Yes, definitely helped by the number of people who stay for residency, rather than going home at breaks. OP: if you aren’t from a WUE state then you can get instate rates after the first year by staying over the summer, most merit now assumes you will do that - total four year cost before merit is about $120K if you pay one year at OOS rates of $45K and the rest at instate rates of $25K. For the merit awards they like to see a 4.0UW plus a strong course load of APs or IB (expectations on ACT scores were 33+, but they were test optional last year). My D (now a senior) had 4.0UW/35 ACT/9 APs with 8 5s.
D has spent every summer there, including during COVID, enjoying the outdoors, and there are plenty of jobs in SLC. One of last summer’s adventures: What "Daredevil" Thing Have You Done? - #23 by Twoin18