As soon as you enter the city of Ypsilanti, you know you have entered the home of the Eagles. Upon entering Eastern Michigan's campus, my first impressions were that it was a very clean and pleasant looking place: a place I could see myself one day calling home.

The campus is very close knit and no more than a 15 minute walk all the way around. Don't let age deceive you, Eastern Michigan is one of the oldest universities in the state of Michigan, but with recent renovations and the addition of new buildings, this school is very up to date. Safety also seemed very important and a huge priority here. Students and parents can sign up for alerts via text message for updates on anything that may be happening on campus. Safety poles with an emergency telephone are located on every possible corner and are always in view of each other. There is also a program called Student Eyes and Ears for University Safety (SEE US), which consists of escorts to walk you around campus at night if you are alone. You may call from your phone, a safety pole, or one may just approach you to assist you around campus at night to ensure your safety. Eastern Michigan has their very own police force too. The campus is also in close proximity to 2 hospitals.

Ypsilanti, Michigan is a small college town with many great opportunities around campus. There are over 300 restaurants and dining areas locally. The city is also only 10 minutes from Ann Arbor and 40 minutes from Detroit.

Unless you live nearby, all freshman students must reside on campus. Dorms are 2 person rooms with a shared bathroom connecting between 2 of the dorms. Dormitories are all co-ed buildings, but have single gender floors. In the dorms, you may bring a mini fridge and there is an Ethernet connection; however, the entire campus has free Wi-Fi. Also at Eastern, freshman are even allowed to have cars. If you don't have a car, it's okay because not only is everything in such a close proximity can you walk, but there is also a shuttle service.

Eastern Michigan is all about academics. Their slogan, Education First, not only shows that the school is focused on academics, but also originally was their slogan because they were at first, primarily, a teaching school. Statistics show that 1 in every 4 teachers in Michigan graduated from Eastern and 1 in every 16 teachers in the country graduated from here. Eastern Michigan is also a top ranked business school. Even if business is not what you are interested in, don't worry, over 33% of the students are pursuing fields in the college of arts and sciences. However, Eastern offers over 200 majors along with the opportunity to create your own major. Studying abroad is also an option offered as well. Studying abroad, you will pay the same amount for classes as you would if you were on campus. Eastern will even pay for your transportation there and back. Also, 88% of the classes at Eastern are no larger than thirty students and there is a student to teacher ratio of 19 to 1. Hearing from current students, teacher and student bonds are really good and not only greatly encouraged but also very common. Eastern Michigan also boasts of its excellency in job preparation. Teachers, administration, and the prestige from the school will help students and graduates with internships, and connections from teachers will help provide jobs and other opportunities.

One really great thing about Eastern Michigan is that you won't leave college heavily in debt. Not only is tuition low for Michigan residents, but Ohio residents pay instate tuition as well. Also, in 2009, Eastern Michigan had the lowest increase in tuition for all public schools in the state, and in 2010, was the only school in the country to not increase tuition prices. Despite the low cost of tuition, many scholarships are offered. Scholarships are offered based on ACT or SAT scores and high school GPA. There are also scholarships offered within the field you pursue and throughout the course of your four year education as well.

Student life at Eastern looks very active too. There are over 150 student activities and clubs at Eastern, as well as a Greek system. A nice thing about Eastern that not all colleges can say is that any student can do any activity. For example, a Pre-Med student can participate in a musical. It doesn't matter what your major is, as a student, you are free to join whatever you wish. They have also recently added a new Student Center and Recreation Center, filled with several weight rooms and work out rooms. EMU After Dark is an organization that hosts several events on campus as well. There is also an auditorium that shows new movies every Friday night, free to students. Another thing that is free to students are all sporting events. There are also free giveaways such as laptops, ipods, and even leases on cars. Eastern Michigan is a Division One school and has a top swim team. Recent sport facilities would include the Convocation Center, home to the Eagle's basketball court and also host of many concerts, and Rynearson Stadium, the Eagle's football field.

From just a simple campus visit and tour, Eastern Michigan puts out a terrific presentation. The school is very diverse in so many areas, especially academically, ethnically, and socially. I can already tell that by attending Eastern Michigan and by utilizing all it has to offer, one can go far and will be set to accomplish all of their goals and dreams. From seeing all this place has to offer, Eastern Michigan now has me cheering, “Go Eagles!”