Today we're on the beautiful campus of Northern Michigan University which is home of the Wildcat and. NMU is located in the Marquette, Michigan on the southern shore of Lake Superior. Marquette which has been named of one of America's most livable communities is a quaint town with a population of 20,000.

I think one of the unique things about Marquette is so many people have moved here, professionals in the healthcare industry, education, and small businesses from other places and they brought the best of what they've loved from those places, the coffee shops, the ethnic foods, the arts and cultural scenes. They're very active community and then you can go from campus 5 minutes and be on mountain biking trails, hiking, kayaking, canoeing, so all that really appeals to students, not to mention winter sports like skiing or snowboarding as well.

Northern Michigan enrolls about 9,400 students, 54 percent of which are women compared to 46 percent men. Incoming freshman need a GPA of 2.25 or better in college preparatory subjects and a minimum ACT composite score of 19 or a minimum combined SAT score of 900. Northern believes students should have a right to try college. We want every student to succeed and we put all the resources we can at their fingertips hoping that they'll take the next step and utilize it. We have intercurriculum tutorings so our seniors in the program are willing and able to tutor the freshmen and sophomores in class work and more.

Tuition for a Michigan resident is a great value at about 6,700 dollars per year including fees which provide every student with a notebook computer. Out-of-state students pay a little over 10,000 dollars per year and room and board costs run about an additional 7,200 dollars per school year. Eighty percent of students get financial aid averaging to 7,200 dollars each. NMU provides more than 180 undergraduate and 30 graduate programs giving students lots of opportunities to create their future, plus with an average class size of 28, average lab size of 18, and an average seminar size of just 9, students can really interact with their professors and get involved in learning.

I even did my internship on campus and because of that internship I am going to graduate with experience inside and outside the classroom. There are lot opportunities here in campus. You work hands on in your field not just through books so I think in that aspects NMU has definitely given a lot of kids the advantage.

Some of the most popular majors include nursing, art and design, elementary education and criminal justice. NMU has a unique leadership program. It's the only one in the US that packs leadership, community engagement, diversity awareness and real world experience into one life changing program. It's called the Superior Edge and it develops citizen leaders for the 21st century.

Being involved in these different programs has definitely helped my confidence level. I've noticed an increased in leadership abilities, capabilities and also just general communication. I'm able to work better with others and just communicate well.

NMU has talented caring faculty members and teaching is job one for them. Seventy percent of all entry level classes are taught by career faculty.

The faculty here are outstanding. Their emphasis is on teaching. The focus here is really on the student learner. We want to find out what works best for the students that we have and then we wanna push ourselves to see what else we could do.

Northern has one Wildcat athletic team competing at the NCAA division 1 level, mens hockey. Another 12 teams compete at the NCAA division 2 level. NMU also has a full program of club and intramural athletics. NMU even has the 8,000-seat Superior dome which is the largest wooden dome in the world hosting everything from sporting events to concerts.

The students are just really, really perking in all of the school spirit and it's really awesome. The hockey games are incredible. It is so cool to see all the students in the fan section with this popcorn shaker and just going nuts.

Check this out, each year students in NMU's 10 residence halls can take place in the How Grand is Your Pad Contest to see who has the coolest room. Almost a third of Northern students choose to call campus home and freshmen and sophomores are required to live on campus.

The dorms are awesome. I lived in them for 2 years and it was just an awesome experience. Everybody wants to do things together. You go on the courtyard, plays Frisbee, football, whatever and you really develop some of those good solid friendships that you really need to have to get through in college successfully.

Northern Michigan students can take part in 300 clubs and organizations on campus.

The one house on campus, in the residence hall, that does their polar plunge every December. They jump in the Lake Superior and that was pretty funny.

I bet you didn't know that NMU is designated as the only US Olympic education center. Elite athletes in boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, short track speed skating and weightlifting train for international and Olympic competitions while pursuing their educations at NMU.

The athletics department is amazing as are the arts and the theater department and the music department. And one of the things that brings us all together is that we are Wildcats and so to all the future Wildcats out there I say, [sound making] go Wildcats.

If you're looking for a superior college experience in a location with tons of natural beauty and excitement, be sure to check out Northern Michigan University today. Thanks for joining us here in Marquette, Michigan on our tour of Northern Michigan University. I'm Sheana Jeanne and I'll see you next time.