Why Should I Transfer to UW?

 

As a community college student, there’s always the question, “When I’m done here, where should I transfer to?” For me, it was easy to choose UW! Now, in the most non-corny and cheesy way possible - let me tell you about it. 

 

Close-ish to Home 

I’m from Torrington, Wyoming, so naturally, when I knew I was going to go to a community college my first year out of high school, I picked Eastern Wyoming College (EWC). It was cheap because I was still living with my parents, I really enjoyed taking my pre-requisite classes with people I knew from high school and I figured my classes from EWC would transfer easily since I wasn’t taking any classes specific to the major I knew I wanted to pursue after community college. 

It only took me a year at EWC to know I was ready to move on and go to college somewhere else. After my fall semester at EWC, I started doing research on where I wanted to transfer to. I had simple criteria as to where I wanted to transfer: 

• Town Size: I wanted to be in a bigger town than Torrington, WY, but I didn’t want to live in too big of a city. 

• Distance From Home: I wanted to stay relatively close to Torrington. I did NOT want to have to fly home for holidays. 

• New Opportunities & People: I wanted to be around new people and experiences I never got to encounter in my small town.

• Cost: I had to be able to afford it. 

I researched universities in Texas and Nebraska because I was one of those Wyoming kids that said, “I’m NoT goInG tO ThE UnIVerSiTy oF WyOMinG” for a multitude of reasons. I was coming up with every reason I shouldn’t go to UW, but as I was researching the universities in other states, they just weren’t meeting my checklist like UW was.  

Laramie was definitely bigger than Torrington, but also not too big of a city. It was only two hours away from my parents. I was more than able to afford it, and as someone who’s been in Laramie for more than four years now, I can say I get to experience people from all different backgrounds, and I LOVE that about Laramie and UW. Long story short, UW was the place I needed to be, and I wish I had realized that sooner. 

 

 

Wyoming Peeps (And Friends Mostly) 

Okay, another big reason I wanted to go to UW was because I was finally going to get to live (and go to school) with my best friend from the town over—and a lot of our mutual friends were headed to Laramie as well. It’s always nice to head into something unfamiliar with those you’re close to, so it was comforting to have her there even though we weren’t taking any of the same classes. It was the best of both worlds. I was keeping some of my closest friends from home and meeting new people at UW. 

There was a part of me that was excited to meet people outside of my high school. Wyoming is a small state, so there’s this preconceived notion that you’re going to be around the people you went to high school with all the time at UW. But that’s not what I found to be true. 

I took 22 classes at the University of Wyoming. I had ONE class with someone from my high school and ONE class with someone from my county. UW is large enough that you rarely see folks from your high school unless you’re really seeking them out.  

 

 

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Admission 

While transferring credits from a previous institution to UW is typically an easy process, if you’re feeling nervous, you can look into doing a pre-transfer credit evaluation. Based on your student type, you have different ways to go about checking what credits will and won’t transfer to UW.  

For me, all the classes I took at EWC transferred, and the only class that didn’t transfer was the occupational internship that I did in high school. It makes sense that it didn’t transfer as many, if not all, degree programs must approve internships you take to ensure they’re actually something related to your degree. 

So, for the question, “Will my credits transfer to UW?” The answer is most likely... yes! 

 

Dedicated Transfer Student Resources 

The Office of Transfer Relations is a department on campus dedicated to making your transfer admission process as easy as possible. If you’re looking to transfer to UW, don’t be afraid to snoop around their website or get in touch with them. Also, transfer students can attend transfer-specific admission events (so you can get a feel for UW before committing) and participate in Transfer Saddle Up (for when you know UW is the right choice). 

 

 

Transfer-Specific Scholarships* 

On top of all the transfer student resources offered at UW, there are also scholarships available to transfer students. Let’s break ‘em down: 

 

 

*This blog was written during the spring 2024 semester. Scholarships and financial aid information is subject to change. For full, up-to-date details about transfer scholarships, please visit our Scholarships & Financial Aid website. 

 

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Ready to transfer to UW?