I’m currently a senior attending West CTA in Las Vegas and I’m very conflicted between UNLV and UNR. I want to major in kinesiology and eventually go to PT school. UNR would definitely be my choice if dorming wasn’t so expensive (around 10k a year). My parents are urging me to go to UNLV because its cheaper and they’re giving me sweet bribes like buying me a car and paying for gas money! haha. From what I’ve heard, UNR is better academically and has more of an active campus which is why I’m leaning towards it so much. I also have cousins that go to UNR and love it. Going to UNLV would save my family and I a lot of money and I would pretty much graduate debt-free. A fear I have with going to UNLV is that I won’t make those “lifelong friends” you always hear about because I feel like a lot of those friends come from living on campus. Also, the UNR campus is beautiful and I love how it snows and is near Lake Tahoe. I definitely know more about UNR than I do about UNLV so I guess I would just like to learn more about UNLV. Which school would be better for my major and finding a career? I feel like UNLV is wiser geographically because I plan on continuing to live in Vegas and not move out of state. How are the UNLV professors & student life? Is the kinesiology program good? Is the PT school good?
Can you afford to spend one year in the dorms at UNLV and then move back home to save money?
Yes, a lot of the friends come from living on campus, but it’s not the only way. A time-consuming extracurricular where you travel together is another situation that can help make special college friendships. A singing group, sports team, or Greek organization can do the trick.
There really isn’t that much difference between UNR and UNLV. UNLV has some key advantages since it’s in the middle of a major city. That often means internship opportunities. Plus it’s cheaper. Believe me, there’s a lot to be said about graduating without debt! $300 a month is a lot of money to pay for student loan payments when you’re starting out.
UNR is better than UNLV academically - but UNLV is really bad. Beside the hospitality management program, it’s poorly funded and it a commuter school. Many parents in the know, including who could send their kids to UNLV for free, try to get their kids in at a WUE school or at least UNR.
How would you fund the 10K? Typically, with the 5.5k federal loans, a part time job spring semester+summer job, all your parents would have to contribute is about $3,000. Or are the 10k above what your parents can contribute, and in that case, do you have a job and savings? Really the most important moment to be in the dorms is freshman year. You could probably simply live in the dorms at UNR just that year and look for a cheaper place for sophomore year. (I’d actually recommend you try and live in a dorm/LLC at UNLV too if you end up attennding).
Frankly, even an inexpensive car’s cost would likely pay for two years in dorms at UNR and after that you’d live in lower cost apartments with friends.
Most importantly, how well will each university prepare you?what percentage kinesiology majors return from freshman to sophomore year? What percentage kinesiology majors make it to a PT school? What type of support does the school provide? Are there health related LLCs? Ask each university and compare the answers. (Lack of answer or inability to provide numbers is also a bad sign).