A Guide to the Campus of Western Kentucky University

--For high school juniors and seniors, school is finally out for the summer but they still will have some work to do during their summer vacation. This is one of the best times for high school students to consider what college to choose for their future or it gives high school seniors a chance to get familiar with the campus that will be surrounding them for the next four years of their life. So, I am here to describe the campus of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky to all the incoming freshmen of 2007 and any other high school underclassmen that could be interested in this particular school.
Western Kentucky is located in south central Kentucky about an hour north of Nashville, Tennessee. Bowling Green is one of the fastest growing cities in Kentucky with a population of just over 50,000. Western Kentucky University enrolls over 17,000 students a year and is breaking freshmen enrollment records nearly every year.

As with every college campus, their are both positives and negatives that go along with the WKU campus. One of the biggest complaints heard year round by WKU students is the trek to classes each day up and down the steep hills on campus. Their is nothing worse than waking up at 7:30 am and walking a quarter of a mile up a hill to class everyday. However, it may help reduce that "freshmen 15" in half for a lot of incoming freshmen. A lot of freshmen undestimate how tiring the hill can be and will not factor that into their scheduling of classes, and I am here to tell you that that is a huge mistake(I know too well from experience). If you have to make more than one trip up the hill everyday for an entire semester you will either: a.) have strong enough legs to run a marathon or b.) have 20 absences because your too exhausted to make the hike everyday. So try and limit yourself to one trip up the hill per day if you can. Fortunately, their is an alternative to walking the hill everyday and that is the university-provided shuttles that circle campus every 20 minutes. If you don't mind waiting for a shuttle everyday, you can avoid the strenuous walk up to class.

Also make sure you know where your classes are located before you schedule back-to-back classes. You don't want to race a half mile from Thompson Complex to Tate Page Hall in 15 minutes every other day. So make sure you know where on campus your classes will be located.
At this point, you may be wondering what else there is to do on campus besides classes on a daily basis. Of course, there is Preston Activities Center if you are interested in staying physically active throughout the semester. There are six basketball and racquetball courts, a vollyeball area, a track, and also there is a weight room with every possible piece of excersise equipment you can think of. There is also an Olympic-sized swimming pool located in Preston Center. Fortunately, Preston Center is located close to the center of campus so most dorms are very close by.

Just across the street from the Preston Center is the three major athletic complexes that are the homes to the Hilltopper baseball, football, and basketball teams. All three complexes have either recently been renovated or are in the process of being renovated. The WKU football team has just started the transistion to Division I football and the Hilltopper basketball team is one of the most exciting and successful teams at WKU.

There are also many different social, academic and religous organizations for students to get involved with throughout the semester. Students can best get information about these different organizations during MASTER PLAN (the week before school starts). There is a new "Greek Row" being constructed, in which every fraternity and sorority is having a brand new house built, all of which will be in the same general area. WKU also offers many different religous organizations that represent many different denominations such as: the Wesley Foundation(Methodist Ministry), BCM (Baptist Ministry), Hilltoppers for Christ (Church of Christ), and the Catholic Newman Center.

Throughout the semester, the campus activity board (CAB) brings in interesting and entertaining acts to Westernfrom live bands to comedians to some sort of famous guest speaker (last year Maya Angelou).

And of course their are always things going on in or around the Bowling Green area. With Nashville only an hour away the possibilities are endless. One of the best things about the city of Bowling Green is the seemingly infinite amount of places there are to eat. Besides Subway, Taco Bell and Chick-Fil-A that are on campus, there are literally over a hundred choices to pick from ( Rafferty's, Red Lobster, Logan's just to name a few).
So my best advice to you is to not overload your class schedule your first semester so that you can see everything that WKU and the city of Bowling Green has to offer.