<p>Skiing is very, very important. That's why U of U has come up but we do not know anything about it. The guy in question is used to a serious academic atmosphere. He's not religious at all; probably has never met a Mormon. Should U of U even be on the table?</p>
<p>U. of Utah is a typical flagship state U from a small state. Decent academics, law school, medical school, business school, big sports program, high admit rate/not very selective, admits a lot of in-state kids </p>
<p>The state of Utah is currently about 60% Mormon, and a lot of the Mormon kids go off to Utah's rival school -->BYU. So I'd guess that Univ. of Utah is about half Mormon, perhaps a somewhat less. So there will be plenty of non-Mormon kids to hang out with if that is important to him.</p>
<p>If skiing is important to the guy, he couldn't do much better - they didn't hold the Winter Olympics there for nothing.</p>
<p>SLC has a democratic mayor with a decidedly blue state viewpoint in a decidedly red state, and the city itself is politically diverse. Skiing is great and accessible by public transportation. (Seeing a city bus with "Alta" on its destination sign always makes me laugh.) And, as people say, you come for the winters and stay for the summers (mt biking, water-skiing, hiking, etc).</p>
<p>However, it is more of a commuter school than most flagship state uni's. UC Boulder is probably a better school overall, but you can't beat Little Cottonwood Canyon.</p>
<p>If he wants serious academic atmosphere the I don't U of U, is the right school. BYU is better academically and although they do not have a ski team, he will still be closer to all the ski places. </p>
<p>BYU is very religious and conservative, and it is not for people who lean a little to the left.</p>
<p>MY son's have the U of Utah on the list. It is a solid school and top 100 in many departments. We are also non-lds and there is a little bit of a concern about culture in Utah and fitting in if you will. My sons have many LDS friends and are not overly concerned but the topic did come up. I would not go to BYU if you are non LDS and not religious. Very poor fit IMHO.</p>
<p>My sons like the skiing in Utah, less crowded than Colorado, and SLC is a safe, fun city to visit. The light rail to the campus is great for going downtown, and the dorms are very nice. In engineering, and other programs, they have undergrad programs designed to get the studetns involved with professors research. Utah is a better bargain than Boulder and offers some nice OOS merit scholarships which Boulder also does not offer. Boulder rakes the cash in from OOS students so don't expect many deals except for the very top students.</p>
<p>Utah also does a much better job of funding the colleges than Colorado does. UC Boulder is starved for cash while Utah has several new buildings and programs going in. The honors college has a very good reputation and this is not a party school :)</p>
<p>It is one of top 5 choices for my sons and we visited 12 western campuses this summer. Not number one but a good choice as my boys say.</p>
<p>Go visit as SLC is easy to fly to, but we liked it. It seemd to meet the need for both academics and outdoor recreation opportunities that my sons are looking for. It is a bit of a commuter school but there is a solid number of students who live on campus and there is a campus life.</p>
<p>Yes, my ten minutes of internet research do draw me more to CU-Boulder. That reference to "commuter school" bugs me. But CU costs $34,000 x 4 = $136,000 compared to UU's $20,000 x 4 = $80,000. I really appreciate your input. Please keep it coming.</p>
<p>I don't know anything about the Uni but SLC is very convenient to world-class skiing and the slopes are very easy to get to.</p>
<p>I'm not Mormon but have known a lot of them (having lived in Colorado and Arizona in the past). As a generalization, I've really liked them - they tend to be family-oriented, clean-living, hard-working, fun-loving (in a non-drinking way) people.</p>
<p>I was quite impressed with Colorado State. It doesn't have as strong an academic reputation as CU, but it is an excellent state u and still in ski country. I thought Ft. Collins was really a neat town (the "new" Boulder).</p>
<p>nonudo: I would expect some serious tuition increases at Colorado colleges over the next few years. My D is a senior at University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, near Ft. Collins. There are big budget problems with state funding of education there. </p>
<p>Two girls from my D's school attended U of U for their theater program. Both liked the college; one transferred to business. She loves it there and stayed to work over the summer for the college. I met two of the theater professors during audition season; they seemed great.</p>
<p>My H just returned from a trip to SLC. He said that he was treated more kindly by everyone he met than in any other city he had visited. He was very impressed with the culture there.</p>
<p>We lived in SLC a gazillion years ago (late 70's) after H got an MBA at Utah State University and I got another Education Degree. Utah State is about one north of SLC, in Logan Utah. </p>
<p>We lived in SLC for about 6 months, and as avid skiers it was heaven, and Deer Valley had not been built and Park City was a very small ski town and resort.</p>
<p>If skiing is your passion you are selecting a wonderful city, filled with kind, courteous, family oriented people. I was amazed how many native Utah residents did NOT SKI!! I can't tell you anything about Univ of Utah, don't remember even seeing it, but I can tell you about the powder snow at Alta ski resort :)</p>
<p>If skiing is a top priority to you then SLC is a very fine choice. </p>
<p>Regarding the University, you may qualify for the honors school, or graduate with a very high GPA, which would assist with post grad plans if you have any. </p>
<p>I don't think being a non mormon is a factor if the Univ is 50% Mormon you will find your niche. Skiers bond easily.</p>