UA: News & Updates

As we continue to deal with uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus, be assured the Office of Undergraduate Admissions staff remain ready to serve you.

We want to touch base to provide some important updated information as you work with your seniors and their families. One helpful resource for all of you is our Prospective Student Help Center. Please find more specific guidance below:

• Bama Bound Orientation: Bama Bound is scheduled to begin May 26. At this time, we are still determining whether we will be able to hold orientation on campus. We are exploring the possibility of virtual sessions, and will keep you informed.

• Scholarship Deadline: The deadline for students to accept their scholarship offers is moved to June 1. 

• National Merit Finalist Decision: National Merit Finalists must list UA as their school of choice by May 1.

• Housing: UA is accepting housing applications with room selection and assignments beginning in May. A student that wishes to cancel their housing contract has until June 1 to receive $165 of the $200 deposit back and those that cancel by June 15 will receive $100 of the deposit. Students who deposited by February 3 will be able to select their own room when room selection starts in May while those who deposited after that date will be assigned their room during the summer by Housing.

• Final Transcripts: UA doesn’t require a final transcript when students register for classes during Orientation; however, a student won’t be able to register for Spring 2021 classes without one. Students will be notified if their final transcript has not been received.

• Scholarship Presentations: With UA under travel restrictions, our recruiters will not attend Honors presentations this spring. We plan to send scholarship certificates to those students who have paid their Freshman Enrollment Deposits.

• Campus Visits: While the University is operating on a limited-business model and the city of Tuscaloosa has a curfew in effect, all campus visits are canceled. We will continue to monitor the situation and make decisions on a regular basis.

• Virtual Information Sessions: In lieu of on-campus visits, we have a virtual information session available. Many of the individual colleges also offer virtual sessions for students who are interested in learning more about Arts & Sciences, Business, Communication, Engineering, Honors, Human & Environmental Sciences, and Nursing. Students and families interested in participating can click this link to sign up.

• Pass/Fail: We realize many schools are considering pass/fail grading for the remainder of the academic year. For seniors concerned about admission or scholarships, we encourage them to keep their grades up. Scholarships or admission will not be revoked unless they fail a core course, thereby not fulfilling our academic requirements. 

• Financial Aid: Due to the various shutdowns, some of your families may have different economic circumstances than last fall. It is not too late to file the FAFSA to be considered for aid this coming fall. Those who have already filed can complete a supplemental form outlining any changes to their current circumstances.

• AP Scores: UA will continue to accept AP scores for tests taken this spring. As in the past, credit will not be assigned without necessary scores. Students are encouraged to bring their unofficial scores to Bama Bound to be used during the advising process. Here is the chart of our credit by examination from the Undergraduate Catalog. 

• IB Scores: IB is using Internal Assessment as well as predicted grades and analytics to determine IB scores in place of the examination. The credit chart for IB scores can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog.

• Dual Enrollment: We understand many students are taking dual-enrollment courses while completing their high school curriculum and those college transcripts might not be released until after high school graduation. Students can bring their grade report or unofficial college transcript to Orientation for advising with the understanding that the schedule will change if the transcript isn’t received by the start of classes.

• Superscoring: With ACT offering section tests this coming year, UA has not made a final decision on if or how we will use those scores in either admissions or scholarship consideration. We will make a decision soon.

• Greek Life: At present, we encourage those participating in Greek recruitment to maintain their grades as they finish high school. With possible delays of final transcripts, the grades received either in the fall or after 7^th semester will be released to the governing councils to share with the chapters.

Please don’t hesitate to communicate with us through regional recruiters or our Admissions Office. We will send updates of additional information for your seniors as well as decisions that might impact your juniors, sophomores and freshmen in future recruiting cycles. We continue with our traditional recruiting strategy to keep students our primary focus.

Thanks, as always, for what you do to assist your students and their families, even more so in the midst of these trying times.

Roll Tide!
Rick

Rick Funk | Director of Undergraduate Admissions
Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Scholarships
The University of Alabama