I did this tour with Kevin….so maybe a little more detail on this summary than last time. I get ASU; Suzanne finishes off with the Northeastern/Oklahoma trip.
(ten Hoor Hall…..I don’t know why it is named that…and we weren’t in the building very long anyway)
1) In the end, what are the chances that Kevin goes here?
25%? Kevin says “I can see myself here” and after the visit pretty much said Kentucky was not an option anymore…he’s rather be here. Roll Tide!
2) What did Kevin think?
I think Kevin liked almost everything he was exposed to; this was the first of the more personalized tours. We met for an hour with the Honor College representative and then for an hour with the chair(!) of the political science department (international studies falls here at UA). Roll Tide!
3) Most impressive thing?
Wow…there were a lot of impressive things. I’ll go with the dorms; Kevin would be in the brand new Honors College dorm which would be a 4-person suite, each person with an individual bedroom, two shared bathrooms, one shared kitchen and commons space.
(Ridgecrest)
(Bathroom and Bedroom….really impressed by this suite!)
(
(closet and common space….)
(Kitchen…no stove though)
4) Least impressive thing?
Well, the music professor didn’t show up for our scheduled appointment with her. So, that was a downer. We’ll call this one even though since Kevin got this email earlier this week…
“Dear Kevin,
I'm the viola teacher at the University of Alabama. I'm so sorry that I will be gone for the holidays when you arrive tomorrow but I wanted to introduce myself. Mr. Adams speaks very highly of your application. Please let me know if you have any questions about the music program, orchestra, or the viola studio. We have a wonderful and very comprehensive music program for people wishing to major or double major in music, as well as minor or just participate as a non major. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions you might have. I'm sorry that I won't have the chance to meet you tomorrow. Safe travels and I hope you have a great time on campus.
All the best,
Dan Sweaney”
This is the only piece of correspondence we’ve received from Alabama that didn’t include Roll Tide in the closing sentence!
5) Food?
Ate at Rama Jama’s…..the hamburger joint literally in the shadow of the football stadium. Had the “National Championship” burger….15 ounces of beef with so much sauce that the bun literally dissolved as I tried to work my way through it.
(They take their football pretty seriously down here!)
6) Biggest reason to go here?
Seems to have everything he wants…the Honors College is pretty impressive. Campus was new and updated on almost every level. The recreation center could be called opulent.
(I was joking with Kevin that we need to rethink his college choices after talking about some of the activities available here…..Intramural Battleship (where teams are in canoes in the indoor pool) and a freakin’ lazy river around the outdoor pool! Maybe The Citadel or VMI or something like that is more appropriate!)
7) Biggest reason not to go here?
A lot of smaller reasons; the Honors College, while impressive, is pretty large (6K of 30K students). 30% of the campus is Greek…which probably is not where Kevin will end up. Merit aid is not at the same level as some other schools.
8) What’s next?
Arizona State near the end of January.
9) Any Other Updates?
Accepted at Michigan on Friday.
Accepted at Arizona State on Saturday.
Alabama is definitely the best case in handling Kevin’s AP courses and foreign language experience….and that is something we will need to track through the other visits. Some schools (Penn State, for example) say we-don’t-care if you have AP English…you must must take Freshman English. Will have to be sure what ASU, NE, OK, and UM will do here. It may make a heck of a difference!
Alabama will let you place out of both semesters with a high enough score. Since Kevin, by the end of this year, will have 8 classes with potential AP credit; that’s almost a full year of college credit Kevin might have before he starts. Combine that with what language credit he may qualify for on their placement test (it seems like he’d hit both Beginner German classes and should get one of the Intermediate German classes, if not both). and that’s a lot of classes Kevin wouldn’t have to to take. So, with that extra time, Kevin could probably double major as long as the core requirements are relatively similar, like, for example, International Studies / Political Science.
