As a senior I plan on traveling to multiple college campuses to get a feel for what kind of atmosphere I can picture myself living in for the next four years of my life. Like most seniors applying for college, I have a checklist of certain things I want in a school. Over the weekend I went to Fayetteville to see the University of Arkansas campus, and to be completely honest a lot of the things on my checklist were checked off.

I want to live in a big college town. Not big as in a big population of people, but big as in there is an endless amount of support from residents and many die-hard fans. I went to a football game while I was in Fayetteville and the stadium was a giant sea of red, not to mention the game was completely sold-out. The amount of cars decked out in Razorback accessories I saw on the drive to the campus was unbelievable. Also, the parking lots had more tailgating tents than they did cars. Fayetteville definitely met my expectations of a big college town.

Another thing I want in a college is a campus where everything is within walking distance. Arkansas’ campus doesn’t require any driving. All the housing developments I saw were in prime locations that allow students to walk to their classes in under 10 minutes. Places to eat are everywhere so no matter where you are on campus there is always a place to get a snack somewhere nearby. Another thing is checked off my list.

For me, specifically, I want to go to a college with a good journalism program because that’s what I intend to study. I got the chance to meet with the head of the journalism department at Arkansas and tour the building where the journalism classes are held, Kimpel Hall. The journalism program at Arkansas is an accredited program that allows students to get involved on the very first day of class, as well as explore all aspects of journalism. This means that instead of two years of pre-requisites and then two years of actually being in the journalism school, students get a full four years of journalism experience. To me, it can’t get much better than that.

My whole experience at the University of Arkansas was pretty great and I can’t wait to go back for another visit. Throughout the year I plan on visiting other colleges like University of Oregon, San Francisco State and Stony Brooke to see if those campuses meet my criteria, too. I highly recommend visiting the University of Arkansas to anyone who is thinking of applying there. I really enjoyed my time there and maybe I’ll even enjoy the next four years there. WOO PIG SOOIE!