So, you're thinking about attending a college or university in Arizona?

Located in the western United States, Arizona is one of the Four Corners states. It borders Utah to the north, New Mexico to the east, Mexico to the south, and Nevada and California to the west. With 118,000 square miles of land within its borders, Arizona is the sixth largest state in area.

Arizona is most known for its desert landscape, though it also has a fairly substantial pine-covered high country, which contains the largest stand of Ponderosa pine in the United States.

The State of Arizona also includes several interesting natural features. The Grand Canyon, which is one of the seven natural wonders of the world, runs through this state. Arizona is also home to the Barringer Meteorite Crater, better known as "Meteor Crater," which is one of the largest and most well-preserved meteorite impact sites in the world.

In Arizona, the low lying, desert regions often experience mild winters and hot summers. During the coldest months, temperatures range from 40-75°F. In the summers, temperatures normally reach highs of 90-120°F in the day and can drop all the way to 50°F at night. In the northern regions of the state, the elevation is generally much higher and, thus, have cold summer and mild winters.

The average rainfall of Arizona is about 12.7 inches annually. This comes during two distinct rainy seasons, one during winter when cold fronts come in from the Pacific Ocean and one during the summer from the middle of July through August. The summer rainy season often brings with it lightning, thunderstorms, wind, and torrential, though brief, downpours. While it is rare, tornadoes and hurricanes have occurred within this state.

As of 2006, Arizona had an estimated population of 6,166,318. According to populations figures for the year ending July1, 2006, Arizona is the fastest growing state in the union, with 3.6% population growth since 2005.

In 2000, 74.16% of Arizona residents age 5 and older reported speaking only English at home while 19.52% said they spoke Spanish primarily. Since Arisona has the third highest number of Native Americans of any state in the Union, consisting of more than 10% of the country's total Native American population, it isn't surprising that Navaho is the third most spoken language in the state.

In recent years, the Republican Party has, in general, dominated Arizona politics. When Arizona narrowly supported Bill Clinton for President in 1996, it was the first time a Democrat had taken the state since Harry Truman in 1948. In the 2004 election, George W. Bush won the state with 54.9% of the vote, as compared to the 44.4% that voted Democratic.

Religiously, Arizona consists primarily of Christians, which 80% of the population identifies themselves as. Of those, the Protestants are the largest group, making up 42%, while Roman Catholics come in a close second at 31%. 18% of the population says they are non-religious.

Income taxes in Arizona are collected in five brackets, ranging from 2.87% to 5.04%. State sales tax rates are generally 6.3%, with local taxes ranging from 1-3%, making the total sales tax in certain areas as high as 10.7%. The State of Arizona does not levy a state tax on food for home consumption or on drugs prescribed by a licensed physician or dentist, however.

Within the State of Arizona, there are several collegues and universities for you to decide between. Some of these are:

• Arizona State University

• The University of Arizona

• The University of Phoenix

To find more information about universities and colleges in this area, visit the Online College Degree page on this website.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Arizona".

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