So my son and I went out to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa last week. We were really impressed! Anyone who is on the fence should definitely go check it out!
The day we went the weather was horrible…very rainy and cool. But we could still get an appreciation for the campus. It is a large spread out campus with many modern and lovely buildings…very easy to navigate (though we did get lost at first!) and I can see that it would be very easy for students to walk or bicycle between buildings. We toured the Engineering department and the Honors College, and were very impressed with both. The honors dorms are outstanding, by far the nicest dorms we’ve seen at any college or university! Everyone was super nice and the facilities are top-notch. I would not hesitate for one second to send my son here, if he chooses the school, and I have a hunch he will. We ate at the cafeteria, which was clean and upbeat, with fun pop music playing. I imagine its is a nice break in the middle of the day for the kids! The food was better than I expected and they even have some vegetarian/“healthy” options, in addition to the usual burgers, pizza, etc.
Overall, it was a great trip and we came away with a very positive impression of the school! Oh, and Tuscaloosa is really neat. I imagined it would be a boring small town, but it’s actually very cute with lots of great restaurants, coffee shops, etc. The only problem I have with the area is just that it’s a little tricky getting flights into Birmingham and then driving out to Tuscaloosa…not impossible by any means, but just not quite as simple as say, Miami or one of the big hubs. But that is a small problem that can be easily overcome and I think all the amazing benefits of this school by far outweigh that small inconvenience. So Bama gets a big thumbs up in my book! 
Glad you liked it!
As an OOS Parent, I agree the Birmingham airport and shuttles are not easy.
With so many OOS kids, one OOS parent has been working with a charter bus company for transport to/from Atlanta airport on the major breaks (December, Spring Break). Atlanta is 3 hours away. Round trip cost is estimated at $75/student. Atlanta has many more direct flights than Birmingham and is generally cheaper flights. This is all new this school year, but so far appears that it will work. The biggest hurdle is coordinating bus time and flight times.
There are closed Facebook groups for parents and one for a Rideshare on which the charter bus info is being relayed.
If your son opts to enroll, please check out the Facebook groups or come back here and ask if the charter bus will be engaged before booking any flights.
We were on campus on Monday. I was not expecting such a large campus to be so beautiful. The mini-quad (hopefully I have that worded correctly) was so nice.
I was not impressed with the food, but as you stated, the dorm room was crazy nice. Even though we had seen layouts and pictures, she was blown away when she saw it in person.
Of all the schools we have visited, the University of Alabama gets my vote as the nicest one.
@Longhaul Thanks! I’ll definitely check out the Facebook page. I like the fact that the University is fairly close to Birmingham, but yeah, flights are more expensive and more tricky to schedule. (It took me forever getting back to Arizona, mainly because I got delayed in Las Vegas…NOT a great airport to get stuck in; I left there $50 poorer after eating really bad and really expensive food and then feeding the slot machines, LOL!)
@coaster1 We were told that there are several cafeterias on campus as well as many little restaurants…so perhaps the food is better at some than at others. Yes, I agree, I think this is the nicest campus we’ve visited by far!
@mom2collegekids 
Thanks for all your help with this! I’m so glad we visited.
Some of the other posters have described the campus as “large.” When I visited, I noticed that it was definitely large, but it’s really easy to get around. I didn’t do it, but a walk from one side to the opposite is probably about 20 mins. The area in the middle of campus doesn’t have a lot of cars, so it’s nice and quiet around the quad. Really loved the campus.
Glad to hear the visits went well. The campus gets smaller the more you are there. Students learn short cuts and it’s amazing how fast you can get around. One thing we didn’t consider as much as we should have when comparing colleges (we just got lucky at UA) is the lifestyle of living on a campus. UA really rocks in lifestyle and feeling comfortable in a place. The very clean buildings and meticulously kept grounds make your day to day life very pleasant. And having the river walk and the quad to run or bike on is a great perk. The comfortable and quaint downtown that is so convenient to campus really is nice too. It’s good to compare rankings, but these things really impact on how you feel, and should be factored in.
@SpaceCoastMom I agree! I think UA is just about a perfect college setting! If it were up to me, my son would be going there for sure…however I am going to let him make his own choice in the spring. I have a hunch it’s going to be UA in the end though.
Great to hear about these visits. Am I right in thinking that there are special honors tours available? D has been accepted into the honors program and i’d like to take a tour with her…she did get into UNC chapel hill tonight…which is great…but as with uchicago, it looks like zero financial aid for us…so these schools are just not feeling practical. And UA just stays in back in of my mnd…
@southernhope if you contact the honors college they will arrange everything for you, including talking to specific areas of interest. My husband and D had a great day on campus-they definitely felt recruited!
@SouthernHope Yes! Contact the Honors College and ask for a tour! You can also request a tour of the honors dorms, which are really worth seeing. I highly recommend visiting the university, I think both you and your child will be impressed, and it’s so nice to have an awesome and affordable option!
Coaster, the biggest “quad” is the one in the slightly south center of campus, but there are two smaller ones, Woods Quad, and the new Shelby Science and Engineering Quad. The newly acquired Bryce campus (just east and north to the new Science and Engineering Complex, actually has an even bigger grassy area, but I think they still have work to do on it before it will be used by students with regularity.
Southern Hope - my son was also accepted to Chapel Hill last night. We are heading to Alabama in a few weeks for the honors tour. I’ll come back and give an update. We are in a quandary, chapel hill has a good rep and closeby. UA is a beautiful school with a really good incentive program that will make it much more cost efficient for us. We’re still waiting to hear back from Northerwestern, but I don’t expect for the scholarship money to be anywhere near UA.
I think our son is leaning towards UA and I hoping the upcoming tour will seal the deal.
We use Tony’s On Time Transportation. He charges $65 one way for students and if you pay in advance round trip there is a $10 discount. Tony is an awesome person. 205-752-6603