The smaller, big school

Introduction
The biggest piece of advice I can give for an incoming student is that the University of Utah is a public university and therefore is quite big and has some restrictive red tape. I chose the U of U because it was close to home and it seemed like a good school for a decent price with great dorms and great opportunities for a social life. What student should stay away? A student that wants top notch academics; actual professors and not teaching assistants or grad students.

Campus Life and Social Life
The best part of social life: great greek scene, the dorms provide plenty of interaction and various individuals to do things with, Crimson Nights are huge parties thrown by the school with everything from dancing and eating to snowboarding, mudwrestling and rock climbing. Sports is always a plus at the U; football brings out a huge amount of support and student involvement. Gymnastics, basketball and volleyball have great turn outs as well. Clubs are available but not sufficiently advertised, though they are here and present if you look for them. The worst part: the parties can be limited if not in the greek system and it can be hard to get around to different events. Advertisement
Academics
Academics: well you only need to look at our rating; the academics are par, nothing great until you get into graduate classes where you have actual professors and intellectually stimulating debates and lectures. What sucks: the abundance of TA's, and the less than stellar classroom enviornments. Workload completly depends on the teacher, anywhere from little to tons, it depends on majors as well. The medical, law and dance programs are fantastic, with great programs and teachers.

Student Body
There is no typical student at the U. There are married students trying to go to school and balance a family. There are the LDS students who can find their niche in LDS programs. The dorms bring about the usual college student, mostly 18-21 years in age and ready to go out and have a fun time while attending school. Most students are from Utah and are into everything from church to sports to partying. The student body is not diverse and not very open to alternate lifestyles.

In Closing...
The U is what you make of it. There is a club and a niche for every type of person, you just might need some help finding them or it.