by Brett E. Kennedy, Managing Director
I visited Auburn University on September 10, 2018 for an official information session conducted by the Office of Admissions. As I drove in it became clear that Auburn University and the small city of Auburn are in effect one in the same and have real charm. Auburn University is a large school with 23,964 undergraduate students on an 1875 acre campus. Despite the size of the student body, there was a comfortable, compact feel to the place.
Auburn was named by Forbes as the top university in Alabama. Princeton Review ranked Auburn among the Top 20 in the nation for quality of student life and Number 4 in the nation for colleges with the happiest students.
Auburn has over 140 majors in 12 colleges. You do have to pick a major to apply for admission but if you are undecided then you can apply as “Exploratory.” Among the colleges, the admissions representative pointed particularly to the College of Business and College of Engineering as points of pride. Both schools are ranked in the Top 30 in the nation and Top in Alabama.
In terms of pre-professional outcomes, Auburn was very proud that the acceptance rate to medical school by Auburn graduates is 30 percent above the national average. The acceptance rate for dental school and optometry school was 100 percent.
Auburn does have an agricultural and mechanical – “A and M”- origin but this does not always best explain the Auburn of 2018. For example, Auburn has one of the strongest Fashion Merchandising majors in America.
Auburn also offers more than 45 learning communities for students based on academic interest or major. These communities can make the big student body size smaller in the student experience.
Auburn offers more than 60 faculty led study abroad options ranging from two weeks to a semester. They even have study abroad options for new, incoming students (and that is a bit different). One that struck my interest was the chance to complete core curriculum courses in Rome, Italy.
Auburn has an Honors College for stronger students academically. If you have a 29 ACT or a 1330 SAT with a 3.85 GPA then you are invited to apply to the Honors College. Importantly, the deadline to make application to the Honors College for Fall 2019 in January 4, 2019. The Honors College offers a flexible academic design, Honors College students have the chance to live in Honors housing and have an Honors distinction indicated on their diplomas. However, students only take two Honors courses per term. You can apply to the Honors College when you are at Auburn if you have at least a 3.4 Auburn GPA.
For Fall 2017, Auburn has 29,776 students total, considering both graduate students and undergraduate students. Of these, 23,964 were undergraduate students. The new, incoming class had 4836 students. Interestingly, the gender breakdown was 50% Female and 50% Male.
Echoing my comments earlier about Auburn, Alabama being a small town, the city of Auburn has 60,000 residents and of course, we are not talking about Auburn students. On a day that Auburn football game is played, that is whole other thing in terms of fans being in Auburn. 60% of the student body is from Alabama and 40% is from out of state.
A question that is fair to ask at any campus with a large student body is about class size. The student to faculty ratio is 19:1. 80 percent of the classes have 40 or fewer students.
To make application, a student needs to submit the Auburn Application (that requires four short answer responses), an official high school transcript (and they look at your weighted GPA with everything counting), and your ACT or SAT scores sent by the testing agency. The writing section is not required on either the ACT or the SAT. Auburn does not superscore testing results. The application fee is $50 and importantly, you cannot apply to Auburn on the Common Application.
In terms of who attends Auburn when considered in terms of the GPA and test scores…
GPA Middle 50% 3.4-3.9
Average 3.86
ACT Middle 50% 24-30
Average 27.3
The Office of Admissions recommends that you complete your application with all needed materials by November 1 ideally. The application for admissions opened on August 15.
The process to apply for merit scholarships is simple with the Auburn University Scholarship Opportunity Manager or AUSOM app (pronounced AWESOME) becoming available on December 1. This application simply requires 2 short answers.
Auburn typically accepts, declines or defers candidates. A deferral at Auburn means a maybe. Auburn is not ready to say no but not ready to say yes. Last year, they saw a tremendous uptick is applications for admission so this can impact your chances of admission. Applying early is always a good idea. Of course, if you get in then you have until the National Candidate Reply Date of May 1 to make up your mind and commit.
What does Auburn University cost?
Alabama Resident
Tuition and fees $11,276 per year
Non-Resident
Tuition and fees $30,524 per year
In terms of aid, 60% of freshmen are awarded scholarships. 60% of student receive financial aid. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is not required but recommended if you want financial aid based on your family financial circumstances.
On housing, Auburn is essentially a campus where students live near the University. Auburn University has 5000 beds in residence halls. Auburn’s residence halls have no communal baths. The most popular residence halls are the Quad and the Village.
I was very impressed by the family atmosphere of Auburn and it truly seemed a warm and inviting campus. I will admit that I surprised that there was more to Auburn that simple a first class veterinary school and an SEC football team. There are some interesting things happening at Auburn University.