<p>I'm from Michigan and in the last couple of months I've been interested in UVM. However, the drive/plane ride is a little far just for a visit. I really want to know what is so different about UVM compared to other public universities. I know it's in a beautiful area, by skiing, pretty left leaning, and other things not really related to academics. Right now I'm also interested in Michigan State's James Madison program which is kind of a political science residential college on MSU's campus. It's a pretty unique program. Is there anything similar offered at UVM?</p>