What is The University of Wyoming and Laramie Like? (Cheyenne: credit, how much)

[canudigit]

We live in Michigan and the University of Wyoming is really aggressively courting our daughter as a prospective student. Wyoming, while I've heard a lot about how beautiful of a state it is, has never even been on our radar, for whatever reason. However, our daughter has a strong desire to attend a college in the West, and the more we get bombarded with emails, letters, etc. from U of W, the more we are wondering if it might be a viable option to consider. Can anyone tell me anything about the school, as far as its reputation, what majors it is known for, if the campus is generally safe, if Laramie is a nice town, if there are things to do there, etc.? This is all hypothetical at this point, but we are just a little curious. I looked at their admission requirements, and all they want is an ACT composite score of 20, which isn't very high. Our daughter got a 28 the first time she took the ACT, and she is taking it again in a couple of weeks with hopes of raising her score. I'm wondering if she could get some good scholarship money with a high score like that.

Any information or suggestions would be much appreciated.

[maciesmom]

Non-Resident Freshman | Scholarships | Admissions | University of Wyoming (http://www.uwyo.edu/admissions/scholarships/non-resident-freshman.html - broken link)

I'd think she could get a decent scholarship depending on her GPA....

What is she interested in studying?

If you are not from Wyoming or another similar state, Wyoming can take some getting used to. Laramie is a nice town but it isn't near much of anything. Shopping is very limited compared to what most kids from more populous areas are accustomed to. You are an hour away from both Cheyenne and Ft. Collins. Winter weather can be bitter cold and windy. Interstate 80 can and does close periodically due to blowing wind/snow or icy conditions. On the positive side, the school is well supported and a very nice size. It's worth considering if they offer what she's interested in but I'd visit for sure so she knows what she's getting into.

[canudigit]

Thanks for the information. I did do a little bit of online research on Laramie and I was surprised at how small it is for a college town. It does seem kind of quaint, though. Our daughter loves the West and she is very unpretentious and down to earth, so those qualities would probably help her to adjust to a place like Wyoming if she did choose this option. She is really interested in environmental or international studies, and U of W offers both of those majors, along with study abroad options, which is something else that she has talked about doing. We are used to cold, snowy winters, so that would be okay. We live about 20 minutes from Ann Arbor which is where the University of Michigan (another school she is considering) is, and it seems that Ann Arbor and Laramie are about as different as night and day, but not in a bad way.

Thanks again.

[WyoNewk]

I had two kids who attended UW. My son dropped out after they refused to give him credit for beer drinking. My daughter attended 5 years and got a double major, one in pharmacology. She was very heavily recruited by several national drug store chains and advanced rapidly at the one she chose. A recruiter for one of those chains sat next to me on a plane ride once and told me that UW grads were their favorites because they were always ready to go right to work without further training.

As an employer I also recruited hard at UW for the same reason. I don't know if all the schools at UW put out grads ready to work, but it's been that way for me.

I attended Iowa State in Ames during the mid-60s, and UW has always reminded me of ISU during those years -- same size campus and same size town.

[canudigit]

What? No credit for beer drinking? What the heck kind of school is that, anyway?

LOL, just kidding, but that does bring up a good point. How much of a party school is UW? Is it fairly conservative for a state university? I was looking through the list of student clubs and activities and there seemed to be a lot of clubs with agricultural/nature themes and also several Christian organizations, but very few with very liberal themes, which would lead me to believe that perhaps UW is fairly conservative, especially when compared to a school like the University of Michigan.

Any thoughts on that? We are actually a very socially conservative family (not LDS or anything, but still pretty conservative, don't drink, don't party, etc.) and our daughter is the same way. She's into really healthy eating, hiking, etc.--she won't even drink pop, just to give you an idea-- and is pretty averse to wild partying, so a crazy party school environment would not be a good fit for her. I expect some of that at any school, of course, but if it was an environment of partying in the dorms 24/7 like it is at some schools, that wouldn't work.

For some reason, and maybe it's because Wyoming always seems to go red in the national elections, I have it pictured as a pretty conservative state filled with patriotic cowboy types. Tell me if this is just a broad stereotype and I will apologize up and down, but that's just the impression that I have always gotten about Wyoming. For some, that would be a bad thing I guess, but not for me.

[Wyomama2]

The 'naturalist' part of you daughter would love Laramie. It has a cowboy, hippie, student, family feel if that makes sense. There is a lot to do outdoors in summer and winter. It's a very safe community, I wouldn't worry about that at all. There is partying that goes on of course but it isn't known for it's partying. My impression from living in Laramie is that the majority of students who attend UW are serious about their studies. They have an extensive engineering program. Coming from Michigan I'm sure the cold and snow wouldn't be a shock to your daughter but the length of the winters and the year round serious wind might be. Something to take into consideration. There seems to be quite a few international students there also, which helps to add to the diversity of Laramie and UW. Laramie is conservative, it's a town of 'good ole boys' but there are also a lot of liberally minded people there. I found it to be a nice balance myself and would love to move back regardless of the wind. It's a very outdoorsy community, people are always out walking, biking and such.

[CptnRn]

Wyoming is pretty conservative and that is reflected in the University. I don't think there is any college campus that doesn't have some alcohol and drug use on campus and in the dorms. If your daughter is not inclined to participate in these activities she will probably be fine.

I don't have any reason to think drinking isn't as popular on the Wyoming campus as it is other places. There was no lack of underage drinking in Wyoming when I grew up there. There was pot smoking and drinking in the dorms. There is not a lot to do for entertainment there so many kids binge drink at parties or keggers out in the hills and then go drive around for entertainment.

Statistically Wyoming has one of the highest rates of alcohol related traffic fatalities (with a BAC=.08+) , at 42%. I counted only two other states on the alcohol alert website that were higher, North Dakota and South Carolina. The average in the US is 32%. Drunk driving statistics

I'm not sure why the rate is higher in Wyoming, other then I observed it to be a pretty popular pastime when I lived there.

[georgiainwyo]

My only experience with UW is that my son-in-law was in the engineering program there. He was chosen for their "design squad", where he got to work for WY-DOT while in college, getting experience and getting paid for it. That led him to be hired for an engineering position with WYDOT upon graduation...and he was offered the job about 3 months before graduation. His experience was wonderful.

[wyolady]

Originally Posted by canudigit

LOL, just kidding, but that does bring up a good point. How much of a party school is UW? Is it fairly conservative for a state university? I was looking through the list of student clubs and activities and there seemed to be a lot of clubs with agricultural/nature themes and also several Christian organizations, but very few with very liberal themes, which would lead me to believe that perhaps UW is fairly conservative, especially when compared to a school like the University of Michigan.

Any thoughts on that? We are actually a very socially conservative family (not LDS or anything, but still pretty conservative, don't drink, don't party, etc.) and our daughter is the same way. She's into really healthy eating, hiking, etc.--she won't even drink pop, just to give you an idea-- and is pretty averse to wild partying, so a crazy party school environment would not be a good fit for her. I expect some of that at any school, of course, but if it was an environment of partying in the dorms 24/7 like it is at some schools, that wouldn't work.

I got my Masters from UW, lived there for 10+ years and hubby grew up there. Wyoming is very conservative, while Laramie is probably more liberal than most places. If your daughter is conservative, she will fit right in there. I am from another state and thought I was conservative my entire life....until I moved to Laramie. Then found out I was middle of the road.

UW is a HUGE party school. I have attended other universities and UW is more of a party school than any of them...I believe part of it is the party mentality in Wyoming. I teach school and have many former students who flunked out of UW and came home before graduating because they got caught up in the partying.

While the town is small, I believe UW is large enough to have a fairly large group of students who are health nuts like your daughter.

[RGVolpe]

Our son just graduated from the University of Wyoming and he had a great experience.

We found the professors and administrators to be very focused on the undergraduate student. The university is very attuned to the student's parents.

The town of Laramie is also very "gown friendly" and very friendly to visitors.

The college, like other colleges, has a party scene. Our son "minored" in outdoor activities and was backpacking in the fall and snowboarding in the winter in addition to partying on the weekends.

Since your student is coming from the East, she will have to adjust to the small town compact atmosphere, the altitude and, in the winter, the cold windy days.

Suggest making a couple of trips when school is in session and see for yourself.