Welcome to
University of Virginia,

home of the Cavaliers.

I'm Nicole Aaron,
and welcome to beautiful

Charlottesville, Virginia.

Come join us
on our campus tour.

Thomas Jefferson founded this
historic university in 1819,

and it continues to excel today.

Virginia is ranked number two
once again among public

universities in the 2007 edition
of US News and World Reports

America's Best Colleges.

The University of Virginia
is located

in Charlottesville, Virginia,
which is roughly two hours

southwest of our
nation's capital,

and features a rich mix of more
than 200 years of history

combined with all
the conveniences

you would expect to find
in a major metropolitan area.

You know, while being
such a challenging school,

it's also in a place
that feels like home.

It's Charlottesville that
makes UVA so unique.

I really like the city,
it's very beautiful

and it's very cozy,
and I find a lot of the people

here are welcoming to
the university community.

And when you're looking at,
you know, where you want

to go to school,
that's the ideal place to be,

when the community members
are going to respect

the college students
in the area as well.

So, a lot of us will go
downtown and hang out

on the Downtown Mall.

They've got more than
70 restaurants down there.

So it's definitely
a great hang out spot.

We have something
known as Fridays at Five,

and that's just when a free
concert comes to town

every Friday.

And a lot of students go
to check that out because

it's totally free, and so,
you know, you get to go,

and you get to have
a good time

seeing what the place
has to offer.

The University of Virginia sits
on just under 1700 acres,

and the most notable
building on campus,

or "the grounds"
as they are known,

is the rotunda designed
by Thomas Jefferson

and modeled after
the Pantheon in Rome.

This historic building signifies
the architectural vision

of Jefferson,
as well as sets the tone

for the rest of the buildings
on campus.

Look, how much
time do we have?

What's so special
about UVA?

There's so many things that
I don't really know how to

summarize them all.

Every step is old history.

And it's not just history
that attracts people here.

It's a commitment to the needs
and the good of society

today and tomorrow.

I think that's true
across the field.

The undergrad student
population is over 13,000

students with a make up
of 55% female to 45% male.

Total population counting
graduate, professional,

and continuing education
students is over 20,000.

Admission to the University
of Virginia is highly selective.

Out of 18,000 applications,
just under 3,200 are

enrolled each year.

In fact, 88% of enrolled
students are in the top

10% of their class,
with the mid-50% of SAT scores

running 1260-1430.

There's no mystery
to what we do.

We look for students who have
taken the most rigorous courses

from their school
and have been successful.

We think performance is probably
the most important factor

to consider.

There are lots of other things,
too, that get the student

admitted.

We want to go well
beyond the statistics.

Because we want to admit people
that are going to add something

to the student body.

Tuition at UVA runs roughly
$8,600 for in-state residents

compared to just under $28,000
for out-of-state residents.

Room and board runs just
over $7,300 for all students.

Virginia has a great
financial aid program,

and is committed to meeting
100% of need for each student

admitted.

The University of Virginia
offers 51 Bachelor's degrees,

81 Master's degrees,
and 59 doctoral degrees.

Class size at the university
features a great

student-to-teacher ratio,
which averages roughly 15:1.

There are over 70 different
majors offered at UVA,

and the largest college is the
College of Arts and Sciences.

The University of Virginia
has the nation's oldest

student-sanctioned and run
honor system in the country,

where students agree
not to lie, cheat, or steal,

or they risk the punishment
from a court of their peers.

The honor code is something
that's very serious here

at the university.

It's not so serious because we
think that everyone's a liar

or a cheater.

However, it does hold students
above lying, cheating,

and stealing.

It's created something
that we like to call

the "community of trust,"
and if you're in the library

and you leave your laptop there,
you leave something

sitting around,
then you can trust that

it'll be there when
you get back.

Because students
take it that seriously.

The University of Virginia
employs over 2,100 full-time

faculty members,
89% of which hold

a doctorate or the highest
degree attainable

in their field.

I feel like the faculty
and the professors

are wonderful here.

They give you a lot of personal
attention if you want a lot.

A lot of them are really
renowned, uh, well-known.

And so it's been nice to develop
relationships with them.

The University of Virginia
Cavaliers compete

at the NCAA Division I level in
the Atlantic Coast Conference,

featuring 12 different men's
and 13 different women's teams.

There are many different
on-campus housing opportunities

at UVA, and 45%
of undergraduate students

live on-campus.

All freshmen or "first years"
as they're called

are required to live
on campus during their

first two semesters.

And the reason we call ourselves
"first years," "second years,"

and so forth has to do
with Thomas Jefferson.

So, Thomas Jefferson
believed that there could be

no "seniors" in learning;
he thought that everybody

would continue to learn
throughout his or her

entire life.

And so out of respect
for Thomas Jefferson,

we refer to ourselves
as first years, or second years,

um, and so forth.

All first year students
are required to live

in university housing,
which honestly is to

the tremendous benefit
of the student.

The university does
a wonderful job

of creating this first year
experience where

your dorms are literally
in the middle of all

the academic buildings.

They're in the middle
of the sports complexes,

right behind two dining halls.

And you are just in the center
of the University of Virginia.

You'll meet people from
all over the place.

I'm from a small town
in Williamsburg, Virginia,

but my roommate was from
the middle of Atlanta, Georgia.

We were totally
different people,

but taught each other so much,
had a great time,

and she's now one
of my best friends

who I'm sure I'll know
for the rest of my life.

The first year experience
is how we really acclimate

our students to
the university.

We bring them
into our traditions,

the culture that's very
unique to UVA,

that goes back to the founding
father, Thomas Jefferson.

There's over 500
student organizations

and an active
Greek life on campus,

as well as an active art scene.

Students give over 110,000 hours
of active community service

each year,
and more than 80%

of UVA students take part
in intramural athletics.

There are a few secret societies
on campus, the IMPs, the Zs,

and the Sevens.

How to get into these societies,
I don't know.

You'll have to come here
and find out.

In 1987, the United Nations
named the University

of Virginia's grounds to
the World Heritage List

as a property
of cultural significance,

along with such
architectural wonders

as the Great Wall of China
and the Taj Mahal.

"What would you say" if I told
you that Dave Matthews worked

right here behind the bar
at Miller's in Charlottesville?

The University of Virginia
is rich in tradition.

This is where Edgar Allan Poe
stayed while attending classes

in ancient and modern languages.

Some of the more famous people
to walk the halls of UVA have

been Woodrow Wilson
and Robert F. Kennedy,

and most recently,
Katie Couric and Tina Fey.

So it's an exciting place to be,
it's a great place to learn,

it's a great place to live,
and after all,

you want to have
a good experience

as an undergraduate,
it only comes around once.

Thanks for joining us
in Charlottesville, Virginia

on our tour of
the University of Virginia.

I'm Nicole Aaron,
we'll see you real soon.