After conducting research on college tuition, average financial aid and the typical salary of a college grad, Growella’s website has ranked UW as the third best value college for paying off students loans and debt.
The website’s assesmment on the value of a college was based on the cost of tuition, in conjunction with the student loan debt accumulated during college years that can be paid off by a graduate’s salary in their choice of occupation.
With UW’s relatively low cost of tuition, supplemented by the generous scholarship and financial aid opportunities, Director of Scholarships and Financial Aid Debra Heintz feels that the university is affordable compared to other schools.
“I feel like, currently, what’s being offered in financial aid is attractive to allow students to come here and not shoulder the full cost on their own,” Heintz said. “The tuition is lower and more reasonable; when you look at other schools, [UW] is very affordable.”
Some of the scholarships available to out-of-state students include the Rocky Mountain Scholars Award, as well as the Western Undergraduate Exchange program. For in-state students, there are the Hathaway Scholarships, Wyoming Scholars Award and the Trustees’ Scholars Award.
Each of these scholarships are based on a cumulative high school GPA, as well as SAT or ACT composite scores, which coincide with the criteria outlined by the scholarship programs regarding who can receive which amounts of aid.
“It is so inexpensive with the scholarships and the benefits that we get if you’re a Wyoming resident and get good grades,” Josie Brinkerhoff, a family and consumer sciences major and Hathaway Scholarship recipient said.
Growella has calculated UW’s student loan payment-to-salary ratio at 20.17 percent. This number shows the average student loan taken out by an attendee presents a relatively low hit to a post-grad salary that enables one to pay off remaining debt.
While the monetary aspect of the university is a major part of the best value college calculations by Growella, the prospect of receiving a well-paying job upon graduation is another determining factor in the value of UW.
“A lot of parents and students are looking for an education that they can afford, but also they’re going to get an incredible opportunity here to not only learn in a classroom but outside the classroom [to then] ultimately get a job,” Director of Admissions Shelley Dodd said.
The importance of class quality and campus involvement tends to be a trend in the success of vocational careers of students at any university. At UW, there are a wide variety of opportunities for engagement on campus through clubs, athletics, study abroad and more.
“We all know how great this place is … but I’m so impressed with what our students get in an education here, and then, like I said, outside-the-classroom opportunities,” Dodd said. “There’s so much to offer students.”
Through websites like Growella, the word is getting out that UW is a valuable and competitive college. In this case, it is the appeal of low student debt and well paying post-graduate occupational opportunities that gives UW the ability to stand out among prospective Pokes.
“Students are savvy, parents are savvy, so they’re gonna do a lot of their search for information by doing stuff online to see what others are saying because ultimately, they want to pick a school that they see themselves being successful at,” Dodd said.
