Columbia is the fifth-largest city in the state of Missouri and is located in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. This college town is politically liberal and is known by the nicknames “Athens of Missouri,” “College Town USA,” and “CoMo.” Half of the 94,428 people in Columbia possess a bachelor’s degree, making it one of the most highly educated municipalities in the United States. Just feet from campus is downtown Columbia, known as The District, which is full of local shops, restaurants, and small music venues. Just feet from the Journalism School are Chipotle, Starbucks, and a local pizza parlor, Shakespeare’s. The District always has something fun going on - in the summer the Blue Note hosts an outdoor music series, the True/False Film Festival takes over The District for a long weekend in early spring, and the entire city of Columbia heads downtown for the Roots, Blues and BBQ festival in the fall. Columbia has a thriving progressive music scene. Outside of downtown, students frequent the mall for stores like Express, Target, Barnes & Noble or the Gap. Since Columbia is right in the middle of Missouri, trips to Kansas City and St. Louis are less than two hours by car. During the late spring, summer, and early fall students drive about an hour to the Lake of the Ozarks for parties and general relaxation.

Mizzou’s 1,358-acre main campus is a state-designated botanical garden. The academic buildings are split into two sections known as the Red Campus and the White Campus. The Red Campus is made up of historic academic buildings and takes its name from the red bricks that make up most of the buildings. Newer, neo-gothic buildings have been built east of Red Campus, and this section is known as the White Campus. The most prominent feature of White Campus is Memorial Union, the community center for Mizzou, which hosts many special events. The athletic facilities are south of the main campus, which includes Memorial Stadium, home field for Tigers football. South of the athletic facilities is the MU Research Park, which includes the Research Reactor Center, home to a tank-type nuclear research reactor with highly enriched uranium. Residence halls are spread out on the main campus, and are currently undergoing comprehensive renovation and construction. The majority of the Greek houses are on College Avenue on the east side of the campus, with fraternity and sorority members occupying historic residences in what has come to be known as Greek Town.

Dorms at Mizzou are spread around the main campus in four main areas – Bingham/Mark Twain, Dobbs, Pershing/Johnston/Wolpers, and Rollins/Virginia Avenue. Dining facilities serve the different clusters. Mizzou is in the process of carrying out the Residential Life Master Plan, which will improve and replace aging residence halls on campus. For instance, Cramer, Stafford, Defoe, and Graham are in the process of demolition for a set of newer, more modern suite-style dorms. The Respect, Responsibility, Excellence, and Discovery dorms are brand new suite-style dorms and the College Avenue, North, South, and Center residences are new as well. Mark Twain is located on the northwest side of campus and is an older, suite-style dorm. All of Mizzou’s dorms are co-ed except for Wolpers, Jones, Johnston, and Lathrop. Wolpers is the only all-male dorm on campus while Jones, Johnston, and Lathrop are all-female. The balconies on Lathrop are said to be one of the best places to watch a Tiger football game since they overlook Faurot Field. Freshmen of one major or another are typically located in the same dorm or dorm complex due to the FIG (Freshman Interest Group) Program. In FIGs, students are given an introduction to college life and their major by a student PA (Peer Advisor) and a Faculty Advisor. The FIG system is a great way to meet people and explore the campus as well as downtown Columbia. Since the program is optional, students are placed on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The Missouri Tigers are members of the Big 12 Conference and Mizzou is the only school in the state where all teams compete at the Division I level. These sports include men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, cross country, football, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, swimming, and wrestling, among many others. Although sports are generally popular at Mizzou, the real crowd draws are basketball and football. Mizzou’s football team is nationally ranked and as a result, Mizzou gear has been flying off the shelves at the team stores. In the final Associated Press Top 25 college football poll of the 2007 season, Mizzou was ranked fourth in the country – its highest finishing position in the team’s history. The men’s basketball team boasts 2 NCAA tournament appearances and 15 conference championships.