Auburn University is a public institution that was founded in 1856. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 20,175, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 1,875 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Auburn University's ranking in the 2014 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 91. Its in-state tuition and fees are $9,852 (2013-14); out-of-state tuition and fees are $26,364 (2013-14).
Auburn, Ala., has been ranked one of the best places to live, and life at Auburn University can be similarly enjoyable for students. Football is a particularly big attraction in the fall, as fans support the Auburn Tigers with the help of school mascot Aubie the Tiger. The Tiger sports teams compete in the NCAA Division I Southeastern Conference, and the influx of football fans makes Auburn the fifth-largest city in the state on game days. Pep rallies are held in the downtown Toomer’s Corner, and the area is covered in toilet paper by fans after every big victory. There are more than 300 organizations on campus, and about 6,000 students are involved in the school’s Greek system. Auburn freshmen ease into the college transition through Camp War Eagle, a three-day, overnight summer orientation program. Transition help continues on Hey Day, an annual effort to get students to wear name tags and say hello to one another. Freshmen do not have to live on campus; in fact, a dorm room isn’t even guaranteed. Because of space restraints, first-year students are awarded on-campus living assignments on a first-come, first-served basis.
As a land, sea, and space grant institution, Auburn University receives federal funding for research projects that benefit the larger community. The school has an Urban Studio, where students can participate in community projects and a Rural Studio, aimed at finding housing solutions for residents of West Alabama. Research projects include storage facilities for nuclear waste. The university also offers unique programs, such as the only wireless engineering program in the country. Notable Auburn alumni include famed college football coach Vince Dooley and a handful of NASA astronauts—such as Kathryn Thornton, the second American woman to travel to space.