CAMPUS LIFE
Student Living Experience
The First-Year Experience helps students navigate their first year at WVU. Elements include residential colleges and Adventure West Virginia, an outdoor freshman orientation program. All WVU students benefit from a vibrant array of student life programs, including a Festival of Ideas lecture series, bringing the world’s top minds to campus to share their experiences and knowledge; WVUp All Night, a weekend package of safe, fun, and healthy activities; an award-winning Student Recreation Center; and the Mountaineer Parents Club, helping families stay connected with their students’ education and life at WVU. apply.wvu.edu/life
Freshman Class Profile
2013 average ACT of 23.6, SAT (math and critical reading) 1052, and high school GPA of 3.39.
Transportation
University buses operate free on a year-round basis as does the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system—a computer-directed system that glides along 8.7 miles of guideway between Downtown, Evansdale, and Health Sciences Center campuses. In addition, Morgantown’s Mountain Line bus service offers free rides to students and employees. WVU ID is required for all services. transportation.wvu.edu/services
Safety
WVU has one of the safest college campuses in America, with 24-hour police protection and 37 outdoor emergency phones. The WVU Alert system sends urgent news to participants’ cell phones, and digital InfoStations across campus show important announcements.
Student Organizations
Students can choose from more than 400 student organizations, and participate in an active intramural program and many club sports. sos.wvu.edu
Study Abroad
Last year, WVU students traveled to over 60 nations around the world in University-led study abroad programs and international exchanges. internationalprograms.wvu.edu/
Academic Innovation
Hundreds of distance education classes are available. elearn.wvu.edu/
Civic Engagement
The Center for Service and Learning develops and organizes service learning and volunteer opportunities for students and faculty and consults with academic units on incorporating civic engagement into the curriculum. WVU has earned the Carnegie Foundation’s Community Engagement Classification, putting WVU in the 6% of higher education institutions that Carnegie recognizes for engagement. service.wvu.edu/
Scholarships and Aid
Each year, WVU awards over $5 million in scholarships to over 2,500 students from West Virginia and around the nation. There are many different types of scholarships available based on academic record, financial need, group affiliation, or some combination of these factors. In 2012-13, over $395 million in financial aid was given out. The average financial package was $11,622. West Virginia residents may be eligible for the PROMISE scholarship in addition to WVU awards.
Honors College
The WVU Honors College encourages a style of learning and living at WVU that is tailored to the highly motivated, excelling student’s special requirements. Innovative, challenging courses, designed to stimulate creativity and to provoke in-depth discussion, are offered in small class settings. Students may participate as Presidential Honors Scholars or Dean’s Honors Scholars; both options provide enhanced experiences. /honors.wvu.edu/
University College:
The new University College is a home base for exploratory students, general studies students, nontraditional students, the First-year Experience, McNair Scholars, and undergraduate research opportunities. It focuses on academic and career advising, with the goal of guiding students to a major by sophomore year.
Internships
WVU offers hundreds of ways to gain valuable on-the-job experience and networking contacts. careerservices.wvu.edu/
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Parents Club
The Mountaineer Parents Club, with more than 22,000 members in clubs across the state and nation, fosters success by connecting parents and family members with the student experience. The organization sponsors events on and off-campus, has a newsletter, a toll-free helpline (1-800-WVU-0096), parent electronic news, and a Parent Perk program. Membership is free. parentsclub.wvu.edu
Athletics
A member of the NCAA, WVU competes in the Big 12 Conference at the Division I level in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports. Teams make regular post-season bowl appearances in football, including winning the 2012 Discover Orange Bowl and NCAA tournament appearances in men’s and women’s basketball, including a Final 4 appearance in men’s basketball in 2010; in 2014, women’s basketball was the Big 12 champion and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The WVU rifle team won its 16th national title in 2014 and was the first WVU athletic team to visit the White House on NCAA Champions Day. wvusports.com
Facilities
WVU’s mix of historic and modern facilities includes 430 buildings on 1,456 acres. Eleven main campus buildings are located on the National Register of Historic Places, and WVU operates eight experimental farms and four forests throughout the state, in addition to WVU Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp and Lifelong Learning Center near Weston. jacksonsmill.ext.wvu.edu/
Libraries
Five library facilities—Downtown Library Complex, Evansdale Library, Health Sciences Library, Law Library, and West Virginia and Regional History Center—contain over 2.1 million volumes, 246 electronic databases, and more than 48,000 journal subscriptions, with access to 36 million volumes through a book-sharing consortium. Library staff offer in-person and online assistance. libraries.wvu.edu
Admission and Application Timeline
Admission is based on a combination of high school GPA and ACT or SAT scores. Applications are processed beginning September 15 for admission the following fall. March 1 is the deadline for West Virginia residents to submit PROMISE Scholarship applications. WVU has a rolling admissions policy, and while there is no official application deadline, applicants who apply later in the year may be deferred to the spring semester. adm.wvu.edu
Visitors Center
Located on the Morgantown Waterfront, the Visitors Center features unique, cutting-edge displays and traditional West Virginia hospitality. Operating hours: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Saturday (closed Sundays and most University holidays). Guided tours with friendly knowledgeable student guides Monday-Friday at 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., except home football Saturdays. Phone: 304-293-3489. visit.wvu.edu
Alumni
Chartered in 1873, the WVU Alumni Association is made up of more than 190,000 graduates worldwide in some 60 nations. alumni.wvu.edu
Private Support
Chartered in 1954, the West Virginia University Foundation is a private nonprofit corporation that generates, administers, invests, and disburses contributed funds and properties given by individuals, corporations, and philanthropic foundations in support of WVU and its nonprofit affiliates. Alumni and friends of WVU contributed $99.5 million in cash, pledges, and in-kind gifts in the most recent fiscal year. www.wvuf.org
Extension
Throughout the year in West Virginia’s 55 counties, WVU Extension Service faculty and volunteers work with more than 536,000 West Virginians, many of whom participate in 4-H, agriculture, home gardening, health, firefighter training, and community development to improve lives and communities; 4-H alone reaches one in four West Virginia youths. ext.wvu.edu.
Divisional Campuses
Potomac State College of WVU – Keyser, WV; 800-262-7332; potomacstatecollege.edu/ West Virginia University Institute of Technology – Montgomery, WV; wvutech.edu Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center – Charleston, WV; hsc.wvu.edu/charleston Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center East – Martinsburg, WV; hsc.wvu.edu/eastern