Welcome to Western Oregon
University.

I'm Ferrari St. Paul
for YOUniversity TV,

and it's pop quiz time.

What came first,
the school or the state?

The school.

WOU is actually one year older
than the state of Oregon.

How cool is that?

Let's go tour this
historic campus.

Western Oregon University is
located in Monmouth, Oregon,

one hour from the beach,
the mountains, and Portland.

The state capital is only a 20
minute drive from campus.

Monmouth is--it's an interesting
location because we're looking

at a very small community.

So in terms of what's
available to the students,

certainly our town has
coffee shops and a lot

of what you think of
the student-run businesses,

a movie theater,
so on and so forth.

But once you get away
from Monmouth,

you're within an hour
of the beach.

You're within an hour of skiing
in the local communities.

You're within minutes of being
able to go out and hike

in the surrounding area.

Western Oregon enrolls
about 5,300 students.

Ninety percent are
undergraduates,

55% are women, 45% are men,
and 20% of freshmen

are students of color.

In addition, 52% of students
are the first member

of their family to
attend college.

Intentionally kept our admission
standards realistic.

We're not trying to be the elite
Ivy League school of the West.

Generally admit about 80%
of the students who apply

for admissions here.

WOU incoming freshmen are
recommended to have a minimum

GPA of 2.75, a combined score
of at least 1000 on the Math

and Critical Reading sections
of the SAT reasoning exam,

or a composite score
of 21 on the ACT.

College is more than simply
being smart in the books.

We're looking for those students
who are motivated to be

inquisitive, motivated to be
good community members,

motivated to be colleagues
to their classmates.

The total cost for resident
undergraduates is about $18,000.

This includes tuition and fees,
room and board, and books

and personal expenses.

Students from a western
undergraduate exchange state

pay an additional $3,000
above the resident rate,

and non-residents pay
an additional $12,000

for tuition and fees.

WOU is committed to keeping
college affordable.

It's the only public university
in the West where you don't

have to worry about shelling out
extra cash each year.

The Western tuition promise
guarantees that your education

costs will stay the same
all four years.

Western Oregon offers
over 40 different degrees,

including a BFA in Music.

Some student favorites are
Business, Psychology,

Education, and Biology.

Students can go through a human
cadaver dissection course

or in the lower
division courses,

actually work with
human cadavers.

We also go through the standard
process of dissecting your cat,

your shark, your nectarous,
all the fun critters.

WOU is one of the few schools
in the nation to offer

American sign language
degree programs.

You can earn a degree
in ASL interpretation

or ASL as a second language.

Over 98% of WOU faculty have
their PhD or terminal degrees,

and 75% are full-time
and tenure track positions.

The student to faculty ratio is
18:1, with the largest classroom

seating 95 students.

I like having the one on one
personal relationship

with my professors and having
them know me really well.

And I have one professor who
knows all my test scores,

knows exactly where I falter
on tests and has sat down

and taught me how
to take tests better,

and so I actually have
excelled in his class.

The Western Oregon Wolves
compete in the NCAA's Great

Northwest athletic conference
at the Division II level

and are winners of the Great
Northwest athletic conference

team championship awards.

We actually went to
a bowl game last year,

we went to Las Vegas,
and then we had a game

at St. George, Utah.

And that was a real good
experience with the--

with the boys.

All residence halls at WOU are
built as small communities

with between 16 and 30
residents.

These special themed halls
include the International House,

Service Learning and Civic
Engagement, and Wellness.

We're in Bramblewood.

That's like three bedrooms
on one side,

three roommates
on the other side.

And we share bathrooms and stuff
like that, so that was cool.

We had all six of us
from Hawaii.

I have stayed in probably five
to six other residence halls

on other campuses, and by far,
Western has the most space,

the cleanest facilities.

I mean, if you have a single
room, they come and clean

your bathroom once a week
without you having to do it.

We actually have
weekend programs.

There's a week where we have
the Price is Right.

Great prizes, we had like 360,
the Wii and whatnot.

Calling all Muggles.

WOU has a club for you.

The Harry Potter Literature club
is just one of more

than a hundred clubs
and organizations on campus.

This invisible ink.

Ah bareceum.

That's better.

Over 20% of students engage
in community service

or service learning each year.

And students who generously
volunteer over 300 hours

annually are rewarded
with scholarships.

Here at WOU you feel secure.

The campus safety office is
staffed 24 hours a day

and safety escorts are available
at night to walk leery students

to and from class.

I have students who are
in the athletic department,

and normally,
at some universities,

that is all you can do.

That is your entire social
and professional life.

Whereas here, professors are
really understanding about

students who are involved
in a play and a social club

and going on trips.

So I think that if you
are somebody who

really likes to be involved
in multiple things,

this is a great place for you.

So if you're looking for a small
or midsized, highly diverse

university committed
to the community,

then look no further than
Western Oregon University.

Well, that's all we've got for
you today in Monmouth, Oregon.

I hope we helped you narrow
down your college search

with our tour of WOU.

I'm Ferrari St. Paul
with YOUniversity TV,

where we put "you"
in "university."

See you around.