A welcoming committee composed of enthusiastic students and faculty greeted about 1,000 newly admitted students and their families with hoots, hollers, and cheers as Elton John’s “Rocket Man” blasted from the entrance of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington‘s (UNCW) Trask Coliseum for the annual campus ‘Seahawk Preview’.

The procession was equally as embarrassing as Falcon Fest had been four years earlier, but in the best possible way. The energy of the students and welcoming nature of all on campus was immediately obvious.

A brief welcome address was held at Trask and from there, students had the chance to attend a number of various information sessions in order to learn more about their possible life choice over the next four years.

Beautiful Wilmington and neighboring Wrightsville Beach offer an ideal college environment. The school’s location makes it a leading institution in such programs as marine biology and film studies. In fact, Wilmington has even been dubbed “Hollywood East” by the film industry as many shows and movies have been filmed in the area, including Dawson’s Creek and The Conjuring, according to IMDb.com.

Students on campus described a smaller, more personal college experience, as the undergraduate population is only around 12,000. Though a fan of the larger universities, I found this number to be

For me, UNCW is a great potential landing place. Wilmington is in many ways similar to Virginia Beach, but with a more prominent southern charm. The five-hour drive to the school would discourage an embarrassing number of weekend visits from my parents (WORKING)

Around noon, visitors witnessed a mass exodus from campus to Wrightsville Beach as students loaded surfboards and coolers into their cars and cleared out of the parking lots. This, of course, is UNCW’s claim to fame. Between top-notch academics and access to one of the East Coast’s best beaches, what more could college students ask for?