Campus:

Situated on Lake Champlain with the beautiful backdrop of the Green Mountains, the University of Vermont boasts a beautiful campus partnered with the amazing city of Burlington, Vt.

Immediately, I picked up a friendly feeling from everyone, and I also experienced the cold bite of winter, which hits pretty hard in Vermont. Burlington and UVM are labeled as extremely liberal places, which you can tell because of all the “Feel the Bern” stickers in support of Bernie Sanders, former mayor of the city and current presidential candidate.

I visited Vermont during mid-October and then again in December. The weather difference was amazing. During October it was wonderfully chilly, but during the winter it becomes intensely cold, with the temperature frequently dropping well below zero.

Founded in 1791, UVM currently has an enrollment of about 10,000 and has an acceptance rate of 73 percent, as of 2014. As with most large public universities, UVM has a wide variety of majors. It’s best programs are in the fields of Environmental Studies, and it also has a highly accredited Medical School.

Cost:

Tuition for out-of-state students at UVM is $37,000. The estimated total cost hovers around $50,000, making it very expensive if a student is attending without any scholarships. However, it offers a wide variety of merit-based scholarships to out-of-state students that range from $6,000 to $17,000 a year.

Athletics:

Vermont has 18 Division I teams, which compete in the America East Conference. Oddly enough, UVM does not have a Division I football team, but instead is an ice hockey powerhouse, with appearances to the “Frozen Four” of the NCAA ice hockey playoffs twice since 1996. Aside from varsity athletics, Vermont offers a wide variety of club and intramural sports which students can join, and fraternity and sorority life that extends into the city of Burlington.

Food and Other Things to do:

The food at UVM is not very good, which is another one of its downsides apart from cost. However, Burlington has loads of unique and local restaurants, as well as shops, art, and other visitor friendly areas. It also has easy access to some of the best skiing on the East Coast, close to areas such as Stowe and Sugarbush.

The average SAT scores to get into Vermont are 560-670 on each section for the middle 50 percent of applicants, and for the ACT it ranges from 26-31.

Summary:

I loved UVM and it is one of my top choices for a college. The city it’s in, the beauty of the landscape, and the history it has is something that makes it unique from other colleges. If you do not like cold places, do not go to UVM. But if you have a love for a great college town and a friendly (but chilly) campus, Vermont is the place for you.

For more information about the University of Vermont, visit their website here.
Mitch Hopkins is Media Editor for the Patriot and jcpatriot.com.