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

Found in the Appalachia region of the United States, West Virginia is still considered part of the South by the Census Bureau due to the fact that much of the state is below the Mason-Dixon Line. The state of West Virginia was actually formed after it broke away from Virginia during the American Civil War. After the war, it was admitted into the Union as an independent state. Thus, West Virginia is the only state in the U.S. to have formed from a secession from an existing state. West Virginia is bordered to the north by Pennsylvania and Maryland, to the southeast by Virginia, to the southwest by Kentucky, and to the northwest by Ohio.

The state of West Virginia is the only state to fall entirely within the Appalachian Mountain range. Because of this, all areas throughout the state are fairly mountainous, thought not particularly high in terms of elevation. The highest point in the state is located at the top of Spruce Knob and is only 4,803 feet above sea level. Forests make up much of West Virginia's landscape. All this has led West Virginia to become a major tourist destination for those who are interested in pursuing outdoor activities such as rock climbing, skiing, fishing, white-water rafting, and hunting.

Most of West Virginia experiences hot, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. The lower elevations found in the southwestern part of the state is similar, but tends to have milder winters than other areas. Also, in the eastern section of West Virginia, the climate is more like neighboring Maryland and Virginia than the rest of the state due to its proximity to the coast. Thanks to the Appalachian Mountains in the west, West Virginia is generally protected from the harsh weather that the nearby Midwestern states receive on a yearly basis.

The estimated population of West Virginia, as of 2005, was 1,816,856. Only 1.1% of the state's residents were recorded as being foreign-born. This puts the state of West Virginia last among the 50 U.S. states in terms of foreign-born citizens. It's also notable that West Virginia also has the lowest percentage of residents, 2.7%, that speak a language other than English in their homes. In terms of age, 5.6% of the state's population was reported to be under the age of 5, while 22.3% were under 18 years old and 15.3% were 65 or older.

The politics in West Virginia have mainly been dominated by the Democratic Party. The Democrats hold most of the local and state offices. But, while the West Virginia voters supported Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, in the past two presidential elections, the Republican presidential candidate, George W. Bush, has won the state. In 2004, Bush carried the state by a margin of 13 percentage points and 56.1% of the total vote.

In West Virginia, the personal income tax, which is based on the federal adjusted gross income instead of taxable income, is determined by a series of five income brackets. These brackets vary in their rates from 3% to 6.5%. Presently, the state sales tax is 6%, though, for food goods, this rate is only 5%.

Within the state of West Virginia, a number of colleges and universities can be found. If you decide to attend a school in this state, your choices include such places as:

• West Virginia State University

• Marshal University

• West Virginia University

• Concord University

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

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

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