Sheana: Hey everybody. What's up? Thanks for joining me here at Sonoma State University. I'm your tour guide Sheana Jeanne. Let's go. Sonoma State College is located in beautiful Sonoma County, California just 50 miles north of San Francisco.

Even though we're like a small town, we still have like everything that a big town has and we're only 45 minutes away from the city.

Sheana: SSU's sprawling campus sits on 269 richly-landscaped acres nestled against the beautiful Sonoma foothills. A creek runs through the property and there are two small lakes and lots of grassy areas to come study or relax.

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Sheana: Sonoma State enrolls approximately 8,500 students. Of those, 60% are female and 40% male. As is common in a liberal arts and sciences university, students come from every continent around the world, with the majority from Sonoma's home state of California.

I don't believe there's a typical Sonoma student. I think we have a really diverse student body in terms of where they are in their lives.

Admissions to Sonoma State University are very simple. We look for a grade point average [inaudible] requirements. Then we require the SAT or the ACT test score. And then, if we have a major or program that is considered or labeled impacted, that program might have supplemental admissions criteria that could require additional requirements to enroll or gain admission.

Sheana: For California residents, tuition and fees run just below $4,000. If you are from out of state, you can expect to pay about a $340 fee per unit in addition to your registration fees.

Most of the kids live on campus and it really has a nice campus feel. It has kind of a private school atmosphere at a state school cost.

Sheana: Sonoma State offers more than 40 under-grad majors and has an outstanding reputation among the liberal arts and sciences. The most in-demand programs are business administration, psychology, communications, the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies, pre-nursing and biology. Students at Sonoma State are so lucky. They can check out a library book online in their dorm room. The automated retrieval system grabs your books.

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Sheana: Hi, I'm here to pick up my retrieval books. Thank you. Bye. Sonoma State has a faculty to student ratio of 22 to 1 and encourages close relationships that result in educational opportunities not available at very large campuses.

The professors are really open to, you know, always being able to talk to you. And I mean I've had professors who've given me, you know, their personal email, you know, my phone number, my cell phone, whatever. They really are there for you to learn and I found that that's really helped me.

Sheana: Sonoma State's Seawolves compete in NCAA Division II and are a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association for 11 sports as well as the Western Water Polo Association.

Soccer and baseball are the two biggest sports here. Like this year for soccer they were about one game away from the final four for Division II. And last year with baseball, we were ranked number one for the majority of the season. We've been ranked number one this year too. So, there's a lot of school spirit and especially for those two sports, get a good crowd turnout.

Our number one pitcher was West Region Pitcher of the Year. He was taken by the Oakland Athletics. Our number two pitcher was taken by the San Diego Padres. Our closer was taken by the Phillies and our first baseman went to the Cincinnati Reds. So our players have excelled on the field. We've graduated 106 players in five years. So our guys are not only good baseball players, but they're going to class and they're excelling in school.

Sheana: Of 23 state universities in California, Sonoma State is recognized for its most residential campus for its apartment and suite-style housing. Approximately 2,400 students live in one of five villages. Each village holds five to seven buildings that are divided into suites with room and common areas. The dining hall, market and pool are centrally located within reach of all villages.

Dorms are more like apartment style. The one that I lived in was a four bedroom and there are six girls. There's a living room and a kitchen. We were always having dinner parties or just cooked dinner for everyone and that was a lot of fun.

Sheana: There are many clubs on campus including groups that organize productions, concerts and events.

They fund a lot of free events on campus like free bowling at the local bowling alley and free movie night and stuff like that.

Sheana: Feeling outdoorsy? The surrounding hills, mountains, trees, lakes and rivers are ideal for mountain biking, canoeing and hiking. The ocean is only a 30-minute drive from campus. And if you're a ski or snowboard lover, a four-hour drive will get you to Tahoe.

There's always the [inaudible] drive to Bodega Bay. There's a lot of parks around here, so a lot of students like to go to the parks to play basketball or soccer or kickball.

Sheana: For those interested in music and the arts, Sonoma State is building the Green Music Center, which includes a world-class concert hall with designs to perfectly showcase acoustic music and the human voice.

At Sonoma you can tell when you walk on the campus it's the student life and how everybody treats each other and, you know, talking to the different professors you can just get a feel for the campus and just really enjoy it that way.

Sheana: If you're looking for a university that has the reputation of being a public [inaudible] and you like the feel of a smaller community on campus, SSU might be the place for you. Thanks everybody for joining us here at Sonoma State University. [People Shouting and Cheering ]

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