What opportunities are there for undergraduate research?
Conducting research as an undergraduate is an excellent way to gain experiences and skills that will benefit you both academically and professionally. In addition to providing an opportunity to explore your areas of interest in depth, undergraduate research encourages you to develop skills in collaborative learning and critical thinking. For students interested in pursuing graduate school, undergraduate research is a way of expanding your education outside of the classroom and preparing yourself for the rigors of graduate study. Even if you are unsure about graduate studies, conducting undergraduate research is a great way to develop skills that are useful for a variety of careers, as well as to test the suitability of a research-oriented career to your interests.

What percentage of freshmen return for sophomore year?
Among public institutions, an average of 64.2 percent of full-time, first-time students who started school in fall 2013 returned in fall 2014, according to a report from ACT, which manages the standardized test by the same name. The average rate is slightly higher at private colleges and universities: 70.2 percent