet, but sometimes other regional carriers) has nonstop flights from O’Hare. That said, connections are usually quite easy, but will add an hour or two to total travel time. A private shuttle should never cost more than $90 each way, which is the discounted student price offered by many taxi companies.</p>
<p>The airport shuttle offered by UA operates only during breaks and currently does not allow one to have an early (before 10:00 am) departure out of or late (after 7:15 PM) arrival into Birmingham.</p>
<p>Apart from any campus visits, one only has to be con campus to attend a Bama Bound (orientation) session, one of which is offered the day before move-in for those who couldn’t make an earlier session.</p>
<p>Late March is spring break time for many people and thus many of the less expensive airfares are sold out. I booked my airfare for Spring break in December/Early January. Overall, it is really easy to get back home, wherever that may be. Birmingham has a lot of flights to different hubs on almost every airline and many flights to nearby (under 500 miles away) and selected farther away airports on Southwest.</p>
<p>^^^ We are from the northern Chicago suburbs in IL and our D is a current Freshman at UA and a NMF. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions you may have, but I’ll answer your questions generally here. The only time they must attend campus before Fall is for Bama Bound, which is when you register for classes. I would suggest making an optional visit if you haven’t already to see campus, the dorms, meet the Honors College Deans and Staff, etc. Purely optional obviously. I think airfare right now is just expensive generally. Our D has been home twice but hopped a ride on one of those trips with a friend that was driving to Indy where we picked her up (only 3.5 hours for us). We have flown from both O’Hare and Midway and have even tried Milwaukee. The good thing about SW is that if prices change and go down you can get credit for the reduction. Also SW is VERY forgiving for changes to schedule and of course no baggage fees, etc. Looking forward, we are always on the lookout well ahead of time for cheap flights … they are just not very prevalent at the moment. Good luck and Roll Tide!</p>
<p>^^^ Linnylu, the process can be accomplished online or over the phone to apply the credit to your account. So if you paid $400 and you notice a change of $100 to your benefit, then they would apply the $100 credit for you, which you can use on your next booking. My wife just did that for her and my son. They’re visiting this weekend and saved $55 per passenger.</p>
<p>We found that the cheapest fares when we were looking were on United or USAir out of O’Hare. Of course, if you’re taking baggage you may lose that savings since Southwest doesn’t charge for bags, but we weren’t. Booking a little over a month in advance, we got non-stops for around $250 round trip. I recently checked fares on shorter notice and they were getting close to $500 two weeks out with a plane change in Charlotte. When we bought our tickets I had priced flights out of Mitchell as well, but it was a bit less expensive out of O’Hare.</p>
<p>My dad booked out a flight out of the MKE to Nashville, then are renting a car for a 27.50/day. The flight was free cuz we used old miles, but I can guarantee it’s under $400 even with gas this way (for one person). The flight only would’ve costed $100. However Birmingham does sound a lot less stressful. </p>
<p>I haven’t been there either so I haven’t decided yet, but if your son decides to go he should talk to me about a roommate - I’m assuming he’s gonna live in the Honors dorms too.</p>
<p>Sag, He still hasn’t decided where he is going, but is seriously considering Alabama. (His dream school is MIT and is still waiting to hear from them…although I’m not sure we could afford it.) We haven’t seen U. of Alabama yet but have heard lots of great things so our next step is to visit. If he decides to go, I’ll have him PM you.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. The worst thing for us is it is so far away, so I want to make sure that we can get there/and he can get home when needed. I know the south is a little different than the midwest so that is a consideration too. Thanks again!</p>
<p>I know the south is a little different than the midwest so that is a consideration too.</p>
<p>I grew up in Indiana and have lived in Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Iowa…the south really isn’t “a little different” from the midwest…unless you mean people may still have some “southern values” but at a campus like Bama where 50% of the kids are from out of state I think you would see little difference…again maybe some southern manners and accent’s from locals… I hope the manners part is catching for the student body :)</p>
<p>I grew up in Indiana and have lived in Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Iowa…the south really isn’t “a little different” from the midwest…unless you mean people may still have some “southern values” but at a campus like Bama where 50% of the kids are from out of state I think you would see little difference…again maybe some southern manners and accent’s from locals… I hope the manners part is catching for the student body</p>
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<p>When we were in T-town last weekend, I told my H…“Let’s see how long it takes for us to hear a Southern accent,” as we went to stores and restaurants and church, etc. It wasn’t until we had to make a very late night trip to Wal-Mart that we heard one…from the cashier. </p>
<p>Metropolitan areas in the south are just too diluted with transplants, and the local kids are too influenced by TV/movies to have the rural accents that you hear stereotyped on TV. </p>
<p>Now you will hear “southern expressions or commonly-used words” without the accent: </p>
<p>…y’all…supper…soda…buggy (for shopping cart)…tote (for carry)…give you a holler (for “call you up”)…hey (instead of Hi)… fixin’ (altho much more rare in metro areas)…vehicle (for car)…and some more that I can’t think of right now. </p>
<p>This Calif girl had some minor adjustments to make…such as stop calling the interstate: “the freeway.”</p>
<p>And if you want iced tea, you’d better say “unsweet” unless you’re ready for a shock of very sweet drink (memories of my first trip to Alabama…)</p>
<p>How do you feel about a weekday trip (leaving early on a Tuesday and returning on Wednesday morning? I’ve found some fares in late March/early April for under $400 (and under $300 if you depart from Chicago) but it’s hard getting a Thursday/Friday-Saturday/Sunday/Monday trip that isn’t sold out.</p>
<p>You could fly from Midway to Nashville on 3/26 coming home on Wed 3/28 for $68 a person each way (so about $260 round trip). Or you could drive for that amount. It’s an easy ride if you leave early enough to make it through Chicago with issue.</p>
<p>^^^ As a person that actually likes to drive and has made the drive to UA 3 times now from Chicagoland (northern burbs), I can tell you that the drive from Nashville to Birmingham and then on to Tuscaloosa is not a bad drive at all. So, if you can get a cheap flight into Nashville and a cheap rental car, that may be a very good option.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help. With your input, I was able to find a relatively inexpensive flight in/out Nashville where my husband will hopefully be able to rent a cheap car. I’ve heard tremendous things about the university so I can’t wait for my son/husband to see it. If he decides to go, it is nice to hear that the drive from my area isn’t a bad one and it will be one we would be taking at least twice a year for 4 years. Again thanks for your help!</p>
<p>I’m a current freshman from the Milwaukee area. Although my parents drove me down to move in (since I had all my stuff) I ended up flying from Birmingham to Milwaukee and back for winter break. Using Southwest, it really wasn’t horribly expensive, and I was able to carry on my instrument (VERY important!) The annoying part about flying is that I ended up having 3 hour layovers each time, but whatever. I have not used the shuttle service to the airport, I was able to get a friend to take me to the airport and pick me back up. </p>
<p>As for orientation, don’t waste your money coming down in the summer. Just sign up for the one day orientation in August, when you can be moved in. </p>
<p>Let me know if you have any more questions!</p>
My wife just did that for her and my son. They’re visiting this weekend and saved $55 per passenger.</p>