ENROLLMENT
Undergraduates:
Full-time:
1,140 men/1,349 women
Part-time:
75 men/190 women
Graduate:
304 men/414 women

FRESHMAN ADMISSION
PROFILE
Number who applied:
2,705
Number accepted:
2,335
Number enrolled:
817
Freshmen retention rate:
87%

2006-2007 COSTS
Tuition:
$19,760
Room and board:
$5,930
Fees, books, misc.:
$1,500 approx.

FINANCIAL AID
Freshmen receiving aid:
80%
Average financial aid package:
$12,000

FACULTY
Full-time:
225
Part-time:
25
Ph.D.:
70%
Student/faculty ratio:
14:1

IN ADDITION
Valparaiso's 250 faculty members share a common interest-teaching undergraduates in ways that encourage students and faculty to get to know one another. Nearly all are full-time, and a considerable number serve as advisers to the various academic and social organizations on campus. There are no graduate assistants at VU. More than 70 percent of the professors have terminal degrees, and this figure approaches 100 percent in some departments. Each department has a full advising system to help students in course and program selection.

Merit-based scholarships:
Currently, Valparaiso University offers up to full tuition merit scholarships. For full tuition scholarship consideration, all admission application materials must be received by Valparaiso University prior to January 15 of the senior year in high school. Candidates will be notified in January of their ability to compete for this award. To be considered for other scholarships and university awards (Martin Luther Award for children of full-time rostered Lutheran church workers, Diversity Award, Alumni Heritage Award, etc.), high school students must apply for admission to Valparaiso University by May 1 of their senior year. Scholarship notification begins in December.

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Spring Chapel of Valparaiso University.

College Description
Valparaiso University was founded in 1859 by citizens of Valparaiso, Indiana, but its recent history dates from 1925, when it was purchased by the Lutheran University Association. VU is one of the nation's largest Lutheran-affiliated universities, yet it remains independent and is open to individuals of all faiths. The University's 3,500 students represent most states and more than fifty countries; 70 percent come from outside of Indiana. The University is located in Valparaiso, a community of 25,000 in northwest Indiana. Certain campus organizations and activities include citizens of the community, and the Town/Gown Committee meets regularly to further the established relationship. Valparaiso is located only 15 miles south of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan, which, in addition to being a famous recreational area, is perhaps the finest ecological laboratory in the nation. Chicago, with its many theaters, museums, restaurants, and cultural and sports events, is less than an hour away.

Academic Life
Major divisions at VU are the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Engineering, and Nursing; Christ College (the honors college); the School of Law; and the Graduate Division. Valparaiso University has a long tradition of combining professional colleges and vocational programs with a strong commitment to the values and broadening experiences of the liberal arts. The University helps students of varied interests and objectives to clarify their goals and explore new possibilities. Programs are structured to provide a solid base for exploration in various fields, while offering students the freedom to develop depth in a specific interest. This philosophy is extended through the upper division, where students have three options in completing a degree: an individual plan of study involving the major and complementary courses from related fields of study, the election of a second academic major in addition to the first, or a special minor in connection with the major. Career planning is aided through the professional programs, the Career Track program of the VU Counseling Center, and the University's Career Center. Many students also gain professional work experience in their chosen field before graduation by participating in the cooperative education program. The University participates in the Advanced Placement Program, the College-Level Examination Program, and the International Baccalaureate Program. In addition, Valparaiso provides its own placement testing in several academic areas. All departments of the University offer opportunities for honors work through independent study, seminars, and research. Christ College, the honors college of Valparaiso, has a well-established but continuously evolving program designed to challenge gifted students. Valparaiso University sponsors Study Abroad Programs in Reutlingen and Tuebingen, Germany; Puebla, Mexico; Paris, France; Hangzhou, China; and London and Cambridge, England. Valparaiso also sponsors semester-long study opportunities at two universities in Japan, one in Namibia, and another in Greece. VU students may also study at other overseas locations through Valparaiso's membership in the Central States College Association. In addition, VU grants credit for the following cooperative programs: Urban Studies Semester (Chicago), Urban Affairs Semester and Washington Semester (Washington, D.C.), and United Nations Semester (New York City).

Campus Life
Valparaiso University is a residential community in which activities outside the classroom form an important part of campus life; more than 85 percent of its students live on campus. Approximately 150 extracurricular and cocurricular programs include the campus radio station, Pre-Medical Society, International Student Association, and various NCAA Division I intercollegiate and intramural sports teams for men and women. Approximately 40 percent of the students are members of the nine national fraternities and eight local sororities at the University. Both in and out of the classroom, students and professors operate under a student-initiated honor code in which integrity is assumed to be the norm. When violations do occur, they are handled by peers through a student-composed Honor Council. Because of these structures and the philosophy of the University, relationships among students, faculty, and administration can be unusually free and open. Valparaiso operates on the semester system; the fall semester begins in late August and ends before Christmas, and the spring semester starts in early January and ends during the second week in May. VU also has two summer terms that further extend opportunities for study on campus or at various off-campus locations. Students and faculty members alike are involved in the internal governance of the institution. House Councils in each of the residence halls are composed of representatives elected by the residents. Each council makes decisions and sets standards with rules established by the University. Students in the living units and off-campus students elect representatives to the Student Senate (composed entirely of students) and the University Senate (made up of an equal number of representatives from the student body, faculty, and administration). The functions of these two separate bodies cover most phases of student life.

Facilities and Resources
The Henry F. Moellering Memorial Library contains more than 408,000 volumes and 220,000 microforms and receives more than 2,558 periodicals. This library and the library of the School of Law operate with open stacks and are available to undergraduate and graduate students. Galileo, VU's online catalog, provides direct access to the collections. The University is also an Army Map Service depository for a special collection of 70,000 maps. The Neils Science Center houses an astronomical observatory, a greenhouse, a subcritical nuclear reactor, and other facilities that have earned the University a citation from the Atomic Energy Commission for having a model undergraduate physics laboratory.

Athletics/Sports
Valparaiso fields eight NCAA Division I intercollegiate teams for men (including baseball, basketball, cross-country, football (Division I-AA), soccer, swimming, tennis, and track) and eight for women (including basketball, cross-country, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, and volleyball). The intramural program offers a wide variety of team and individual sports.

Financial Aid
Eighty percent of Valparaiso's students receive financial aid totaling more than $26 million. The University attempts to make up the difference between the cost of attending Valparaiso and the amount a family can afford, as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). VU aid is available in the forms of scholarships, grants, loans, and campus employment, and often the aid is a package of these awards. Students are also encouraged to apply for the federal government's Federal Pell Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, state scholarships where applicable, and the various private grants and scholarships that are available. Early application is recommended for VU assistance, since the awarding of aid begins in February of the year of enrollment.

Admission Requirements
Valparaiso admits candidates who exhibit the potential for academic success at the University. Less than 2 percent of the freshmen leave because of academic difficulty, reflecting in part the high quality of the admission program. Qualified students are admitted without regard to race, color, gender, disability, national origin, or ancestry. The credentials of each applicant are individually and personally evaluated, and consideration is given not only to ACT or SAT I scores, grade point average, and rank in class, but also to grades and trends in the student's record, the nature of the high school and the program followed, outside interests, and recommendations. A campus visit and an interview with an admissions counselor are recommended but not required. Students who have taken the ACT or SAT I in their junior year and have submitted their high school transcripts, complete through the eleventh grade, may be admitted under the rolling admission program, which begins in November.

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