<p>I recently applied to the University Fellowship Experience at the University of Alabama, and I am curious as to whether there is an interview, and when your acceptance/denial letters came. I would greatly appreciate it if you could kindly provide this information for me. </p>
<p>Have a great day!</p>
<p>Two years ago my son was among the first group to be offered a University Fellows "membership" & stipend. There was a required, invitation only,two day weekend which included interviews. The invitation came after applying, of course.</p>
<p>My DS posted the above thread. I think he wanted to know if they send out letters saying that you are a semi-finalist or that you have not been selected to continue? If so approximately how long after applying did you find out? Was it early spring or later towards the end of April or May? Did you child enjoy the Fellowship experience?</p>
<p>Did the university pay lodging for the required weekend? Thanks for posting so quickly.</p>
<p>i would love to know this too, cuz i applied as well.</p>
<p>We were just at UA a week ago and spoke with someone regarding the Fellows. The weekend is in late February. She did not provide many details, but added that students should look for an envelope in late January. My son, too, has applied to the program.</p>
<p>What are the essay prompts for the UFE? I’ve been accepted to UA already and am filling out the Honors College form.</p>
<p>My d is thinking about applying for the UFE, but the required interview in February could be difficult for us to pull off since it requires air travel. If you don’t know until late January if you are invited for the interview, airfare could be very expensive. There are no direct flights from Cleveland to Birmingham, so it would also require coming in a day earlier- so expense for a hotel too. </p>
<p>If D has a NM scholarship, are there additional scholarship benefits for UFE? She’ll be in the honors college and international honors programs.</p>
<p>Linnylu, maybe one of the other UFE students or parents can chime in, but I can tell you that for CBHP the students were reimbursed for airfare up to $500. The students stayed at the Capstone hotel and there was no charge for the students. UFE is a smaller number of kids so I’d assume that they get a similar deal. Many students came alone, but some parents did come. Parents have to make their own arrangements, stay separate from the kids, and are not reimbursed for expenses. I hope that this helps.</p>
<p>Last year UFE covered hotel cost, not airfare. Parents could/did stay with the student. The Capstone Hotel hosted the candidates/parents and did honor the university pricing if coming in early (I recall it was $99/night.) I could not say if they will do that again this year but suggest you call The Capstone and ask. </p>
<p>I would also suggest you/your student read the links to what the Fellows do each year at the very bottom of this link/page to get a better idea of all that the Fellows program offers at each stage/year so you can determine if the program is of interest and/or a fit for your particular student. [Honors</a> College - University Fellows](<a href=“http://universityfellows.ua.edu/]Honors”>http://universityfellows.ua.edu/)</p>
<p>In my opinion the program selects from some of the strongest academic students who apply to UA and looks for mature, self-starter/leader type students who have a passion for community service and a desire to build strong leadership skills for their future. If one takes advantage of the opportunities provided and/or more so creates opportunities through their involvement in UFE they will come to the end of their Sr. year with significant community service and leadership skill development. This can often be in an area of interest to them. Fellows are highly supported to succeed. The advantage of being able to say you were one of approximately 30 students competitively selected for this program will/does make one stand out both as a UA student and particularly when you begin to interview for graduate school and/or future employment. From the seniors who spoke at the UFE interviews last year, having the UFE designation and experiences gained from the program were invaluable to them as they began to embark on their futures. Many of them had very unique experiences (I suggest you read some of the highlighted students on the UFE site.) Those who took full advantage of the program also mentioned having shinning references in their portfolios from key professors, the Fellows directors who had gotten to know them on a level beyond Honors, and/or from community leaders/employers they had worked with as an undergrad from their association with Fellows. One young man who had recently interviewed for Harvard Medical School told us his interviewer at Harvard told him he owed his future to the experiences and references he had garnered from his involvement in Fellows that made him stand out. In the end more so than the advantages the Fellows program will provide a student in terms of themselves the Fellows program develops students/adults who will go forward in their communities with a passion to serve and use their leadership abilities for good something our world needs more of.</p>