Visiting Campus

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
1

<p>Woohoo! My son and I are thinking about flying down next week on Thursday for a Friday visit. I know we need to contact the honors college on Monday to see if we can get a tour scheduled…but anything else we should think about? Is there any reason we should consider a different weekend?</p>

<p>(On a side note…I absolutely cannot believe my son has Alabama #1 now on his list. This is the same kid who would not look at anything other than Michigan Tech and Michigan State. I am not sure how I feel about him being so far away from home, but I love the idea of him spreading his wings a bit…having the opportunity to do something so completely different than he had planned.)</p>

2

<p>Well, it looks like there are no tours on Friday so we will have to come up with another plan…unless the honors college tours are separate from the university tours.</p>

3

<p>OK…I see now that Oct. 14 is “University Days” - and there appears to still be availability. Would this be a good day to visit or would it better to visit a different day to meet with the Honors College?</p>

4

<p>UDays doesn’t have a campus tour either.</p>

<p>Personally, I don’t think UDays is good for an honors student or someone who’s already applied, etc. </p>

<p>Are the tours full on Friday or is the issue that none are offered?</p>

5

<p>It doesn’t look like there is one offered…other than University Days. I think we will just have to find another day.</p>

6

<p>Odd…I was going to recommend Nov 11, but no tours offered then, either. :(</p>

<p>Oct 27-28 is Fall Break, so I wouldn’t recommend then…</p>

<p>How about Monday Oct 17th…or 24th. You could arrive on Sunday, tour early, and head home early eve.</p>

<p>Don’t know why a few Fridays aren’t having tours. hmmm.</p>

7

<p>You can also go through the National Alumni Association and have a custom tour set up for you. They’ll arrange for you to meet with staff from the Honors College, as well as any professors or department heads you want to meet with, and can even arrange for you to sit in on classes of interest.</p>

<p>Just go to alumni.ua.edu and look for information on the Discovering BAMA campus visit program. To participate in the program, you’ll need a recommendation from your local alumni chapter, but that’s easy to get. Just find the chapter that’s closest to you, then get in touch with their contact person. </p>

<p>I very easily arranged a recommendation and campus tour for my daughter and her best friend in spring of their junior year. The girls had barely made it to lunch and they were both ready to ditch high school and move on campus the next day. After that tour, neither of them even looked at any other college, they were made to feel so special and wanted at UA.</p>

8

<p>^^^</p>

<p>Good suggestion!</p>

<p>Contact your area rep this weekend and see if he/she can set up a tour thru Alumni group. However, you may not get the response you need in time to make travel arrangements. </p>

<p>[Find</a> Your Counselor - Undergraduate Admissions - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://gobama.ua.edu/staff/]Find”>Find My Recruiter)</p>

9

<p>We have decided to fly down on Thursday for University Days on Friday. It works with our schedule because my son does not have school on Friday. It feels like a crazy, spontaneous thing to do, but it would be nice to know if UA stays on the list or comes off the list as we continue the college search process.</p>

10

<p>I would contact Allison to see if you can mix the day up a bit and do part UDay and part meet with dept faculty of your son’s major and honors faculty.</p>

<p>Look over the UDay schedule to see what you can afford to miss and tell Allison so she could arrange for you to meet with faculty and tour honors housing during those times…</p>

<p><a href=“http://universitydays.ua.edu/schedule.pdf[/url]”>http://universitydays.ua.edu/schedule.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>At first glance of the schedule, it looks like you could skip the parts of UDay from 11:30 to 2pm since you either already have that info and you would be seeing dorms at the 2pm scheduled time. If that would be ok, then maybe you could eat at 11:30 and then Allison could schedule meetings with dept faculty and honors faculty during that time.</p>

<p>You could then return to the UDay at 2pm for the talk at that point, and then do the walking tour and see honors housing at the UDay scheduled times between 2pm - 4:30.</p>

<p>Look over the UDay schedule and see what you think. If you see a block of time that you could skip, let Allison know and she can make arrangements during that time. Be sure to include intended major and your child’s stats as well. Also…Be sure to mention to Allison what state you’re coming from and explain that this will be your only opportunity to visit, so you want to maximize the visit. </p>

<p>Allison Verhine - Honor College Recruitment Coordinator
269 Nott Hall
205-348-5534
<a href=“mailto:allison.verhine@ua.edu”>allison.verhine@ua.edu</a></p>

<p>Let us know if you need any other info…</p>

<p>Have you seen the thread with T-town restaurant and hotel info?</p>

<p>Allison Verhine - Honor College Recruitment Coordinator
269 Nott Hall
205-348-5534
<a href=“mailto:allison.verhine@ua.edu”>allison.verhine@ua.edu</a></p>

11

<p>Thanks very much for all the information. If UA stays on my son’s list, we will actually be able to visit again in April since we will be in Alabama at that time for youth mission trip. I just thought it might be useful to visit prior to April so we know where we stand as we work to narrow down the list over the winter.</p>

12

<p>We flew down for University Days about the same time you are considering, wanted to have an actual look at UA as soon as acceptance/scholarships had come in. Arranged for a meeting with the Honors College for late Thurs., got a quick overview, then did the University Days stuff the next day. PLENTY of time to wander around and get a good feel for campus and the town, got all the info we would really need. I do think there was an optional tour somewhere in there, but we didn’t take it. Got the map, there’s a great ipod tour also, and visited the Rec Center, libraries and the rest of campus ourselves with time to spare. Face it, the idea is to get a general feel of if the student likes the campus, feels comfortable there etc. Specific questions are almost always better answered with a phone call or email, you can’t count on a rep from your child’s specific department to be on any tour or event.</p>

<p>I say get there as soon as possible - if you and your your child love it he/she can relax and get off the “stressing your senior year with tons of apps etc.” train. If not then there’s still plenty of time for that. Again, you can get the minute details as questions come up - it’s the feel you’re looking at right now. You’d hate to wait until April, get there, and find it just didn’t suit him. Go NOW!!! :)</p>

13

<p>*e will actually be able to visit again in April *</p>

<p>That’s good, but I would still advise seeing if Allison can fit some things in for you during UDays… There’s a good part of UDays that will be redundant for you (admissions process, scholarships, etc) so that time could be spent meeting with faculty or something else. :)</p>

14

<p>We are really looking forward to our visit this weekend! We will be very busy on Friday but have Saturday wide open (leaving on Sunday.) Would love some recommendations as to things to see/do on Saturday. We will have a rental car so we can do some driving, if necessary. It will just be me and my son. Thanks!</p>

15

<p>^^^ Enjoy, and please let us know how it goes after you get home. Roll Tide!</p>

16

<p>wdaveo…we just visited in June and had about the same amount of time you did. I brought my dd who is now a senior and my older daughter who is considering 'Bama for grad school.</p>

<p>I highly recommend breakfast at Rama Jamma! It is right next to the stadium and a great intro to Southern food. They were very kind to us once they realized we were clueless Northerners. LOL We had a great time there and even got to talk to the manager and to some students. (of course my girls were about to die of embarrassment when I asked students at the next table questions)</p>

<p>We went to Cypress Inn for dinner and I will never forget the feeling as we were leaving, and people we were walking past in the parking lot were saying hi and good night, etc. The food was amazing! We had fried green tomatoes for the first time. It is right next to the Black Warrior river and it was a nice walk before dinner down the river front. We sat in the Cypress Inn for 2 hours and never felt rushed. If you only go one place…this is the place I’d recommend.</p>

<p>I also recommend a stop at the Bear Bryant museum. We had to circle the block a couple of times to find the parking lot. But is was worth it. We watched the movie and it really gave my girls a feeling for not just football, but the culture at 'Bama. Very worthwhile.</p>

<p>We found that while wandering around the campus and the area just off campus, if we even looked a little lost, students were asking if they could help. Being a Northerner, it was bit disconcerting, but very very welcome.</p>

<p>We also headed out of town for a quick tour of the Midtown Mall…wow was that impressive. Great stores, nice eatery’s and we bought cupcakes for that night in the hotel. Again, we were touched by how kind everyone was…and yes I talked to every student who waited on us in the stores. It really helped give us a feel for the ‘real’ 'bama.</p>

<p>Oh while walking around, we also went into one of the ‘regular’ dorms. Don’t remember the name, but it was more over by the stadium…not Tuitweiler, but another coed dorm. DD was very impressed even with these normal dorms. LOTS of storage. We just walked in and they were more than willing to show us a room. </p>

<p>We have paid our deposit and paid our housing deposit, so I guess you could say that we were sold. Her other top schools were Nebraska, TCU, Stanford and k-u. Honors College opportunities sold us completely!
These are my humble suggestions. I wish you the best of luck…and ‘Roll Tide’!</p>

17

<p>Adding to above…</p>

<p>I would suggest visiting all the honors dorms…walk around Riverside Honors…go in the center area…walk around Lakeside Honors…walk thru Lakeside Dining and the lake.</p>

<p>Visit Gorgas Library. If you enter from the Quad side, that’s the main entrance. On the north side of the library is another entrance but you’ll have to use the elevators to get to the main floor of the library.
[Amelia</a> Gayle Gorgas Library - The University of Alabama](<a href=“Page Not Found | The University of Alabama”>Page Not Found | The University of Alabama)</p>

<p>Visit the RiverWalk (on the south shore of the Black Warrior River) and maybe the new Outdoor Amphitheater. </p>

<p>Visit Midtown Village (on McFarland at 15th St) Walk around or drive around it. Many good places to eat there. Recommend Wings U (for nice Crimson Tide decor and good food)…and Iguana Grill for Mexican and also a very nice decor. </p>

<p>Visit “The Strip”…this is the area on University Blvd that is just west of the Stadium. Lots of off-campus hangouts there. Publix grocery is there. Bento Japanese has very good food. </p>

<p>Visit “Downtown”…this is on University Blvd and west of Queen City Blvd. It’s been undergoing a renovation. Good places to eat there as well…DePalma’s Italian, Mellow Mushroom, Chuck’s Fish (pricey), Mugshots (best buns ever), etc…</p>

<p>I agree with visiting the Bear Bryant Museum. It’s in the SE area of campus. </p>

<p>Also, visit the Student Recreation Center. It’s on 5th Ave East. The campus tour only briefly shows it. Just go to the front desk and tell them that you’re visiting the campus.<br>
[Student</a> Recreation Center - The University of Alabama](<a href=“Page Not Found | The University of Alabama”>Page Not Found | The University of Alabama) Scroll down for more thumbnail pics</p>

<p>Visit the Outdoor Pool Complex that is just north of the Recreation Center. </p>

<p>If your son will be majoring in some STEM major, then go over to the new Science and Engineering Complex…it’s huge and amazing. this link mentions that it’s 200,000 square feet, but that’s only for one phase. The 3 phases are actually over 600,000 square feet. [Science</a> and Engineering Complex - The University of Alabama](<a href=“Page Not Found | The University of Alabama”>Page Not Found | The University of Alabama)</p>

18

<p>Thanks to all of you for all the suggestions! Is it generally OK for us to just walk around on our own (through dorms and such?)</p>

19

<p>Sure!</p>

<p>But download and print out a couple of maps with the buildings noted.</p>

<p>[Full</a> Campus Map - The University of Alabama](<a href=“Page Not Found | The University of Alabama”>Page Not Found | The University of Alabama)</p>

<p>And print out a zoomed in “area map” of the areas surrounding Bama…</p>

<p>[Directions</a> to UA - The University of Alabama](<a href=“Page Not Found | The University of Alabama”>Page Not Found | The University of Alabama)</p>

<p>Let us know if we can help in any other way.</p>

20

<p>

I think its a good idea to walk the campus and the Strip. I believe the dorms require an Action Card (student ID) for entry, so you may not just be able to walk through a dorm. On the other hand, when we visited, we didn’t have any problems entering several of the Academic buildings on campus.</p>