Why hasn’t university of Utah blown up for oos like Boulder/Burlington?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are wary of Mormons.

Can you explain in greater detail?

Im not mormon but I’ve been out there many times and it seems pretty decent?

And also slc is rapidly de-mormoning and byu is the one that gets the hard core Mormons

People who haven’t been to UT are wary.

Most people who haven’t been to SLC don’t realize how non-Mormon it is.

Maybe I went to the wrong spots or it's changed a lot, but I walked around SLC for a day maybe 20 years ago. The number of soda machines that sold caffeine-free variants of soda was eye opening to me. On its own, that's a pretty trivial thing, but it spoke volumes about Mormon influence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Salt Lake City is fun to visit, and Utah is great for skiing, but I would not want to go to college that lacks diversity

Have you been to Boulder? Beautiful but super-white.

Super skinny too! We were in Boulder for a couple of days and, for reasons that remain mysterious to me, found ourselves in a McDonalds. We joked that we spotted the one fat person in Boulder there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The battle for water rights and access is real. SLC is facing a significant water crisis - beyond conservation efforts - with some areas using water trucks.

+1 This is going to be a huge issue going forward. Why contribute to it?

Also, a huge part of their problem is no doubt that there aren't any other major population centers within a day's drive of SLC, and most people don't want to be that far from home. Boulder has the same problem, but not some of the other issues mentioned.

Vegas is an easy 6 hour drive. SLC airport is 15 minutes from campus. Also within a 6 hour drive: all of Utah’s national parks (Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Escalante, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Grand Canyon), Moab, Jackson Hole, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Sun Valley, Targhee, Saint George (underrated but stunning, especially if you golf or cycle), Lake Powell, Boise.

Water is a big issue. Hopefully it deters new people as I think the Covid boom was all we can take.

The anti Mormon sentiment is borderline bigotry on here. Mormons who choose Utah over BYU are a different breed. Mormons who would be your neighbor in SLC or Park City are UMC or wealthy and they are generally more progressive. The rest live in Utah County (closer to BYU), where you’d never go other than for kids’ sports, unless you work in silicone slopes, though plenty of people work in Utah County and live in SLC or PC.

Same poster you responded to--Utah is actually my favorite state in the country to visit. It's gorgeous! And my opinion of Mormons is very high (especially after seeing how they responded to Trump), but I understand why many young people would be wary of going to college in a state run so conservatively vs. Colorado or Vermont.

I highly recommend "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" by Jon Krakauer. There is a lot of ugliness buried under the super-pleasant Morman facade.

[Anonymous]

I’m a former Mormon so i don’t have good feelings about the Mormon church, and I don’t want people to make the U harder to get into, so it’s fine if people stay away because of Mormon influence.

But what is so bad about Mormon influence? Do you worry your children will become bigots? That they will have to go to the liquor store to get real alcohol instead of being able to go to the grocery store? That they will go crazy from seeing all the fried blonde hair? That they won’t get to be friends with people whose idea of a crazy night out is playing a board game while drinking mocktails?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The battle for water rights and access is real. SLC is facing a significant water crisis - beyond conservation efforts - with some areas using water trucks.

+1 This is going to be a huge issue going forward. Why contribute to it?

Also, a huge part of their problem is no doubt that there aren't any other major population centers within a day's drive of SLC, and most people don't want to be that far from home. Boulder has the same problem, but not some of the other issues mentioned.

Vegas is an easy 6 hour drive. SLC airport is 15 minutes from campus. Also within a 6 hour drive: all of Utah’s national parks (Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Escalante, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Grand Canyon), Moab, Jackson Hole, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Sun Valley, Targhee, Saint George (underrated but stunning, especially if you golf or cycle), Lake Powell, Boise.

Water is a big issue. Hopefully it deters new people as I think the Covid boom was all we can take.

The anti Mormon sentiment is borderline bigotry on here. Mormons who choose Utah over BYU are a different breed. Mormons who would be your neighbor in SLC or Park City are UMC or wealthy and they are generally more progressive. The rest live in Utah County (closer to BYU), where you’d never go other than for kids’ sports, unless you work in silicone slopes, though plenty of people work in Utah County and live in SLC or PC.

Same poster you responded to--Utah is actually my favorite state in the country to visit. It's gorgeous! And my opinion of Mormons is very high (especially after seeing how they responded to Trump), but I understand why many young people would be wary of going to college in a state run so conservatively vs. Colorado or Vermont.

I highly recommend "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" by Jon Krakauer. There is a lot of ugliness buried under the super-pleasant Morman facade.

Nobody who isn’t Mormon needs to make decisions in their life based on weird-ass, obscure Mormon doctrine that the church has distanced itself from (or flat-out repudiated). If you don’t like this stuff just don’t get baptized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The battle for water rights and access is real. SLC is facing a significant water crisis - beyond conservation efforts - with some areas using water trucks.

+1 This is going to be a huge issue going forward. Why contribute to it?

Also, a huge part of their problem is no doubt that there aren't any other major population centers within a day's drive of SLC, and most people don't want to be that far from home. Boulder has the same problem, but not some of the other issues mentioned.

Vegas is an easy 6 hour drive. SLC airport is 15 minutes from campus. Also within a 6 hour drive: all of Utah’s national parks (Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Escalante, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Grand Canyon), Moab, Jackson Hole, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Sun Valley, Targhee, Saint George (underrated but stunning, especially if you golf or cycle), Lake Powell, Boise.

Water is a big issue. Hopefully it deters new people as I think the Covid boom was all we can take.

The anti Mormon sentiment is borderline bigotry on here. Mormons who choose Utah over BYU are a different breed. Mormons who would be your neighbor in SLC or Park City are UMC or wealthy and they are generally more progressive. The rest live in Utah County (closer to BYU), where you’d never go other than for kids’ sports, unless you work in silicone slopes, though plenty of people work in Utah County and live in SLC or PC.

Same poster you responded to--Utah is actually my favorite state in the country to visit. It's gorgeous! And my opinion of Mormons is very high (especially after seeing how they responded to Trump), but I understand why many young people would be wary of going to college in a state run so conservatively vs. Colorado or Vermont.

I highly recommend "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" by Jon Krakauer. There is a lot of ugliness buried under the super-pleasant Morman facade.

For those that don't read, there is a miniseries of the book on Hulu.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remember this is DCUM. The most opinionated people here generally don't know much about anything but their so-called "T50" universities and those in VA/MD/DC/PA/DE. Once you get past that list, most of their opinions are shaped largely by a particular college's location and whether they'd like to visit or live there.

In the more informed real world, I think the issue with U of Utah is largely a perception lag:
- UVM and Boulder have long sought and attracted wealthy OOS students (drawn to the beauty and skiing), dating back decades. Not so with Utah.
- CU and UVM also have had stronger academic reputations that would attract OOS students (and their paying parents). E.g., Boulder has always been viewed as the strongest university in the Rockies. UVM's rep might not be as strong as it was but it was considered one of the original 'public Ivies.' Utah was a fine school but didn't have that kind of national-level academic reputation.
- There's almost certainly some degree of ill-informed stereotyping of Utah going on, particularly among those far away on the East Coast. Notwithstanding that UofU is actually considered Utah's school for non-Mormons (compared to BYU) or that Salt Lake City with its LGBTQ mayor is a lively state capital not a theocracy. For people given to simple-minded dismissals, "Utah - Mormons!" is considered thoughtful analysis.
- I think for OOS applicants who actually looked into the UofU, the fact that until recently it had a relatively low percentage of students living on campus (or from OOS) reinforced the perception that it was mostly a commuter school for Utahns (compared to the livelier campus life at places like Boulder or Tucson or Eugene).

Some of these are issues (more dorms, better academic reputation) that the University is addressing, and some will be remedied more organically (perceptions of Salt Lake City will eventually catch up with reality). But I suspect the OOS trailblazers at Utah will be not East Coasters but California students who can't get into UC schools, and will start establishing an OOS presence at Utah as they have at other state flagships around the region. That will change the university's OOS demographics, and also help change UofU's on-line reputation for OOSers in a way that will finally trickle back to the East Coast.

OOS trailblazers are already here - lots of kids from California, plus kids from all over who love to ski. The kids who love to ski and mountain bike come here from all over, find their people, and never want to leave. Dorms aren't great but they are doing some innovative things, like the Lassonde Center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remember this is DCUM. The most opinionated people here generally don't know much about anything but their so-called "T50" universities and those in VA/MD/DC/PA/DE. Once you get past that list, most of their opinions are shaped largely by a particular college's location and whether they'd like to visit or live there.

In the more informed real world, I think the issue with U of Utah is largely a perception lag:
- UVM and Boulder have long sought and attracted wealthy OOS students (drawn to the beauty and skiing), dating back decades. Not so with Utah.
- CU and UVM also have had stronger academic reputations that would attract OOS students (and their paying parents). E.g., Boulder has always been viewed as the strongest university in the Rockies. UVM's rep might not be as strong as it was but it was considered one of the original 'public Ivies.' Utah was a fine school but didn't have that kind of national-level academic reputation.
- There's almost certainly some degree of ill-informed stereotyping of Utah going on, particularly among those far away on the East Coast. Notwithstanding that UofU is actually considered Utah's school for non-Mormons (compared to BYU) or that Salt Lake City with its LGBTQ mayor is a lively state capital not a theocracy. For people given to simple-minded dismissals, "Utah - Mormons!" is considered thoughtful analysis.
- I think for OOS applicants who actually looked into the UofU, the fact that until recently it had a relatively low percentage of students living on campus (or from OOS) reinforced the perception that it was mostly a commuter school for Utahns (compared to the livelier campus life at places like Boulder or Tucson or Eugene).

Some of these are issues (more dorms, better academic reputation) that the University is addressing, and some will be remedied more organically (perceptions of Salt Lake City will eventually catch up with reality). But I suspect the OOS trailblazers at Utah will be not East Coasters but California students who can't get into UC schools, and will start establishing an OOS presence at Utah as they have at other state flagships around the region. That will change the university's OOS demographics, and also help change UofU's on-line reputation for OOSers in a way that will finally trickle back to the East Coast.

Op here…this all makes sense

Just wanted to give a heads up to all the sporty outdoorsy kids in dmv that there is another option besides Vermont and Boulder

I met a parent of a UofU freshman over the weekend. She said her student snowboards 2x per week. Freshman, loving it there, great friend group.

[Anonymous]

Why does this thread feel like a UT commercial? Give it a rest.

[Anonymous]

BYU grad here. FYI, the Mormons who go to U of U instead of BYU aren’t necessarily less relaxed about Mormonism. BYU is much more competitive for in-state students (it’s actually quite difficult to get in as a white student from Utah) so a lot of U of U students are there because they couldn’t get into BYU.

It’s a totally different atmosphere but there are still plenty of stereotypical Mormons at U of U.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BYU grad here. FYI, the Mormons who go to U of U instead of BYU aren’t necessarily less relaxed about Mormonism. BYU is much more competitive for in-state students (it’s actually quite difficult to get in as a white student from Utah) so a lot of U of U students are there because they couldn’t get into BYU.

It’s a totally different atmosphere but there are still plenty of stereotypical Mormons at U of U.

BYU does affirmative action?

[Anonymous]

The trend now is toward vacation destination colleges. Who wants to be in rural bumf*k upstate NY, Maine, CT or western MA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are wary of Mormons.

Can you explain in greater detail?

Im not mormon but I’ve been out there many times and it seems pretty decent?

And also slc is rapidly de-mormoning and byu is the one that gets the hard core Mormons

People who haven’t been to UT are wary.

Most people who haven’t been to SLC don’t realize how non-Mormon it is.

Interesting — Utah is rapidly becoming the go-to spot for east coasters on ski trips so I imagined the word got out to those families who are considering cu-Boulder and uvt-Burlington oos sincr that demo overlaps pretty heavily with Utah ski trip demo

Rapidly becoming? It has been a prime destination for 30+ years. The Olympic build out transformed SLC and the region into something remotely acceptable from a travel and tourism perspective. The first few times I went there, you couldn't even get a drink with dinner in a restaurant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been to Mormon events, churches and even the Temple. The cult of it is designed to make insiders and outsiders. Someone I knew had to leave SLC because he would not convert.

While in Utah, a man at a hotel would not rent a room to us because we didn’t have wedding rings on. At the Temple, the word was out to wear skirts and the Mormons could ID each other.

Who wants to put up with that? Much rather be in Boulder or somewhere more inclusive.

Unless you lied and said you were Mormon, or it was during a period of decommission like the one in MD had last year, this would not be possible.

[Anonymous]

My son is a freshman and looking at schools in Utah. We go skiing in Park City every winter break since he was in kindergarten and we've gone to most of the national parks in Utah. My kid is an outdoorsy kid who loves winter weather. We are not LDS.