<p>I’m sure this topic has been discussed a thousand times but I am new to the UA thread so hopefully you won’t mind helping me out again. My son was accepted to UA and we are finally planning a trip down to see the campus. We are from NJ and have never been to Alabama so we aren’t familiar at all with the area. I know we have to fly into Birmingham and from what I understand it is about an hour drive to campus. There really aren’t any direct flights from North NJ so we are probably flying in on a Thursday evening and getting up early to head over to campus. I guess my question is - if we get to the campus by about 10:00am do we have enough time to really see the whole campus and the surrounding area of Tuscaloosa in a few hours? We would have to fly back out later that night but really want to see everything we should/need to see. Is there anything that we should absolutely include in our visit? I really want him to get a sense of what it is like living there because he will be very far from home. Thanks in advance for any input-</p>
<p>Welcome, Susan. Could you share a little info about your son and his interests? Any ideas for a major? Is he likely to be in Honors? What are his interests? That will help in making suggestions that will best relate and help you spend your limited time wisely if you could share some thoughts. Will you be staying in Birmingham or are you looking to stay in Tuscaloosa? Do you have an idea of when you may be coming? (I’m asking because of the upcoming A Day game because hotels will be at a premium.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the welcome - he is “undecided” as far as his major goes but most likely will major in business and is not in any honors programs. He is very social and athletic and I can see him getting involved in intramural sports of some kind. I know he has a lot of interest in joining a frat so I’m not sure when they have to decide all of that, but I know he is interested especially since we live so far away. We are looking at coming down March 30th but because there aren’t any direct flights we will fly in on Thursday evening. I was thinking we would just stay close to the airport - or somewhere halfway - because I really didn’t want to drive that far away at night given the fact I don’t know the area at all. I heard about A Day and it sounds great but he plays varsity baseball and we are trying to get down there sooner rather than later so he doesn’t miss anything in the middle of his season. Any suggestions you have would be great! Like I said we want to see the campus/dorms/stadium of course but not sure what else we should do so he really gets a sense of what it is like to live there. He won’t be able to come home that often because the flights to NJ aren’t very convenient so I’m just trying to cram everything in on that Friday. Thanks again!</p>
<p>You will find many helpful posters who are willing to share their knowledge about fraternities and so forth.</p>
<p>As for things to see…Ridgecrest South has the model room, enjoy the beautiful quad, visit the rec center and the stadium for sure, see the walk of champions and Denny Chimes, check out the Ferg and Fresh Foods as well as the fast food area there. Schedule a tour and take the bus tour, but skip the info session since he is already admitted, walk down the strip and see fraternity row, visit Manderson Park for a rest, if you have time see the Bryant Museum, try to set an appointment with someone in the Business College. I’m sure someone on here, maybe M2CK can tell you who to contact or you can check online for a contact person. Look around downtown and also Midtown Village at the corner of 15th Street and McFarland. There is still some evidence of the tornado remaining in that area where clean up is continuing. Bring a camera, comfy shoes for lots of walking, and dress for hot and humid weather. Enjoy your visit. It is a very welcoming and laid back campus and so are the people. Congratulations and Roll Tide!</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all the information! It is so helpful to get your feedback prior to going down there. If you guys are any indication of what UA is like then I think he would be REALLY happy there :)-</p>
<p>I will certainly contact you again if I can think of any more questions - which I am sure we will have - before we head down there! BTW - I tried sending you both a PM but I don’t think they went thru…I haven’t quite figured this forum out</p>
<p>Will you be driving to T-town after you fly in and staying in a T-town hotel?</p>
<p>I strongly recommend that you make the drive in the evening and stay in T-town, so that you can be on campus early enough and also have time to see the town.</p>
<p>Have you scheduled a campus tour? If not, please do so ASAP…</p>
<p>First make an online campus tour reservation…try for an early morning one.</p>
<p>The drive to Tuscaloosa is very simple from Birmingham. I agree to make the drive to T-town that evening. It’s true that you won’t see anything driving at night but there’s not much to miss. You’ll have more time to enjoy Tuscaloosa.
My favorite thing to do in the morning is to walk around campus when it’s quiet and still. The campus will be in full swing by 10:30a. Mid-morning is a good time to head to the Ferg to people watch…my daughter would call me so creepy if she knew that I just said that. Head downtown for lunch/dinner and MidTown for the other. You could also post up along the Strip for a good feel of the student pop.
You can walk to the Strip as mentioned earlier. Head to MidTown and downtown by car. There’s a parking garage across from the Student Services bldg. Someone may know the name of it. That’s where we parked during our first visit.
I hope you all love the campus and Tuscaloosa. Remember that they are continuing to recover from the tornados last April. Sometimes, it’s a shock to see CVS operating out of a mobile unit, for example. There has been tremendous effort to clean up and rebuild. I’m amazed how much things change from the efforts every time we’re in Tuscaloosa.
Safe travels!</p>
<p>UA is about 60 miles from the Birmingham airport, most of which is a drive on I-20/59 (the two freeways separate north of the airport). In reality, it is hard not to end up in Tuscaloosa as all the signs in that direction (south/west) say Tuscaloosa and there is very little between Bessemer (20 miles south of the Birmingham airport) and Tuscaloosa.</p>
<p>I hope y’all have an excellent visit to Tuscaloosa and the UA campus. It is truly a magical place.</p>
<p>If you are in South Jersey, you may want to drive to BWI. You can get a direct flight from there on Southwest. I’m in the Philly area and leave out of BWI. I’d rather drive farther and not have a layover. We visited a few weeks ago and really enjoyed the campus.</p>
<p>Yes, Bama is about 60 miles west of the B’ham airport, but they are easy miles to drive. I don’t know what you’re used to, but being a Calif native, if someone told me that something was 60 miles away, I would cringe because of nasty Southern Cal traffic.</p>
<p>It takes about 60 minutes to drive from B’ham airport to Bama. </p>
<p>However, in Alabama, interstate traffic is often pretty mild…and if you’re arriving in the evening, then you might get some traffic in Birmingham proper, but once you get out of the city and are heading west, it will be smooth driving.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all of the information…it has been a huge help! I am definitely leaning towards coming Thursday late afternoon/evening now (especially since the Fri am flights are about $750 per person) and making the drive to Tuscaloosa that night. This way we will be on campus first thing. Unfortunately I just tried to book a campus tour and they only have 1 slot left in each… I will call today to see if they can squeeze us in on one…again thanks to all…I greatly appreciate the info and we look forward to coming down–</p>
<p>Because the number of slots per tour are based on the bus seats available, they’re likely going to tell you to book the one seat, show up early, and be the first on the waiting list if someone doesn’t show up. They can’t just “add another in” because if everyone shows up, someone won’t have a seat.</p>
<p>So book the empty seat on both tours (that first one is most likely not going to have someone show up) , and put your name down on BOTH waiting lists as soon as you get there early Friday morn. And in the meantime, contact your area rep…what is his/her name? Don’t use the contact link on the website, the reps don’t often get those messages. Instead, give us the name and we’ll get you the direct email of the person.</p>
<p>Then you’ll tell your rep that you can’t book a tour for 2 people and your rep may be able to set up a personal tour thru the alumni office or something else.</p>
<p>Hi Susan - I knew that we would find each other over here after we moved over from the South Carolina board! </p>
<p>My daughter has made the final decision to go to Bama. We are heading down there in early April for cheer tryouts and are driving because we are going to be in Alabama for almost two weeks. We also drove down last July when we did our college visits of Kentucky, Louisville, Alabama and Clemson. My daughter spent Labor Day weekend at Bama and flew down with a friend. She flew Delta out of Newark and they made one stop in Atlanta. Southwest and US Air also have flights - other people on this forum have advised me not to fly US Air. The trip from the Birmingham airport to campus is not a problem. We found that driving in that area is nothing like driving here in NJ. It is much easier. </p>
<p>Definately try to get on a tour - you will love the campus and the area. Like others have said you will see damage from the tornado - when we were there in July is was shocking to us. Being from NJ we had no idea of what a tornado could do except for what we had seen on the news - it was so different to see it in person. I have read and heard about the rebuilding and I can’t wait to see it again!</p>
<p>Where are you staying? There are quite a few threads on here with hotel recommendations. I think we are going to stay at the Hampton Inn with is on University and McFarland and not far from campus. There are tons of restaurant recommendations on here too. I haven’t gotten that far. </p>
<p>There is also a facebook page that your son could join - tell him to search for University of Alabama Class of 2016. </p>
<p>Thanks everyone - we are Bama bound! Going down March 29h and returning March 30th. We will spend Thursday early evening seeing the area and all of Friday seeing the campus. Just spoke to area rep and she is going to keep checking about getting us on a tour. She grabbed last 2 spots on the morning tours so hopefully we can get in on one of them. Booked a room at Fairfield Inn because the Hampton Inn did not have any availability. Looking forward to seeing the campus and area - thanks to all of you I am feeling much better about our trip - will let you all know how it goes…Roll Tide :)</p>
<p>smrsson: DH & I grew up in North Jersey. Believe me, the drive from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa is easy (no hand to hand combat!) And the Birmingham airport is a dream compared to Newark. </p>
<p>For future reference, you may want to consider flying out of Philly. For some reason the Southwest flights out of Newark are never as low as out of Philly. </p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I’ll be passing you in EWR. D2 & I are flying into Newark on 3/29 :)</p>
<p>I tried sending you a PM but not sure if it went thru - when I click on my “Sent Messages” folder it says 0 messages sent - can’t figure this thing out - </p>
<p>I will definitely tell him to check out the Facebook page - I know he is looking forward to visiting and everyone has been so helpful on this forum - it makes the trip that much more exciting!</p>
- he is “undecided” as far as his major goes but most likely will major in business and is not in any honors programs. He is very social and athletic and I can see him getting involved in intramural sports of some kind. I know he has a lot of interest in joining a frat so I’m not sure when they have to decide all of that, but I know he is interested especially since we live so far away. We are looking at coming down March 30th but because there aren’t any direct flights we will fly in on Thursday evening. I was thinking we would just stay close to the airport - or somewhere halfway - because I really didn’t want to drive that far away at night given the fact I don’t know the area at all. I heard about A Day and it sounds great but he plays varsity baseball and we are trying to get down there sooner rather than later so he doesn’t miss anything in the middle of his season. Any suggestions you have would be great! Like I said we want to see the campus/dorms/stadium of course but not sure what else we should do so he really gets a sense of what it is like to live there. He won’t be able to come home that often because the flights to NJ aren’t very convenient so I’m just trying to cram everything in on that Friday. Thanks again!</p>