Recently, I toured the campus of the University of Utah, the state’s flagship university. Founded by Brigham Young over 150 years ago, it was the first university in Utah. Visitors to the campus will see the word “Imagine” all over the place: on the side of the library in big block letters and on the folder they give you before your tour. The university invites visiting students to imagine themselves attending, so let’s take a look at the school through the lens of their current buzzword.
Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. The Olympic Village that was built for the games is now used as campus housing. This means freshmen get better housing than at most colleges since the rooms are a bit bigger, and it has a different overall feel. Also, the George S. Eccles Legacy Bridge also built for the Games now serves as a beautiful part of the campus that students use every day to get from their dorms to their classes.
The Mighty Utah Student Section (known on-campus as the MUSS) is an enthusiastic part of the University of Utah. Students have the option to join if they want to represent the entire student body in cheering on the Utes. If you are a prospective University of Utah student who enjoys sporting events, you should definitely consider being a part of the MUSS.
The admissions process is similar to other colleges of its size. They do judge applicants holistically, which means they take into account more than just your test scores/GPA, and they have their own application. On my tour, they mentioned that a common mistake applicants make is that they accidentally apply to the campus located in South Korea. Be sure to apply to the correct campus when you fill out your application!
While you may know Utah sports through their football or basketball teams, they also have a pretty amazing gymnastics team. They have won ten national championships over the course of their history! If you are on campus, make time to see the University of Utah Red Rocks compete in a gymnastics meet.
Even if you are from out of state, you may enjoy in-state tuition starting your sophomore year at the University of Utah. The school will help you apply for residency in Utah to get that major discount in your tuition. Also, interested students should know that this school participates in the Western Undergraduate Exchange. This means you may already get a tuition discount in your freshman year if you are from one of the participating states.
Do you like to ski, hike, or just enjoy fresh mountain air? If so, this may be a school to consider. The University of Utah is not only in Salt Lake City, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, but is also near several ski resorts and amazing national parks.
While rankings aren’t typically the best way to understand colleges, it is impressive that the University of Utah was ranked #1 for their game design program[i] by the Princeton Review in 2016. The program is set up to have aspiring game artists and engineers work together. If you are interested in this field, this is definitely a program to check out.
These are some of the highlights of all that this university has to offer. Can you imagine yourself at the University of Utah? Contact your Right C3 coaches if you have questions about this school or others as you research colleges for yourself.
Photo Credit: https://flic.kr/p/6VxtCb
