Visit to the University of Utah

If you’re looking for a vibrant major university, located in a city but with great access to the outdoors, Utah merits your consideration.
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The University of Utah makes a good impression on a visitor. The campus is modern and attractive. It’s located in Salt Lake City, a vibrant and modern city, but the back side of campus sits against the base of the Wasatch mountains and there are hiking and biking trails galore. And speaking of biking, Salt Lake City may be the biking capital of the country – bike paths and bike lanes are everywhere.
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The campus is just a half hour from some of the finest skiing in the country: Park City, Snowbird, The Canyons, Alta, and many others. One student I know is a happy Utah student and a ski instructor at Park City Resort – not bad!

The student body is predominately white and 75% percent from Utah. But they are eager to get out-of-state students; admissions staff told me that after one year of residence in the state, a student can qualify for in-state tuition, regardless of where the parents live. So, a typical out-of-state student will only pay the higher tuition for the freshman year – this is a really good deal compared with most state universities.

About half of the student body is said to be Mormon, so it’s a religiously varied group. There are Greek organizations, with about 4% of students participating. No alcohol is allowed on campus, but Salt Lake City is well supplied with attractive places to eat and drink. As at most colleges, the library is open 24/7 at least during exam times; but here’s a neat feature: there’s a dog therapy room in the library; so, if you’re stressed over tomorrow’s exam, spend some time schmoozing with a furry to get over the stress.

Over 100 majors are offered; the most popular among recent graduates were business administration, exercise/sport science, and biology. 26% of graduates pursue further study within one year.
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Students who apply are automatically considered for scholarships. The honors college requires a separate application, and successful students graduate with an “honors” diploma.