<p>We’ve had a lot of threads about WHY people chose UA, but I want to know when. Have you always known? When you got a good test score? First football game? </p>
<p>RTR!</p>
<p>Son found out about UA on a Monday in mid September of his senior HS year (after I had discussion with work colleague who lurks these forums daily - Hi!), we visited 12 days later, son decided to enroll on our trip home. Was crazy fast. I wasn’t even on CC until after he made decision, so I didn’t have all the warm hugs this board gives to assure me. I just had CC lurker co-worker.</p>
<p>D decided pretty much when we visited for the Scholars Day. She applied and visited at my request (because I knew about the rockin’ scholarships!). She had also applied to 10 other schools, mostly in the northeast area of the country. She applied early action for her dream school, MIT, and was deferred. She found that out in December. By the time we went to Scholars Day in January, she had decided internally that she would not be getting into MIT (and she didn’t) and I think she was fertile ground for receiving what UA had to offer. </p>
<p>One year later, she is still very happy. She is also sitting pretty on 92 credits (including APs) and has plenty of room in her schedule for exploring areas of interest. She’s in CBH and this next year will write for both the Crimson White and the Tuscaloosa News. (Maybe I should be posting some of this in that Bama Brags thread we had going for a while! Sorry if I seem over the top!). She can’t wait to get back to school!</p>
<p>ROLL TIDE!!</p>
<p>D had already applied when we made our first visit over a long weekend to attend a football game as well as the whole tour on Monday following. She received the email she had been accepted while we were there. Bama was the last school for her to visit on her list and was somewhere around 3-4 on her list. After the whole experience she feel in love, as did we. I’m the only parent that had accompanied her to every school on her list and knew a few were not “it” upon stepping onto campus. UA just felt different. As far as beauty, student involvement, the overall sense that the students were happy, and academics it was right up there with Stanford in my eyes of the schools on her list. </p>
<p>She ended up blowing off the rest of her apps to other schools even though we told her to finish them up and submit just so she would know and not always wonder “what if”.</p>
<p>At the conclusion of our amazing visit to 'Bama (Feb 2010) I asked my son if he could see himself attending UA. He said yes.</p>
<p>Still, he was hell bent on attending USC or Boston U, his first two choices (based on little more than perceived prestige and propaganda he’d received in the form of “college counseling”). USC and BU offered him very substantial scholarships, each leaving a very substantial balance on the table. UA offered a near-full ride (the NMF package). </p>
<p>I’ve been involved in education my whole life and knew after our visit to 'Bama, and spending time with Drs. Sharpe and Witt, that UA would be all my son would need (and more). I told him he could go to USC or BU if he was willing to pay the freight for the added value he thought a degree from either institution would give him. He called both schools in an effort to persuade them that he deserved more scholarship $$ and was told, “Fuggedaboutit.”</p>
<p>It was then that he decided to attend UA. </p>
<p>A year later he thanked me for holding the line. 'Bama has exceeded his and our expectations in every regard imaginable. My son absolutely loves UA, will graduate debt-free with a double major, and could not be having a better undergraduate experience.</p>
<p>Roll Tide. :)</p>
<p>LatteLady- Maybe we need to resurrect the Bama Brags thread to counteract all the recent Bama bashing.</p>
<p>Sniner, your D had an awesome summer and first year. Maybe we should!</p>
<p>Not a bad idea to revive the old thread, and maybe start adding new stories to it.</p>
<p>D first visited April of 2012, she really liked it and I think she was sold from that point on. We revisited in June 2012 so my husband could see the school and he was sold. Btw D has never been to a football game, Dh and Iare both Alum of Florida Schools and initially D wanted a mid Atlantic or North West. College…Bama was never on the radar until we visited. We are in the process of unpacking in RCS and D is beyond excited.</p>
<p>My son applied and was accepted in October 2008, but even though he knew he would receive a wonderful National Merit package, he was not convinced for another six months that he should go to Alabama. He wanted to see if he would get into an Ivy or another top flight school. He did, and with nice merit money, too. But all those offers would not beat what Alabama had. His kid brother, however, liked Bama when we toured the rec center (he’s an athlete), and at that time, he was just 11. He has his app into Bama for Fall 2014. But, like his brother, he is keeping his options open.</p>
<p>Capstone Scholars Day sealed the deal for my D. Her first visit Jr year for the standard campus tour helped put Bama on the short list, but it was at the bottom until she attended Scholars Day (in January her Sr year). She fell in love and walked off campus saying “I think this is the one!”. She waited for other acceptances to come in, but I think it was just for vanity sake. </p>
<p>We just got back from moving her in for Freshman year and are so pleased with her decision. Everyone is so friendly, the staff is caring, accessible, and organized, plus the campus is beautiful! It’s everything she could have hoped it would be.</p>
<p>“CC lurker co-worker” That’s me now! I’ve been spreading the news around to all friends… What a great resource you all are!</p>
<p>My D graduated from high school in the Huntsville/Madison area in 2011. She had been on campus many times during high school for band events. She always knew she wanted to attend.</p>
<p>We scheduled a campus visit in spring of her junior year through the National Alumni Association, along with her best friend at the time. The visit absolutely convinced the girls UA was it for them. They were ready to move in the very next day, if they could have found a way to make that happen.</p>
<p>I never could get D to fill out an application anywhere else. At least I saved a lot of money on application fees Roll Tide!</p>
<p>PS: If you’re in-state and have a high stats kid who might not make NMF for whatever reason, be sure you schedule a campus visit through the National Alumni Association. They give out their own Crimson Scholarships to 8-12 students a year, which are pretty comparable to the NMF package. If they’ve actually met your student in person through their campus tour program, I think it gives you a bit of a leg up in the selection process, since they know you as more than a piece of paper. They can schedule visits with professors, Honors College, arrange for you to sit in on a class, pretty much whatever you want. If you’re near enough, you can schedule a separate visit through the Honors College (as we did in fall of senior year).</p>
<p>We heard about UA from a neighbor who had a student attending. Never heard of CC (or SEC football) until then. This was mid-November of S’s senior year (oh, so late!), and he was very far down the track w/ a different school. In a matter of hours, we met w/ local recruiter, booked our plane tix, rental car, hotel…and arranged honors tour, faculty meetings, and various on-campus stuff. S decided for sure after the 1st day of our 3-day visit. He had already been accepted w/ great scholarships to two other great schools, and I found his decision rash. When we got back, he sent off application, then almost immediately the housing deposit as well. I wouldn’t say we squeaked in, but we were certainly a LOT later than most CC’ers. After he actually applied, I spent days (weeks, actually) reading every single thread (you used to be able to go back years, and you still can if you are searching for something specific, but I think this forum just got too big - it used to have 1000s of pages of threads, not mere 100s!). This was such a bizarre experience (the love from UA and the 180 degree turn from my S’s original school decision), that I wanted to make sure no stone was left unturned. Believe me, if there was anything negative about UA, I was determined to find it. I just needed a lot of reassurance that UA was the real deal. It certainly is.</p>
<p>I am going to resurrect the Bama Brag thread. Not to get kudos from everyone (so hold your applause), but so people who haven’t yet decided on UA can see what it is that UA allows our students to continue to achieve.</p>