@Twoin18 Thank you for your help! I hadn’t really thought about the weather, but now realize that we should look at a couple of different times to go head out on short notice when the weather is best.
Will definitely make sure to hit the upper campus and the hill behind. I’m actually quite excited about the views! Depending on our comfort with the covid situation, I really hope to see things like Temple Square and head up into the mountains.
@JD7777
Thank you for the warning on covid. Our area of California is extraordinarily locked down, so that seems normal to us at this point.
That’s an excellent idea to contact some people within his department to see if there is a way to actually speak to an advisor or professor or grad student…just to get a feel for CS there.
I will let you know when we are going, as even chatting for a few minutes with your son would be so nice. Thank you for that offer!
I really appreciate your help. I’m sure I’ll be back with more questions.
If you are driving in the winter then definitely pick a time without snow, both I-80 from NorCal and I-15 from SoCal have 7000ft high passes to cross on the way. And you really don’t want to get stuck in the snow in the deserted parts of eastern Nevada or southern Utah, though I-15 is less likely to get closed by snow than the Donner Pass. In normal times you’d also want to avoid the drive back to CA on a Sunday afternoon (Tahoe and Vegas traffic respectively) but that’s not such an issue right now.
But both have some beautiful sights if you’ve not driven that way before. Bonneville salt flats (on I-80) were particularly stunning the first time we drove out there.
Where in CA are you from? We are in SoCal. We went to visit the U last summer and we were really impressed. We did not get to meet with anyone or go inside every buildings because of Covid. But we walked around campus and checked out the area. The campus is very clean and beautiful. There are hills which would take some getting used to because of the elevation, but it wasn’t too bad for us. We stayed in Park City, and mask compliance was fairly high up there. We didn’t see as many masks in SLC, though. But the things we did in SLC were mostly outdoors. We went out to Antelope Island, Dimple Dell Park in Sandy (we were visiting friends there), and did lots of hiking in and around Park City. Unlike in CA, the trails are well maintained, many of them have bathrooms and parking lots at the trailheads, and many of the places we went were not overrun with people. It was so lovely.
I was hoping for a chance at these for my son but your son’s qualifications blows him out of the water!!! You must be so proud… shoot I’m proud for ya!
If anyone is interested in learning more about the Business Scholars program watch the Business Scholars Parent Orientation 2020 on YouTube. Very interesting
We’re tackling the scholarship application and have filled out the one titled General Application, but there is also an Engineering one. Is it worth doing? They want an essay, resume, and 2 recommendations, and we’re wondering if there are big(ger) scholarships from this application or is it stuff that will be lost to a bigger general award?
The merit scholarships usually stack. So if you get $10,000 in general freshman merit you could stack (what is usually a smaller amount of) department money on top. Similarly, the NMF money ($500 IIRC) is on top of general merit. Even a full tuition scholarship leaves fees to be paid and then you have room and board.
Does anyone know how housing works? My daughter said she saw on the website that housing applications for 21-22 open on February 10th. She has no idea how to go about finding a roommate or how the process actually works for choosing a room. She is a BFA dance major, so she assumes she would want housing closer to the dance building, but without visiting it is so hard to know what the options are and how close/far buildings are from each other. She unfortunately does not know a single student at the school who she can ask. Thanks!
Thanks for asking this question. There are some very experienced people on this thread that will probably give us some great information!
Another housing question - is it very important to get the deposit in early? It seems odd that housing deposits are accepted before merit is announced. It’s possible I am used to the overcrowded California schools, and it’s fine to deposit later on. If anyone experienced knows, I’d love to hear.
I joined the University of Utah Parent Discussion Group on Facebook and between that group and this group have been getting some great info from helpful parents. My daughter is also a BFA dancer (the U is one of her top choices) so I also looked through the U thread on Ballet Talk for Dancers. We also were not able to visit yet, but I get the sense that the dance studios are probably located some distance from the dorms (looking at the Fine Arts floor at Sage Point right now). With the hills, she’ll probably have to figure out the shuttle system. I did see in prior years a number of parents went ahead and did the housing application, willing to forgo the fee to ensure a spot in the reservation queue. I was hoping to get more clarity by 2/10.
It is important to apply for housing by the priority deadline (March 10 for LLCs, April 1 for general housing) in order to get a reservation spot, but there is no benefit to applying earlier than that. So you should know about the March 1 merit announcement by then. The housing that is left after the priority deadline is generally less desirable (pre-COVID there were some quite small triples). You don’t need to have actually submitted your SIR to Utah, but you would lose the housing application fee if you don’t actually attend (the application fee is $130, but the additional $200 room deposit is refundable until May 1). IIRC you can look for potential roommates amongst others who have applied for housing - you can list info about major and other preferences.
The new lower campus housing is for Honors (Kahlert Village for freshmen, which isn’t too long a walk), but most freshmen end up on upper campus, so it is a bit of a trek to the dance studios, although it is downhill in the mornings and Trax (the light rail) is a good option to get back up to the dorms at the end of the day.
Both @mom2adancer and I have D’s who are ballet majors (currently juniors).
I can’t remember the timing on everything now but I do remember putting down a housing deposit before we knew for sure that DD would go to the U, just to make sure that she had the best shot at decent housing. We were willing to lose that deposit/fee.
The hills are quite something, especially at the end of a long day! And if your student is in one of the dorms way up at the top then they are about as far from the dance building as they can get. DD used the campus shuttle or got a ride home from a friend most afternoons/evenings. Pretty sure she took the shuttle in the mornings, too, most of the time.
Thank you. I am so excited about the program (CS with EAE) that my son is interested in there and that fact that I could finally have a child in a climate that has winter that I am willing to risk that deposit/fee as well.
Thank you both! I was going to ask Housing, but does it make a difference when you submit your housing application? I understand that you’ll get a reservation spot as long as you get in before the deadline. But do you get an earlier time to reserve if you send the application sooner, or does it become random at that point? (Sorry if this sounds silly, this is our first rodeo.)
DD used the campus shuttle or got a ride home from a friend most afternoons/evenings. Pretty sure she took the shuttle in the mornings, too, most of the time.