I recently visited Eastern Connecticut State University in Windham, Connecticut, where I toured campus and spoke with the admissions office about the latest trends in admissions. Here are some takeaways from my visit:

· Eastern Connecticut State University belongs to a rare breed of institutions: public liberal arts colleges. With 3,300 undergraduates and almost no graduate students, ECSU is also slightly larger than the typical liberal arts college, joining a small class of schools like Wesleyan and Colgate. Robust investment in undergraduate education and a sleek residential campus help define the undergraduate experience.

· The average class size is 21, with a cap of 40 and many courses closer to 10-15 students. Courses are discussion based and focus on active learning rather than lecturing. There are ample undergraduate research opportunities and extensive faculty mentoring.

· The curriculum emphasizes the liberal arts, writing, collaborative projects and service-/community-based learning. The largest majors are psychology and business. All psychology students complete an individual research project while receiving structured, one-on-one support from departmental faculty, with many students presenting their research at the New England Psychological Association. Students can also take advantage of an annual global field course.

· Some majors require internships, and both the career center and faculty help students secure them. Career education is also built into the curriculum.

· 85% of freshmen live on campus, and only 35% of students commute. Each residence hall is equipped with a gym. Given the quiet, small-town location (cows abound), students take part in the many campus activities run by student organizations, cheer on ECSU teams at D3 athletic events and take advantage of local movie theaters and parks. There is no Greek life.

· Out-of-state students enjoy nearly identical tuition to in-state students, and students admitted to the honors program receive a scholarship for full tuition and fees, along with access to an honors living learning community, colloquia and directed research courses.

I recently visited Washington University in St. Louis in Missouri, where I toured campus and spoke with the admissions office about the latest trends in admissions. Here are some takeaways from my visit:

· Washington University in St. Louis, or “WashU” for short, is one of the nation’s leading universities. A mid-sized, private institution with roughly 8,000 undergraduate and 8,000 graduate students, WashU combines high-level academics with a collaborative, supportive community characterized by Midwestern kindness, plush amenities and an urban backdrop.

· Although well known for its strengths in premed, biomedical engineering and computer science, WashU offers a range of programs in the arts & sciences, engineering and design and visual art. A special interdisciplinary program, Beyond Boundaries, allows a small cohort of students to explore a specific intellectual interest through a variety of disciplines.

· The average class size is 24, and only 3-5% of classes have 150+ students (typically intro courses in psychology, chemistry and other popular majors).

· Premeds benefit from the extensive opportunities available at St. Louis’s many medical schools and hospitals, including WashU’s renowned med school and Barnes Jewish Hospital. Research in all subjects is available to students starting freshman year. A new public heath major and minor are in the works.

· Although students are admitted to one division, many students double major, which can be done across divisions.

· All first-year business students participate in a small, cohort-based introductory business course in which they are assigned a real consulting case for a major company. The business school is globally focused (60% of students study abroad), and its new Bauer Leaders Academy will help students hone their leadership skills. Students can minor in the business of the arts or sports, as well as gain hands-on experience working at the multiple student-run businesses on campus.

· Co-ops are available for engineering students. Boeing, with its local footprint in the St. Louis area, is a popular destination.

· WashU is located in an upscale, suburban neighborhood replete with a movie theater, bars, restaurants and thrift shops. Students can also use either of the two metro stops on campus to head into downtown.

· 15% of students participate in Greek life. There are a range of student clubs and performing arts groups, and many students volunteer in St. Louis. There is robust school spirit, and the D3 football games are well attended.

· WashU students enjoy some of the best housing, food and amenities of any college in the US. Freshman live in South 40, a residential portion of campus that looks like an upscale ski resort and features large, modern dorms and multiple singles. On-campus dining options include a restaurant and pub, and, unsurprisingly for anyone who visits, the Princeton Review has rated the school #1 in the country for food and #3 for dorms.

I recently visited Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, Missouri, where I toured campus and spoke with the admissions office about the latest trends in admissions. Here are some takeaways from my visit:

· Saint Louis University, also known as SLU (“slew”), is a private, mid-sized Jesuit university with 8,437 undergraduates and around 5,000 graduate students. It was founded in 1818, making it the first university west of the Mississippi.

· Despite its urban location, SLU features a self-contained campus centered around a walking path that runs the length of campus (somewhat similar to the University of Pennsylvania), with the bustling downtown right outside its gates. Many of Saint Louis’s attractions are within walking distance, including Forest Park, the largest urban park in the United States (it offers free admission to its zoo, ice rink, science center and museum). Students are required to live on campus their first two years.

· Unsurprisingly for a Jesuit university, Saint Louis University has a strong ethos of service, social justice and advocacy. Minors offered include urban poverty and Ignatian service, and immigration, criminal justice reform and environmentalism are all popular causes among students.

· While SLU is Catholic, half of its students are not, and there are student organizations for Muslim, Hindu and Jewish students (the latter share a Hillel with Wash U). The university has a number of initiatives to support students who are part of the LGBTQ community, as well as gender inclusive housing. The university core includes a required course in philosophy and theology, but students can choose to study any religion for the theology requirement.

· The average class size is 26, and there are ample research opportunities for undergrads. Applied, experiential learning is popular, and there is strong emphasis on collaboration and community.

· Healthcare is a notable strength at SLU, which offers programs in public health, pharmacy, physician assistantships, nutrition and dietetics, speech, language and hearing sciences, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Premeds benefit from SLU’s medical campus a few miles away, as well as the many medical institutions and hospitals in Saint Louis. All SLU undergrads who meet the medical school’s average GPA and MCAT benchmarks are guaranteed an interview.

· SLU also has a campus in Madrid, where students in a variety of SLU programs can elect to spend their first year.

· SLU has Division I athletics, with soccer and basketball being the most popular sports. Professional sports fans can also enjoy Blues and Cardinals games in downtown Saint Louis.

· 20% of students participate in Greek life, which is very focused on service. There are no traditional Greek houses (although sophomores can live in a Greek dorm where different chapters each get their own floor), and there is extensive mixing between Greek and non-Greek students.

· Almost 1,000 employers visit campus annually. Students have gone on to work at Boeing, NASA, the Red Cross, GE, Edward Jones and Deloitte.

I recently visited The University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, where I toured campus and spoke with the admissions office about the latest trends in admissions. Here are some takeaways from my visit:

· Located in the middle of Missouri, halfway between Kansas City and St. Louis, The University of Missouri (“Mizzou” for short) is Missouri’s flagship public university. With over 20,000 undergraduates and a local Columbia population of nearly 130,000, Mizzou is a bustling, dynamic campus with a range of attractive programs.

· Mizzou is one of only 35 public universities elected to membership in the prestigious AAU for the quality of its research activity.

· Journalism is Mizzou’s greatest claim to fame: theirs was the first journalism school in the world, founded in 1908. They are the only college to own and operate a commercial TV station (NBC), providing students extensive opportunities for hands-on production experience. Mizzou students also operate a professional daily newspaper serving all of central Missouri, as well as their local NPR station (student stories are sometimes picked up for national distribution), in addition to a weekly magazine and two advertising agencies.

· Pre-med and pre-vet students benefit from the presence of Missouri’s medical and vet schools right on campus, including two on-campus university hospitals.

· As part of the “Missouri Method,” every degree program incorporates hands-on, experiential learning early on.

· The campus and adjacent downtown Columbia area are highly walkable, and there are a range of interesting restaurants, shops and bars downtown that students frequent. Housing is required for freshman, after which point many students move into off-campus housing near campus. Although not the frigid north, there can still be some snow and ice in the winter.

· Mizzou is a member of the SEC, and sports are popular. Greek life is available for students who want it (around 30% participate), but less of a presence than at some other SEC universities. There are over 600 student clubs and organizations.

· The only SEC school with an LGBTQ center, Mizzou celebrates Pride in April (rather than June) while students are still on campus. There are also a range of other cultural student centers, including a women’s center, black cultural center and multicultural center, as well as a relationship and sexual violence prevention center.

· Missouri, along with Utah, is unique in the relative ease with which out-of-state students can acquire in-state residency for tuition purposes. 24% of out-of-state students acquire in-state residency, which can be done after residing in the state for 12 months and meeting some additional requirements.

· The campus gym was voted as the best in the US by Sports Illustrated, and includes a sauna, steam room, rock wall modeled after real Missouri limestone, hot tubs and a “Tiger Grotto” (worth Googling).

I recently visited Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, where I toured campus and spoke with the admissions office about the latest trends in admissions. Here are some takeaways from my visit:

· Located in a small town (population 25,000) nestled halfway between St. Louis and Nashville and connected to Chicago via Amtrak, Southern Illinois University is an undergraduate-focused university of around 11,000 undergrads and only 2,000 graduate students. Given the undergraduate focus, students can get involved in research as early as freshman year.

· SIU is known for its strengths in the arts, including music, theater, dance, architecture, interior design and fashion studies, and it counts famed actor-comedian Bob Odenkirk among its alumni.

· Aviation is another standout program that draws students to SIU. A bus takes students 6.8 miles from campus to the neighboring airport, where students earn flight hours after flying in a simulator their first year. Students can join the Flying Salukis flight club, and Delta and United are university partners.

· The campus fuses strikingly modernist architecture with profuse natural beauty: it hosts a large lake, as well as literal woods students can walk through on their way to class. Outdoor enthusiasts will also appreciate SIU’s location next to Shawnee National Forest.

· The maximum class size is around 250 students. The university offers a range of academic supports for students, from free peer tutoring to the paid Achieve Program that offers additional support for students with learning differences.

· SIU is a Div I school, and football and basketball are popular. Students have access to an Olympic size swimming pool, rock climbing walls, and a four-flour student center that includes a radio station, farmers market, bowling, billiards, dining and an esports arena.

· Freshman are not allowed to bring cars to campus freshman year, but the campus is very walkable and bike friendly.