U.S. News: What are some of the trends that UVM is seeing in terms of out-of-state applicants?
Jacobs: Over the past five years, UVM has drastically broadened its reach, with 50% or more of each new entering class hailing from outside of New England.
- These students are attracted to the Vermont lifestyle, one where you can work alongside faculty and students who are the highest caliber in their fields, while still being able to live a healthy and active lifestyle given our proximity to natural areas in Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains.
- These students enjoy UVM and Vermont so much that nearly 3 out of 4 out-of-state graduates stay in Vermont after graduation, providing crucial growth to the state’s workforce.
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U.S. News: What role does the natural environment around UVM play in the student experience?
Jacobs: The Vermont landscape is integral to student life.
- UVM has more than 15 majors and 15 minors that study the environment across our eight schools and colleges, of which our natural areas are our laboratories.
- More than 50% of courses in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources incorporate fieldwork, with nearly 14 natural areas on campus, including Mount Mansfield, Lake Champlain and surrounding forests.
- These settings facilitate hands-on learning, internships, service‑learning and applied research, deeply enriching the student experience.
Students, faculty and staff also enjoy the outdoors recreationally year-round, be that Nordic or alpine skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, swimming, sailing, etc. In fact, UVM has the largest college ski and snowboard club in the country!
U.S. News: How is UVM admissions thinking about artificial intelligence as used by applicants and by the university?
Jacobs: UVM is actively developing AI strategies through an AI Task Force and provides guidelines for use in research and coursework.
- While there’s no explicit AI policy for admissions essays, academic integrity rules ban undisclosed AI‑generated work.
- Applicants are encouraged to disclose if they use AI tools.
- AI can be a helpful tool for generating ideas and refining application materials but shouldn’t be used to wholly create those materials.
