Orono - It's back to school time, students are getting ready for classes to begin.

Others though are setting their sights on next year at the UMaine Summer Tour.

As the Black Bear football team went through their morning practice, some prospective UMaine students were exploring the campus and finding out what the school could offer them.

"The challenge of today is to show them as much of the breadth and depth of the University of Maine that they can get in one day and also just UMaine hospitality," said University of Maine President Paul Ferguson. "So we're having them go through tours, we're having them go see all the facilities that they can so it really is an introduction to the University of Maine, for many people from the state, from out of state, and you couldn't get a better day for it."

More than 2000 potential students and their families were on campus, including Nevada Horne, who will be a senior at Falmouth High School this year. The 17 year old visited a number of schools this summer. "Actually, I was down in North Carolina earlier and I looked at UNC and Duke and I've also been looking at UVM so I've been like all over the place." "I guess I just want to check out, like, the campus see what it's like, get a good vibe from it, that's important."

"I think it's important for her to just get an idea of what it's like to be in college and the classroom surroundings, the dorm life, the academics," said her Mom Martha Taylor, "But also she said she wanted to get a feeling for the campus like is like and being in a different community."

The goal for the University was to wow the kids and their parents and have them realize what Orono could offer them said President Ferguson. "So you're seeing an awful lot of that today 'I had no idea there was this much at the University of Maine' and that's our job to continue to match what we have here with that interest and interest to find out."

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