Campus Visit: Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA

We enjoyed our visit yesterday to Juniata College in the small town of Huntingdon, PA. Juniata is about 3.5 hours from Washington, DC and is located halfway between Altoona, PA and State College, PA. With about 1,600 undergraduates, Juniata offers a close-knit community at a liberal arts college known as one of the "Colleges that Change Lives" (www.ctcl.org). Here are some pictures from our visit and some interesting facts we learned after a campus tour and a meeting with our local admissions representative, Steven Simons.

• Juniata students don't have typical "majors" -- instead they design a POE, or "program of emphasis." Academic flexibility is a key feature of a Juniata education.
• Nearby Raystown Lake (the largest lake in Pennsylvania) offers tremendous opportunities for students pursuing environmental studies. Juniata owns a property on the lake where students can actually live for an entire semester - one of the few residential field programs in the country.
• 60% of Juniata students are from Pennsylvania. Other top states include Maryland, New Jersey, New York, California, Virginia and Massachusetts. Our tour guide's girlfriend was from Maine!
• Juniata is known for its pre-med program and boasts a 94% medical school admission rate over the past ten years. Pre-med students are assigned a Health Professions Committee advisor early on to help guide them through the process.
• Integrated Media Arts is just one of Juniata's interesting interdisciplinary programs, combining art, technology and communication. A brand new building is set to open shortly with state-of-the-art facilities.
• Volleyball is Juniata's biggest sport -- the Men's team has won six Div. III national championships.
• Juniata is testing optional and does not require any supplemental essays on the Common App. Every applicant is automatically considered for merit scholarships ranging from $16,000-$25,000 per year.Visits and interviews are encouraged!
• The downtown area has a movie theater, bowling alley, local alumni-owned coffee shop, and even a cupcake shop. For the best food in town, check out Boxer's Cafe!
  
• The college owns a 350-acre nature preserve, and also has its own vineyard on campus. You can even take classes on "wine culture."
• While there is no Greek system, there are over 100 student clubs, plenty of unique traditions and a strong emphasis on study abroad.

If you are looking for a small liberal arts experience and don't mind the rural location, consider adding Juniata to your list!