War Eagle! This was the consistent greeting shared by friends as they encountered each other across campus.   We arrived on campus for day one of Camp War Eagle-the freshman orientation camp.   This was great luck as we were able to get a feel for the type of student joining the Auburn community in the fall.   New freshmen, their parents and camp counselors were everywhere in their blue and orange Auburn spirit wear.

The town of Auburn is home to 50,000 residents, over half of which are college students.   Everything in town revolves around campus life.   The main street of downtown consists of restaurants, t-shirt shops, bars, coffee shops, barber shops and clothing stores.   Everywhere you see “Aubie” the tiger, orange paw prints, large AU logos and orange and blue.   The school spirit is electric.   The football stadium is visible from all over town.

Auburn is known for its’ Science, Technology, Agriculture and Engineering.   The Business school and College of Education are also highly ranked.   Auburn boasts 6 astronauts as alumni.   Timothy Cook the current CEO of Apple, Actress Octavia Spencer and Jimmy Wales founder of Wikipedia are notable alumni.   Auburn is a public university, of the state of Alabama and the tuition is reasonable, even for out of state students.   Merit scholarships are clear and based on GPA and test scores.   Students can apply as early as October 1 and receive an admission decision based solely on grades and test scores, by mid October.   Students applying later will be required to write 4 short answer essays.

Several housing options exist; from Honors housing “on the quad” (right in the middle of campus) to newer suites style housing in “the village”.   All areas of campus and off campus housing are served by the Tiger Transit bus system.   Freshmen are not guaranteed housing, so early deposits are recommended.

The Southern hospitality, school spirit, and strong alumni connections were evident at Auburn.   Princeton Review rates Auburn #4 for “best quality of life”.