<p>I am a high school senior in the state of Georgia and have just recently committed to the University of Alabama. While on my visit, I fell in love with the Capstone and am finally glad to call myself a member of the Crimson Tide. Being from out of state, I am not entirely familiar with all of the school’s traditions. So I ask you; what are some of your favorite things about the University of Alabama? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>Roll Tide!</p>
<p>Not in any particular order</p>
<p>The honors college and unique courses</p>
<p>The beautiful campus</p>
<p>The friendly students and faculty</p>
<p>The school spirit</p>
<p>Denney Chimes Walk of Fame
Tailgating on a football Saturday
The sound of the crowd singing “Sweet Home Alabama”
Faculty that go above and beyond for students
When your walking on Campus and some just shouts out “roll tide” and people just keep it going…</p>
<p>The upward trajectory it is taking! </p>
<p>The Honors College</p>
<p>The Quad</p>
<p>The President’s Mansion, Gorgas House, Clark Hall, Morgan Hall, Shelby Hall, and the new and still growing Science and Engineering Complex, Black Warrior River, Denny Chimes, the Mound, Gorgas Library, especially the front at night, all of the buildings surrounding the Quad, the observatory peaking above the trees, Reese Phifer Hall, BDS, Woods Hall, The little pond on the West side of campus</p>
<p>Crimson Tide victories, and tradition, and class</p>
<p>the diversity of people and opinions</p>
<p>the happy students and faculty</p>
<p>Reading a newspaper on the Gorgas steps on Sunday mornings, studying there at other times, and having fun with friends there</p>
<p>the incredible sense of place</p>
<p>the haunted little building next to the Library</p>
<p>the old house in between the old Biology building and the Science Library</p>
<p>seeing the Bryce dome from campus</p>
<p>Coleman Coliseum when it is packed for a big Basketball game or gymnastics meet</p>
<p>The Waysider, the quirky joints on the Strip and the new ones in Downtown</p>
<p>the beautiful Frat houses, even though I wasn’t Greek</p>
<p>being able to take courses unavailable at most other universities, like Swahili, etc.</p>
<p>UA Theatre and Dance, and the Music School</p>
<p>UA Law at night</p>
<p>the Northport Ghost</p>
<p>personal stuff lol</p>
<p>I could go on and on</p>
<p>Wonderful post Atlanta68!</p>
<p>The best thing about the University of Alabama is having a happy, productive, academically challenged and thriving freshman son!!</p>
<p>President Witt and his forward thinking vision of the university.</p>
<p>Dr. Sharpe and the Honors College and all the great staff at Nott Hall.</p>
<p>Oh, let’s not forget the great scholarship opportunities!</p>
<p>The wonderful feeling you get whenever you step foot on campus after you graduate. Makes me feel like I have all my hair back, have lost 50 pounds and can still do the things that I did while a student. (My wife saw that last statement as I typed it). Well maybe not all the things I used to do!!</p>
<p>Lol, BBfromNC!</p>
<p>DEAN SHARPE - D says he is one of those people who just makes you feel good about yourself when you’re around him</p>
<p>THE FACILITIES - best dorms we’ve ever seen. Constantly upgrading, but with responsible planning - the new buildings fit in with the old making for a beautiful, cohesive campus.</p>
<p>THE VIBE - once you visit you’ll understand.</p>
<p>GENEROUS MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS</p>
<p>I agree 100% with BBfromNC. I still literally get goosebumps every time I step foot back on campus. I don’t know that it’s any one thing in particular but the place is magical to me. </p>
<p>I attended UA sight unseen back in 1990. I fell in love with her the moment I stepped on campus. Now 20 years later my little brother who was born while I was at UA is a freshman at The Capstone. </p>
<p>I first took him down there 4 years ago for a Bama - Ole Miss football game. He has done nothing but talk about her ever since. He is having the time of his life down there right now and despite being 1,000 miles away from family & friends he could not be more pleased with his choice of schools. </p>
<p>As the old saying goes. It is truly a place that gets in your blood and stays forever. Roll Tide Roll!!</p>
<p>Here’s a list that we put together for Bama’s recruiters when they visited Hawaii. (BTW, they’re coming back in April!)</p>
<p>10 reasons why the University of Alabama is a great choice:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Plentiful and generous out-of-state scholarships.</p></li>
<li><p>The Honors College–the personal touch and rigor of a small liberal arts college, coupled with the resources of a major research university. </p></li>
<li><p>Diversitymore than 40% of incoming freshmen are from out-of-state. Looking for a church, temple, or mosque? Theyre all here.</p></li>
<li><p>A drop-dead gorgeous campus.</p></li>
<li><p>A modern, state-of-the art infrastructurethe facilities are first-rate.</p></li>
<li><p>The finest dorms weve ever seen.</p></li>
<li><p>An endless array of extracurricular activities, service opportunities, internships, and recreation.</p></li>
<li><p>Southern Hospitalitythe Aloha Spirit, Mainland style.</p></li>
<li><p>Water! Kayaking, canoeing, rowing, water skiing, sailing, and swimming.</p></li>
<li><p>Deep traditions. Awesome school spirit and pride. A visionary president.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>OK, technically that was more than ten, but you NEED more when extolling the virtues of UA.</p>
<p>Roll Tide.</p>
<p>I have to agree with NJBama…We fell in love with Bama the first minute we stepped on campus! When we started the process of looking for a college for our youngest D she was all over the place about what she wanted in a college. She knew she wanted a great football school with lots of tradition (she grew up in a football family) She also thought she wanted a great campus that was not in a big city (figured that out as we went along)…and a town that was focused on the university with an “ave”, “strip” near school. We visited coast to coast…NYU, Columbia, Northwestern, MU, KU, U of Washington, Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma…we then went smaller PLU, Missouri State, Concordia College River Forest…to name a few and then we visited Alabama. It was instant!! Love at first sight for D. We are from the Midwest…H really wanted her to go closer to home but it was as if she was under a spell. We started going back , Panhellenic Preview, Bama Bound…each time it was harder to get her in the car to go home (we kept having to call H and tell him we would significantly later because we were late leaving campus). I love visiting…try to get there as much as I can (11 1/2 hour drive…but so worth it!). Brought in D’s sisters for bid day and they even commented on what a fabulous place it was!!! We walked campus …they marveled at the great buildings, the new construction, tradition like Denney chimes and the Walk of Fame. S came for move in day and said he wished he had looked at Bama (he is currently at Loyola in Chicago). Tailgatin…oh my…we are season MU football tix holdrs and after tailgating at Bama we went home and told the folks we tailgate with they were amateurs compared to Bama! We are heading down for “A” Day…can’t wait. Have “Sweet Home Alabama” on the CD in the car as well as a few other “road trip” songs D and I listened to while traveling back and forth they make me smile…transporting me back to the campus on a sultry fall afternoon… Listen to me…dribbling on but I just have to say that Alabama is WONDERFUL…we don’t regret sending D there for one minute!</p>
<p>Your daughter was looking for the exact same things in a school that I wanted. Fortunately I lucked out and got it right without ever visiting.</p>
<p>In the land before the internet, info on schools was much harder to come by. I actually found out most of my info about UA from sports magazines and a college catalog from my HS guidance counselor.</p>
<p>I didn’t have the money back then to visit many schools. I had been to Penn St a few times because my older brother went there. And I had been to see Rutgers and a few smaller schools in NJ because my older sister played softball for one of them (Kean). None ever gave me the feeling that I got when I stepped foot at UA. It truly had everything I was looking for in a school. </p>
<p>It’s great to hear others share similar experiences and feelings.</p>
<p>My H went to Big Ten schools and I went to a UC school. </p>
<p>My H and I love visiting Bama. My H says he just likes walking around the campus and quad…then heading over somewhere for a bite to eat…then seeing the campus lit up at night. </p>
<p>I agree with all the posts above…especially with the one that mentions Game Day Tailgating on the Quad…OMG…the first time I saw that was my older son’s senior year in high school and Bama had given us tickets for a football game. We were blown away…we’d never seen anything like that. Big screens and satellite dishes on the quad. BBQ smells all around. Enough food to feed an army. Restaurants set up in tents selling their food for those who weren’t doing their own cooking. Older adults, parents, students, little kids, babies…they’re all there. People were set up as if they were staying for a week…LOL People arrive on Friday, set up…stay the weekend…watch every sports event on ESPN…then take it all down on Sunday. By Sunday afternoon, the quad is clean as a whistle.</p>
<p>From what I have read, many of you fellow alums have the same feeling regarding our great university. And for parents who were not lucky enough to attend Bama, your children will feel the way I feel about her as I do. </p>
<p>Coach Bryant took over the Alabama football team in 1958. When asked why he came to Alabama, he replied “Momma called. And when Momma calls, you listen.” </p>
<p>I love it so much! It is a special place!</p>
<p>^^^Agreed, BB. I did not matriculate at UA, but there is no doubt that there is a special sense of place there. It’s college as it was meant to be: a well rounded experience rich in academics, extracurricular opportunities, tradition, and friendship, all happening on a beautiful campus sent directly from Central Casting.</p>
<p>malanai</p>
<p>We had no idea about the water activities! Can’t wait for HS son to visit.</p>
<p>^^^Yeah, the water was a total surprise to us . . . and it’s beautiful. Son is a competitive sailor and has helped found a fledgling sailing club at UA.</p>
<p>Just great, the shoobees will be invading UA :-)</p>
<p>DH and DS returned from UA University Days visit early this morning. These are the things that stood out to them.</p>
<p>Stunning campus and beautiful architecture</p>
<p>Friendly, happy students</p>
<p>Amazing advertising and PR department</p>
<p>DS was quite impressed with the “hot girls everywhere” Geez!</p>
<p>Beautiful Greek houses</p>
<p>Infectious school spirit. They heard several people call out “Roll Tide” and got a kick out of that!</p>
<p>UA has moved to the top of his list. He can’t wait to apply.</p>
<p>When will UA open applications for the HS class of 2012?</p>
<p>^^^Beginning of July (depending on how the holiday falls; July 1st is a Friday, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t make it live until after July 4th.)</p>
<p>If you get your scores sent before then, the only piece will be having your HS send the transcript. D1 got her HS to send it on July 27th so everything was completed before her first day of senior year. </p>
<p>Roll Tide :)</p>
<p>When my nephew from California visited in January, he couldn’t help but notice how pretty the Bama girls are. That’s saying something since Calif girls aren’t “chopped liver”!</p>