As an opinion on a favorable aspect to your daughter’s path, she will retain this early portion of her college experience as part of her academic and intellectual foundation. This will be the case even if she were to make a “lateral” or even “downward” transfer to attain her degree.
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As the mom to a competitive (non-ballet)dancer, this is the biggest question I feel about school choice. Shes had built in forced social opportunities and now in college she’s an individual without a set group for the first time.
Sounds like she misses performing.
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Yes! And performing on a stage. Performing at sporting events when most people are not even paying attention isn’t the same.
Has your daughter thought of Drew? They are on tuition exchange I think, I am getting the vibe it would be a great fit. (and its a little down the street from a Fairleigh Dickinson branch which is on tuition exchange too)
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At my daughter’s elementary school they had a buddy bench where if you were feeling a little lost you could sit on the bench (which meant, I need someone to play with) and the kids would see and come over off to play with you- and it actually worked. Kids were excited if someone was on the buddy bench bc it meant they could be a helper and friend. I wish they had a buddy bench for college students. (ok, I admit it, sometimes I wish they had a buddy bench for me too- like at cocktail parties not that I would ever go)
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We visited Drew. We really liked it. Great tour guide and they really made you feel welcome.
My daughter thought the campus was a little small and didn’t end up applying.
It is on TE and yes, Fairleigh Dickinson is right down the road.
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We just dropped my son off this weekend, as his school started later than some others. He did spend some time over break filling out a transfer application to our top in-state university from his NESCAC college for next fall. I have many mixed feelings about it, as his academics are going great, and he had a number of people from college texting him continuously over break.
He says he just changed his mind about what he thought he wanted from when looking at schools as a HS Junior/early Senior. He thought he wanted a smaller school far from home, and now has decided he wants the big school social experience, being close to home, and being where all his best friends from high school attend. Part of me definitely thinks he should give his current school more time and I’m worried about the opportunities he might be losing out on, but we’re trying to also be accepting (proud?) of him for taking the initiative to not settle for just being “okay” and really seeking out his happiness. ((Breath))
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My son is adamant about getting his own place. We thought about buying a condo but if he does not want a roomie, then it does not make a lot of sense.
We have submitted an application for a 1BR apartment that is walking distance to campus, about 15 min walk to the engineering quad. His friend is getting a free room at East Edge (NMF) and he was hoping to join him but UA told him no chance. East Edge is like $1500 for an efficiency. The one we applied for is much larger with WD in unit for $980. So, not cheap but we figured if that is what he wants then it is ok. Have your son call HA Edwards. They are a smaller local rental company that is reputable.
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Yeah my son was in a 3 br/3 bath at east edge. Same apt for 3 years. . Def not $1500. Half.
These kids get spoiled !!
Guess they have so many NMF and are growing the overall school that they can’t find housing for these kids.
My son lived with one person his first 6 months after college. Now has his own place.
Pricey but he says well worth it. He’s happiest alone. I’m happiest it’s his $$, not mine.
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Thanks, they are viewing houses these days - 3 guys with a budget of $600 each. They won’t be close to campus, and they’re OK as long as they’re within a 15 minute bike ride.
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@Gatormama or other Bama parents- where is “The Strip” in relation to campus? S24 will be on campus next Friday (staying at Hotel Capstone) and making a list of places to check out. Thanks 
By Publix…on University.
But honestly, head downtown to where Taco Mama / DePalmas is - that’s another hot area. On University I believe And tons of places on McFarland…your chain after chain after chain.
Nice river walk (during the day) in Tuscaloosa too - a bit sketchy at night.
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Can you walk from campus to downtown? And McFarland?
Yes, you can walk everywhere.
In heat, not sure you’d want to … but now, no worries. I believe it’s raining nonstop for a few days, so be alert for umbrella needs etc.
We have walked along the River at dusk/early evening and didn’t feel unsafe, but maybe that’s just us.
Campus pretty much abuts the Strip. Of course, Hotel Capstone is kind of at the far end of campus, compared with the Strip.
McFarland is really just like every major main drag in a big town. Four lanes, wall to wall retail etc, very much nondescript. No need to “visit” it.
The Strip is very nice, though. Nice place to saunter!
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I see it was answered. But I text my son who wrote back this so will add it:
Yeah you can walk from campus to downtown, like 15-20 minutes from the west side of it. Publix and Moe’s are on the strip right next to the campus. McFarland on the other side of campus, much less walkable to get there
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I would not personally walk to McFarland. But one could bike through second avenue next to Hotel Capstone and make a left at Forest Lake/15th street vicinity. Strip is easy to walk to.
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I am reaching out since you all have completed the admissions and enrollment process for your kids. Hoping someone can relate or share their experience with this.
S24 was accepted to his two “reach” schools on Friday. Way back when, he visited one of these schools and loved it. However, last April when we looked at a bunch of schools, a few of them which were “Targets” were even higher on the list. One of his “likelies” was also very high (if not at the top) of his list.
He is heading down to look at the current top two contenders- one was a target and one was a likely and they are tied for first place. He was admitted to both way back in early fall. He has since been admitted to all of his schools minus one which he will not hear back from until March but it is pretty much off his list. This whole time he has been going back and forth on which one of the initial two to choose, as he still maintains that he loved the original two the most. He and DH will re-visit both schools this week for more in-depth visits, including sitting in on classes at each, attending a sporting event at each, and meeting up with students for social activities. We assumed this visit would enable him to make his final decision between these two and he could commit 100%, start looking for a roommate and just be excited.
On Friday he was admitted to the two reach schools very unexpectedly. One of them he saw as I mentioned above, the other he has never visited. I grew up in the area of the one he hasn’t seen and am familiar with the campus and just do not see him there, nor do I think he will love the campus vibe, but obviously I could be wrong and I also kept that to myself. He has spent the weekend very conflicted because I think the admissions were so unexpected that he barely reacted, but then felt almost guilty that he was admitted. He has friends who really want these schools and they were denied. He is feeling badly that he “doesn’t even want to go” but got in. He is also questioning if it is a mistake to pick a lower-ranked and in one case a much lower-ranked school over one of these much higher ranked reach schools.
We have talked about “rankings” and how easily skewed they are. I showed him four different rankings (USNWR, WSJ, Forbes and Niche) and he can clearly see how each of his schools are ranked so differently on all four lists. We have never put any pressure on him to pick a school based on rankings, and have been drilling in “best fit” the entire time. But I also understand hearing “you picked THAT school over X school? Are you nuts”? over and over will get old really fast and cause them to second-guess themselves.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Just looking for some commiseration if you had a student who struggled to make a decision as I described.
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Ok, I was in this position last year with one of my twins lol. He applied to a total of 7 schools, 4 in state publics, 3 in state privates. 6 of these schools were safeties and matches, one was a reach. From day one, the “reach” was a “I just want to see if I can get in” type of situation. The reach was also the last decision that would come in, so by the time January rolled around he had 6 solid offers in hand with wonderful merit scholarships to boot. By Mid January he had whittled it down to 1 public and 1 private. By Jan 28-29’ish he was ready to commit to the public, our states second “flagship”…all was well. Jan 30th the collegiate world said “Hold my beer” and he got accepted to his reach which no one thought would ever happen lol. His school gpa was just shy of auto admit and Texas with its top 6% for auto admit rule crushes many a soul every year lol.
He’s now a second semester Freshmen at that “reach” school, UT Austin and is positively thriving. We don’t regret the decision for a second. He found the right fit and somehow just knew in his heart that’s where he belongs and to wait before
committing elsewhere. He’s made a great group of friends and ended with 3 A’s and 2 B’s in the Fall.
UT was the one school that didn’t give him a single penny in scholarships (they are not known for it and have no need to!) the housing situation in Austin is definitely the worst in the state but damn is it a great school! Kids happy, Mama’s happy.
It was all about fit for our D. The only difference is she took a lot of the reach schools off her list completely after visiting and didn’t even apply. She had a strong preference for Purdue over higher ranked schools on her list and she has zero regrets about that choice (she graduated from college in '23).
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Is budget a big factor or can you comfortably afford them all? The other question I would ask is his major: is it something specialized in some way, where the choice of school/ elite status makes a difference? (There are not many of those but there are some.)
If both of those answers have no bearing, and there are no other situations, like distance, that affect the parent end of things, then I would visit them all and leave it totally up to him.
One thing that I have read that can help: flip a coin and make that the decider.
His reaction to the winner- relief or dismay - can sometimes be a better indicator than anything else.
Good luck and congrats- what a great problem to have!!
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