The U offers state-of-the-art facilities, excellent education and great opportunities in terms of majors, internships and more. Students pay quite a sum in tuition to obtain these benefits, but what other advantages do Utes receive in exchange for their per-semester investments?
The U brings to the table a surprising amount of compensations and freebies for students. From software deals which can save students thousands of dollars of free subscriptions to Amazon Prime, there’s good reason for students to be educated about the resources they have access to.
Software
The U has partnered with multiple software companies, including Adobe, Microsoft and Autodesk, which have granted students incredible deals on software. Free access to necessary software is offered for students in just about any major, from arts to engineering. Designers and artists can find state-of-the-art programs within the Adobe Creative Cloud and Autodesk, and thus have access to hundreds of dollars’ worth of artistic content creation resources. Engineers, mathematicians and scientists can freely utilize software which allows for data analysis, graphing and more, such as OriginPro and LabVIEW. Even a business major can find use of advanced programs like Filemaker Pro, Excel and more.
Financial Planning and Jobs
Also offered as a free benefit to students is assistance with financial planning and job/career searching. The U has a full Money Management Center. There students can speak to counselors, attend workshops and have access to tools all focused on helping students create financial plans, learn how to network and be a good interviewee and even how to negotiate salary.
Student Resource Centers
In an attempt to assist students with finding groups in which they can fit in, the U has created quite a few student resource groups and centers. Among these groups are the Women’s Resource Center, the Veterans Support Center, the Center for Disability Services and the LGBT Resource Center.
Tutoring
Struggling with hard classes? The U takes tutoring very seriously, and has quite a few options for getting help if needed. The ASUU Tutoring Center offers low-cost individual or group tutoring in most subjects.
If paying for tutoring is out of the question, there are plenty of free help options open to all students as well. The Peterson Heritage Center and the Marriott Library both host free drop-in tutoring in the evenings. No-cost math tutoring can be found at the math tutoring center or on Khan Academy (an online resource). Writing help can be received at the Marriott Library in the writing center, and the ASUU tutoring center also hosts writing basics instruction. Finally, the colleges of biology, business and engineering all have their own free tutoring options.
Arts
Interested in arts and theater? U students get free access to a host of museums and shows, and at the very least are able to attend events at a discounted price with UID.
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Natural History, Museum of Utah and Red Butte Gardens are all available to students to peruse for free. Theater productions, movies, speakers and more at Kingsbury Hall, Pioneer Memorial Theater and Libby Gardner Concert Hall can all be attended at a discount or for free.
Sports
The U is a Pac-12 school and is famed for its football and basketball teams. Students can join the MUSS and get season tickets to elite football games for a very low price, and with a UCard can attend any basketball, volleyball, gymnastics or other sporting event for free.
Students can also workout at the Student Life Center as often as they desire. The facility provides a bouldering area, climbing wall, lap and leisure pool, track, racquetball and basketball courts, and a full weight-lifting area.
Austin Buttars, a linguistics student and frequent student life center user, said, “The life center has to be the best ‘perk’ we get here at the U. It is a great resource to keep healthy and to meet people who enjoy the same activities.”
In addition to the above, students can ride UTA and Trax for free with a student ID, and enjoy free subscriptions to HBO Go and Amazon Prime.
The U does its best to give its students benefits and freebies to help make life a little bit more affordable.
Links To Resources Described Above:
- For a full list of software offered for free by the U, see: http://software.utah.edu/new_software/index.php
- Money Management Center: http://personal-money-management.utah.edu/
- Career Exploration Center: http://careers.utah.edu/find-job/index.php
- Resource Centers: http://studentsuccess.utah.edu/resources/student-support/
- Arts on Campus: http://www.utah.edu/arts/