Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM)</a>, you&rsquo;ve likely already figured that part out, and you&rsquo;re about to embark on one heck of a journey. College can be a drastic change but don&rsquo;t fear; we&rsquo;ve got everything you need to know from admissions to city life outlined in our AUM Survival guide below!</p> <figure><img src=https://plexuss.com/n/"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/asset.plexuss.com/news/images/auburn-university-montgomery-campus.jpg" alt="Auburn University Montgomery Campus" width="600" height="350" /> <figcaption>Credit: aum.edu</figcaption> </figure><br/> <h3>Admissions</strong></h3> <p>All the ambitions and aspirations in the world don&rsquo;t do you any good if you can&rsquo;t land your spot in the classroom in the first place. Luckily enough, the admissions process at AUM is <a href=https://plexuss.com/n/"http://www.aum.edu/admissions">pretty straightforward</a> and doesn&rsquo;t feature a lot of hassle. To make the cut you&rsquo;ll need a 2.3 GPA or higher while scoring either an 18 on the ACT or 940 on the SAT. Afterwards, make sure you get your application in by August 1<sup>st</sup> for the Fall Semester and you should be set. Other than that, the next deadline you&rsquo;ll want to keep in mind is March 1<sup>st</sup>, which will be when you&rsquo;ll want to have your financial aid application sent in and sorted.</p> <h3>Academics</h3> <p>The real fun starts after you&rsquo;ve got your spot locked in and you can start the process of choosing between the 90 programs AUM has to offer. In terms of specialty though, AUM is known for its business school, which is not only is the most popular choice among students but also ranks among the <a href=https://plexuss.com/n/"https://plexuss.com/college/auburn-university-at-montgomery/overview">top 5% in the world</a>! Granted, you can go just about any route of academics at AUM from nursing to education, and you&rsquo;ll still find passionate professors who really care about the students. That&rsquo;s one of the advantages you&rsquo;ll want to leverage being at a school of 5,000 students with a 16:1 student-faculty ratio.</p> <p>There are a few things you&rsquo;ll find special concerning your studies at AUM. First, be prepared for the <a href=https://plexuss.com/n/"http://www.aum.edu/academics/academic-support/common-reading-program">Common Reading Program</a>, which is basically a mandatory book club all freshmen are put in. But hey, college will feature a lot of reading, so you might as well embrace it and be ready to learn a thing or two with your peers through it. Another thing not to shy away from is the tutoring schedule at the Learning Center in the Warhawk Academic Success Center. Sure, you might not realize you need it until after the first round of mid-terms, but when you do, take heart, it&rsquo;s free!</p> <figure><img src=https://plexuss.com/n/"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/asset.plexuss.com/news/images/auburn-montgomery-academics.jpg" alt="Auburn Montgomery Academics" width="600" height="400" /> <figcaption>Credit: aum.edu</figcaption> </figure><br/> <h3>Life as a Warhawk</strong></h3> <p>While academics are the pride and focus of the culture at AUM, books are far from the only thing going on here, and it&rsquo;s crucial during your time at college to grow and develop outside of the classroom! AUM gets that, and the university features tons of opportunities to get you plugged in, so the last thing you should be is hesitant about getting involved.</p> <p>Getting deeper into the AUM community can start right where you live, the residence hall! AUM offers a unique option in residence life to give your college stay a little twist through <a href=https://plexuss.com/n/"http://www.aum.edu/admissions/admissions-programs/living-and-learning-communities">Living and Learning Communities</a> that tailor your living experience to connect you with students of similar passions.</p> <p>In terms of the ins and outs of where you&rsquo;ll want to be frequenting throughout campus, The Wellness Center and the Taylor Center will be your bread and butter. The Wellness Center has everything you&rsquo;ll need for staying fit and blowing off some steam during the semester, including a pretty stellar <a href=https://plexuss.com/n/"http://wellnesscenter.aum.edu/wellness-center/indoor-climbing-wall">rock wall</a>! After that, there&rsquo;s the Taylor Center for the one-stop student hangout featuring everything from the dining hall, a coffee shop, and even a new Panda Express!</p> <figure><img src=https://plexuss.com/n/"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/asset.plexuss.com/news/images/aum-university-wellness-center.jpg" alt="AUM University Wellness Center" width="430" height="235" /> <figcaption>AUM Wellness Center, Credit: hok.com</figcaption> </figure><br/> <h3>Welcome to Montgomery</h3> <p>One of the things students at AUM consistently remark on is how great the balance is being at a small university in the middle of a big city. You&rsquo;ll quickly realize the same once you get off of campus and into the community that Montgomery, the capital of Alabama has to offer.</p> <p>The first thing you should know is that there&rsquo;s practically little excuse for not leaving campus. The <a href=https://plexuss.com/n/"http://www.aum.edu/campus-life/housing-and-dining/housing-and-residency/warhawk-transit">Warhawk Transit</a> offers rides to students off campus and features stops at everything from Walmart to the movie theatre. Having easy access to the city is a steal because Montgomery is quite the exciting place right now with a renovated River Walk, a huge amphitheater, and plenty of options for experiencing the outdoors through trails like Lagoon Park.</p> <p>And while Montgomery itself has tons to offer, it&rsquo;s also a pretty strategic place for planning your extended adventures being within driving distance to Nashville as well as the Gulf Coast.</p> <figure><img src=https://plexuss.com/n/"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/asset.plexuss.com/news/images/things-to-do-near-aum-montgomery.jpg" alt="Things to Do Near AUM Montgomery" width="600" height="400" /> <figcaption>Montgomery Riverfront, Credit: thecrazytourist.com</figcaption> </figure><br/> <h3>Conclusion</h3> <p>You&rsquo;ll find your transition into college will be chalk full of ups and downs. Whether you&rsquo;re <a href=https://plexuss.com/n/"https://plexuss.com/news/article/homesick-at-college">battling homesickness</a> or just enjoying the bliss of your newfound independence and freedom, you&rsquo;ll find AUM to be a great community to experience all of this with. AUM occupies a pretty unique space in the realm of higher ed, and if you stick to some of the points outlined in this guide, you&rsquo;re sure to discover just how special of a place it can be.</p> </div>"/>