what's it like there in Fairbanks? Climate, culture, activities, the school facilities, etc.
Fairbanks is a very unique place! Filled independent, outdoorsy, adventurous, charismatic communities in one big mixing pot. You have the university crowd, hippies, dog mushers, 2 military bases, homesteaders from the middle of nowhere and probably some normal people in there somewhere.
We have huge temperature ranges throughout the year. 90s in the summer and -40 or colder in the dead of winter. You prepare for the cold with a good set of boots and a warm jacket. Everyone plugs in their cars with heaters on the engine block and oil pan so they don't freeze. It is a dry cold with very little wind. The snow is light and sugary almost because of the dryness. No more than a few feet of snow a year. They have a nice ski trail system on campus and it is a fun way to get outside between class when it is still light outside! Sun is setting around 3pm these days, losing 7 minutes of light a day. At solstice we will only get 3 hours and 45 minutes of light.
Campus is set up on a hill over looking town. All of the science buildings are grouped together and the new vet med dept. space is beautiful! They did a great job creating an effective study space, classroom and lab. A lot of work went into setting up the facility, preparing skeletons/models, and hiring awesome faculty. Everyone is very helpful and dedicated to the success of the students, which is encouraging to see. The Large Animal Research Station is where they keep all of the musk ox, caribou and reindeer (and 2 cows for the vet students). It is a great resource for students to learn how to handle both wild and domestic species that you may encounter in Alaska. They have some neat wildlife research projects going on there and in many labs on campus, if you are interested in that sort of thing. Wildlife and research are my main interests
Cost of living is pretty high. Mostly notice this in the price of food and gas. Living arrangements can get interesting. They have some on campus apartments (expensive and convenient), off campus apartments (expensive and less convenient) and dry cabins (cheaper and less convenient). Dry cabin living is one of the more interesting gems of Fairbanks cheap student life. Most of Fairbanks has permafrost that makes it very difficult to dig into the ground for a foundation and water/septic system. So instead of doing that, there is an abundance of small cabins that have no water and use an outhouse. You haul your water from town and campus has showers in many buildings or you go to the gym. It is an easy way to get by cheap if you can stand the inconvenience. It sounds a lot worse than it actually is, I think. Worst part for me is doing the dishes and waiting for water to heat up!
10 seats available with preference for Alaskan students for the first 5 seats.
Hope this long explanation gives you a bit of a picture on Fairbanks life! It is an experience for sure!
