We're coming
to you from

Virginia Commonwealth
University, Virginia's largest

public four-year school
and home of the Rams.

VCU is an urban university
located in the historic city

of Richmond, Virginia,
which has an exciting

mixture or eras ranging
from the cobblestone streets

from Virginia's early days,
to the Fortune 500 companies,

dance clubs,
and chic restaurants

and shops of modern time.

The one thing I like best about
VCU is probably the fact that

it's not a college town.

We're in the middle
of the city and there's

always something to do.

It's not just
the college atmosphere.

You're not in the middle
of nowhere, secluded.

Virginia Commonwealth University

is spread out over
two main campuses,

the Monroe Park district,
which is roughly 88 acres,

located in the fan district,
which is named for its pattern

of tree-lined streets that fan
out as they move westward,

as well as the over
52-acre MCV campus,

located in the heart of
downtown Richmond.

Diversity thrives at VCU,
as minority students make up

a third of the more than 30,000
students enrolled on campus.

Over 1,000 international
students from 93 countries

have chosen to
study at VCU.

By the way, women make up
about 60% of the population

and obviously,
men roughly 40%.

Incoming freshmen are required
to take the SAT or ACT

and admission is based on high
school academic performance.

Freshmen are also required to
have a minimum of 20 units

of college-prep for admission
in all undergraduate programs.

Well, we've really
been experiencing

tremendous growth in
our student population.

Our incoming classes
have incrementally grown.

We'll be entering
almost 4,000 students

to our freshmen class this
coming year and again,

not only representing
the commonwealth,

through where they live,
but their GPA,

their SAT standards,

all those things that
our entering students--

whether they're freshman or
graduate professional students,

have continually gone up.

Extracurricular activities
and employment experience

may strengthen an application.

Essays are required for
scholarship consideration

as well as for applications
to the School of Nursing.

Undergraduate tuition for
in-state residents is just over

$5,800 and about $17,000
for out of state residents.

Room and board is the same for
all students, at around $7,000.

VCU has nearly 200
certificate and degree programs

in the arts, sciences,
and humanities.

There are 63 unique programs,
many of which are

interdisciplinary and cross over
VCU's 15 schools and 1 college.

Here at VCU, there are many
opportunities that are available

to students because we have such
a visible guest artist program.

We have guest
artists from Europe

and guest artists
from America

and they're all at a very
high level in their career.

We have people that have
won Academy Awards

and have been nominated.

We have Tony Award
winners and that sort of thing.

Some of the more intriguing
majors include forensic science,

homeland security,
and emergency preparedness,

and kinetic imaging.

Being at VCU,
our students get opportunities

that you just don't get
at other Universities,

just because of
where we're located.

When you add on
that how large we are,

that means we
bring a lot of faculty

with a lot of diverse
backgrounds

and experiences together.

I work at the FBI.

I can get some of my
students opportunities

for internships up there,
potentially at

a smaller university
or a different university

in which DC isn't
commuting to

or Quantico isn't in
commutable distance.

That's not a
potential opportunity.

It's very helpful when
you apply for your first job

and you get to sit down at
your interview and say,

"Well the four-month
internship that I just did

at the Behavioral
Science Unit

at the FBI's Academy
in Quantico..."

It's pretty impressive
out of the bat.

VCU's graduate sculpture
and nurse anesthesia programs

are ranked number one by
"US News and World Report"

and their
Adcenter program

is ranked number one
by "Creativity Magazine."

They even have 19
other graduate programs

ranked by "US News
and World Report" as well.

VCU is also well known
for its arts, engineering,

and health
sciences programs.

MCV hospitals and the
health sciences schools

compose the VCU
Medical Center,

one of the nation's leading
academic medical centers.

VCU students have unlimited
access to the latest technology

in biology and genetics.

This guy behind
me represents

how all the life
sciences are related.

That's a lot of DNA.

VCU is Richmond's
largest employer

with nearly
17,000 employees

of which more than
1,700 are full-time faculty.

Sixteen VCU Rams
sports teams compete

at the NCAA
Division 1 level

in the Colonial
Athletic Association.

Both their men's
basketball and baseball teams

won their CAA
Championship in 2007!

Just over 4,700 students call
campus housing at VCU home,

with 16 different
housing options,

located on 2 campuses

that range from
single rooms to suites.

There are about
200 registered clubs

for students
to participate in,

ranging from Greek life
and student government

to religion, community service,
and even student media.

A great experience that I had
here during my sophomore year,

I joined an organization called
Alternative Spring Break.

At first, when my friends
mentioned it to me,

I thought doing volunteer
work over spring break,

that's probably not
the best thing to do.

But it--it really
changed my life.

It had such a positive
influence and I met so many

new and interesting people
and so many lasting friendships

through that organization.

I mean, I don't
think there's anything

that will ever
top that in my life.

Surveyors, blue prints,
and architectural renderings

have been a common site at VCU
for the past several years,

as the university
continues to expand.

With VCU's master site plan,

VCU 2020, the future
holds one-billion dollars

in academic,
medical, recreation,

student housing,
and parking facilities.

Events like the Intercultural
Festival, Fall Fest,

and the VCU
French Film Festival,

which is the largest
French Film Festival

in the world outside of France ,
boasts exciting entertainment

and involvement for
the VCU community.

So if you're looking for a
campus experience that features

highly rated and skilled
programs in at atmosphere

that combines the rich
history of Virginia with

the modern conveniences
of an urban campus,

you may want to make VCU your
choice for the next four years.

Thanks for joining us
here in Richmond, Virginia

on our tour of Virginia
Commonwealth University.

This is Chloe Dolandis
and I'll see you next time.