Considering UAH for my son and see that only 25% of students live on campus, is that because the rest live in off campus housing or because the rest commute? Also, do many kids go home on weekends? We are in PA, so going home on weekends will not be an option and he does not want to be stuck on his own every weekend. Thank you!
This was a concern of ours as well but from what the Student Ambassadors told us, the school has picked up a wider net of kids from other parts of the country and this has contributed to a much larger on campus population. The school also has a mandated living on campus policy for the first two years if the student resides more than 30 miles away.
My DD will be a Freshman fall 2018 - we visited the campus last fall, there were students everywhere, the dorms were full and there were several new dorms under construction that from what I hear are already completely booked for fall 2018.
I think it takes a year or two for some of the online stats to be updated to reflect current data.
We are in Central Texas
My son is a senior at UAH. He always seems to find something to do on weekends. Right now, it’s studying because finals are coming. But, he’s been to Tuscaloosa for football games (has friends who got him tickets) or other places for other things. Just make sure your student gets involved in some organizations on campus.
My D just finished her freshman year. In her suite there were girls from Northern Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, and California. Nearly all of her friends were from more than 30 miles away. I think their stats are due for an update.
@NerdMom88 thank you.
I am an OOS student (just finished sophomore year) and only go home on the weekends for holidays. I live about 6 hours away and my parents do not like me driving home very often. I sometimes fly from HSV or Nashville (for thanksgiving, Easter, Labor Day, etc) but spend most weekends on campus. It seems that most students who live in the area do go home on weekends, but OOS students stay on campus. The CU is lively on weekends with students studying and hanging out. I joined a fraternity my freshman year and that gives me a lot of social opportunities on weekends with parties, retreats, etc. In my honest opinion, had I not joined Greek life I do not know what I would do on weekends; ACE (association for campus entertainment) does not have too many weekend events and campus feels dead. In the fall/ early spring, hockey games are great but there is not really much else to do. As for students staying on campus, many just hangout in their dorms watching netflix, studying, or hanging out with friends.
Staying on campus on weekends definitely won’t be awful, but it is not what it would be at a larger school. That said, I have never found myself too bored, and the quietness is actually quite nice sometimes.
You mentioned your daughter was attending UAH this fall… curious how things are going for her? I hope move in went smoothly. Thanks!
@KristyLizz
Everything is going great! We moved her in August 10th as she is in the Honors College and they moved in a day early. She is in Frank Franz Hall. There have been a few room hiccups, like no cold water in the shower and not enough bed supports to loft all beds but overall, so far its been a great transition. Maintenance requests are handled in what appears to be a timely fashion and the overall process went very well. The dorms were spotless clean, furniture was in good order and she has settled right in.
My DD did comment that due to extensive construction, several of her classes are not where they would normally be, they are instead at the far opposite end of campus. The biggest issue with this is she does not use the dining facility as much as anticipated and we had to alter her dining plan early on to give her more campus dining dollars. I don’t think we altered it enough and will most likely end up subsidizing with additional dining dollars but we sure know for next semester. We did plan for this to be the “lets try it out and learn” semester.
We have sent off several mail items, had a cake delivered and sent a care package. The mail system works very well. DD just spent the long weekend hanging out in her dorm with her roomies and assorted friends. I dropped a few bucks into her account to order in a meal from someplace off campus which she enjoyed.
Is there an online group/forum/whatever for UAH parents to get or share information? I’m thinking for hints and tips on places off campus that may deliver food, UAH tips, etc. I realize I could research this myself, but if my kiddo ends up going there it would be helpful ?
There is a Facebook group for UAH parents. Perhaps that could provide information.
@cmvaz1 as noted, there is a FB page for UAH parents where we share tips and find answers to our questions. As for food delivery - I myself have had cakes delivered by Nothing Bundt Cakes and I’ve used Costco’s two day shipping for some requested items. I have been told that Publix will deliver via a grocery delivery service and Panera has a delivery. There is also a food delivery similar to Uber Eats but I don’t remember the name.
Thanks Snowflake (can I call you Snowflake LOL). Guess I will have to join Facebook at some point…have been avoiding it.
@cmvaz1 its a joke, we got our first dog when DD was in 8th grade, right after we moved her 2000 miles. She guilted us into it. We adopted an 18 mo old Great Pyrenees from a rescue. I am a self professed cat person and even though this was to be DD’s dog, I fell in love. He is my dog, a total Mama’s boy and my DD says he’s like a snowflake child who can do no wrong, is spoiled etc. He is also 130#'s of fluffy fur. I counter that he does not need to be a productive citizen so who cares if he is spoiled!
The Facebook page is pretty chill, its not super active but there are several parents of different years who can share their experiences, tips etc without us being “those” parents who call the school 
DD is currently organizing Friendsgiving as there are many kids that will not be going home for the holiday. It just doesn’t make sense for those who travel distance since its within a few weeks of the end of the semester and only 4 days.