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.