There are tons of colleges, yet I have to chose one to get a good education. Ever since I was a little kid, I have always liked The University of Wyoming. Having lived there for five years before moving to Weiser, most people think I am crazy for cheering on UW in all sports. When we live in Laramie we went to around 3 Wyoming Cowboys games, and even though they usually lost we had a great time. I have heard Clemson University is also a great school but I have never been to any events involving them. These two colleges both seem to be great, but between the two I don’t know which one to chose.
   

College Blue Book states that the University of Wyoming was a land grant university built in 1886. The university is a member of the North Central Association of colleges and schools. It was the first university west of the Mississippi to offer correspondence courses. The whole school tries to live by the moto, “the state of Wyoming is the campus of UW.” Among other things, UW has a nationally recognized research facility, and is home to one of the nations most extensive study abroad systems. According to the book America’s Best Colleges the school was founded before Wyoming became a state. It became a state four years after the school was founded, in 1890. UW
   

Clemson University’s history is way different than Wyoming. It was originally founded by Thomas Green Clemson, a former engineer and miner. He went to school in Europe for a while, and there he earned his formal diploma as an assayer for mines. When a war broke out he enlisted in the confederacy and mostly made nitrate bombs for use. He then founded Clemson university once the war was done, as stated by Clemson University’s website. The website College Blue Book said that when it first opened the college was an all male, military school. In 1893 the agricultural part opened. Then in 1955 the school changed to “civilian” status, allowing more people to get in.
The University of Wyoming is known for a few majors. As stated in Big Future, UW’s most popular majors are are education and profession since thirteen percent of all students participate in it. Engineering is what I want to major in, and eleven percent of students chose it as of the beginning of 2015. The type of engineering that I want to do, that this school has is civil engineering. 

Clemson has a few of the majors I want to participate in. The highest percentage of 19 percent in this school learn business and marketing. But engineering is also very popular since 17 percent of the students learn on that field, according to petersons. Information found in the book, Fiske’s Guide to Colleges, states that almost all students going to this school agree that engineering and architecture are the schools strongest attributes. Those two majors fall right into the category of what I want to do. On the website,College Blue Book, it states that other popular majors in the engineering field include electrical and computer engineering. The only one of those two that interests me is electrical engineering.

I would love to go to a school that is known for a few things. Wyoming is known for many things. As stated in America’s Best Colleges former alumni include Dick Cheney, a former vice president, Cynthia Lummis who was a former state treasurer and legislator, Ardis J. Meier who was a Chief Pharmacy consultant to USAF surgeon, Alan K. Simpson who served as a former US senator. Wyoming University’s heritage center is one of the largest west of the Mississippi River. Information reported on Forbes, states that Wyoming University’s research facilities are ranked number 90, and in the west they are ranked number 36. It also states that Wyoming is ranked as one of the best colleges for your money.

Clemson also has many things it is known for. First, their former alumni are James Byrnes, the former U.S. Supreme Court Justice and TV entertainment journalist Nancy O’Dell, and Sammy Watkins, a former NFL wide receiver. As stated on Forbes, Clemson is one of 18 schools that has been honored by the American Football Coaches Association for its graduation rate of about 90%. The university maintains several centers that offer entrepreneurial experience. In May 2013 two architecture graduate students placed in a national competition for their design proposals for a library in Pendleton, South Carolina.

To get to Wyoming there are not as many requirements as other schools, but still quite a few. According to Big Future, admission deadline is on August tenth. There are 4,348 applicants. and 4,154 are admitted. That means that 96% of the students are admitted, giving Wyoming a really high acceptance rate. Important things to have are academic GPA, rigor of secondary school record, and standardized test scores. Information available from Lili.org state that to enter the school you must have a cumulative high school grade point average of at least 2.75, and an ACT score of at least 20. Or an SAT score of at least 960. Undergraduate admission generally requires completion of at least 13 high school units in a pre college curriculum.
Clemson has quite a few more admission requirements than Wyoming. First, as stated in Big Future, Clemson University accepts around 57% of their applicants. They around known to the website as, “somewhat picky.” Like Wyoming, they need a high school grade point average of around 2.75, and an ACT score of at least 20, or a SAT score of 960.  College View, states that there are approximately 18,500 applicants, but only 10,702 are accepted. Around 3,463 are enrolled. The deadline for applications is May first.

Wyoming is thought of as one of the best colleges for your money on multiple sites. As found in Big Future,  out of state tuition is 14,876 which is way cheaper than most other colleges. But including, transportation, supplies, housing, etc. the price adds up to 28,921. Peterson’s states that tuition is charged by credit hour.  Information shown at College Express, states that 60% of the students needs were met, and the average financial aid is 9,119 dollars. Even for the low price Wyoming offers, the off a great education system.

Clemson University is a lot more expensive than Wyoming University. Big future states that out of state tuition and fees add up to be 31,562 dollars out of state. Books and supplies are $1,112. Room and board on campus is $8,730, off campus is $6,556. The overall cost for on campus is 45,362, and off campus is 29,494. Even though it would cost more for transportation, I would like to live off campus because of the cost. Cost per credit hour out of state is 1,359. As stated in The website Colleges Nich, out of state tuition is $30,000, books and supplies are $1,098, and room and board add up to be 7,914. Even though it is way more expensive than Wyoming, Clemson University offers a great teaching system as well.

Wyoming sports are definitely not all that strong, but I am still really interested in competing in them. According to Peterson's They are members of the NCAA division 1. The two sports that interest me are football and track. There are 70 men in the track team, and 111 men on the football team. As stated in College Express, their mascot’s name is Cowboy Joe and they are a part of the Mountain West conference. 
Clemson also has track and football. According to multiple sites there football team is part of Division 1A. According to Peterson's I could get a scholarship for it making it easier to make it into the school. For Football games they have an 80,000 person stadium. According to Fisk, everyone in town is excited for football games, and Clemson is a very competitive city.

As found in Big Future The University Of Wyoming has a 14:1 student faculty ratio. There are 10,118 undergrad students. The average age is 24 and 17% are part time students. There are 52% women and 48% men. 87% of first year student are living in college housing, while 23% of undergrad students live in college housing. Peterson’s says that there is college owned housing. There are no requirements to live in these. There also is  special housing for disabled and  separate male and female housing. Campus security and safety include 24 hour patrols, 24 hour alarm services, and electronically operated dorm services.There are  838 faculty members. And 14:1 or 10,517 students to 762 faculty. The University Of Wyoming’s website says that 10,209 of 13,929 students are undergraduates. Also off UW’s website, to ride a bike around and or park it you must registrate which is only 5 dollars. To ride it on campus you must follow the same rules as automobiles which includes riding with traffic and stopping at stop signs. You must yield to pedestrians, not ride on sidewalks, and you are required to have light if it is night time. I would love to have a bike on campus for exercise and transportation. Wyoming has has many traditions. First, according to UW’s website, within a 15 minute drive of town, students can enjoy numerous outdoor activities like skiing, hiking, fishing, rock climbing, rafting, and mountain biking are all within easy access. I would love to be able to have these activities within easy reach so I could have a lot of fun on off days.

Big Future states that Clemson University’s average age is 20 years old. Only 5% are part time students, and 54% of the students are men, and 46% women. 35% percent of the student are from out of the state, while 65% percent are in state residents. 41% percent of the students live in college dorms. Freshmen are permitted to have a car, and no students are allowed to have a pet. According to Clemson’s website you must have a parking permit to park anywhere on campus. If your car is found parked in an area where you should have one and it does not, your car may be towed and impounded. I would prefer to have a car for faster transportation outside of school. There are also many celebrations the students participate in, including Thomas Green Clemson’s birthday, and gathering on Bowman Field, which first served as the training ground for Clemson cadets. This is one of the reasons that I would want to go there. Participating in all of these events would be a really fun.

As stated in Sperlings Best Places Laramie is often referred to as , “The gem city of the plains.” It is about 45 miles away for the capital, Cheyenne. The University of Wyoming is the only college in Wyoming. Laramie is perched at an elevation of 7,220 feet above sea level. It’s early days typified the wild west days, and the prison built in 1872 that was near Laramie hald many famous outlaws, including Butch Cassidy. In 1870 Laramie was where the first woman voted. The University was built to stabilize the city and influence its growth. They get 11.5 inches of rainfall, 49.8 inches of snowfall, each year, and an average summer temperature of 79 degrees, and an average winter temperature of 12.1 degrees. On a scale of 1 to 100 for violent crime Laramie is a 37. For property crime it is 40, according to Sperling's Best Places. Having seen pictures of UW’s campus, and living in Laramie there are many great outdoor activities to do.

As stated in Sperling’s best Places, Clemson University is located Clemson, South Carolina. It’s elevation is 809 feet above sea level. The town gets 52.7 inches of rain, and 3.5 inches of snow each year. The average summer temperature is 90 degrees, and the average winter temperature is 31.3. On a scale from 1 to 100 for violent crime, Clemson is a 44, which is way higher than most areas of the U.S. Also on a scale of 1 to 100 for property crime, Clemson is a 51. Clemson Has way higher rate of crime than Wyoming, making Wyoming a lot safer overall.

There are many things that my school must have. First, they must have athletic teams like track and football, which Wyoming, and Clemson both have. Second, they need some kind of engineering program, and since both schools have one, either school would be fine in that aspect. I would also like to be able to enjoy great activities only a few minutes out of town.

After comparing and contrasting these two great schools I have decided that the University of Wyoming is my favorite college. It is way closer to home, since it is only a twelve hour drive, and Clemson is way across the country. Wyoming also has activities only a few minutes out of town that I would love. One of the main reasons I would love to go here would be because Laramie is where I lived for five years before moving to Weiser. Lastly, Laramie has a way lower crime rate than Clemson, making it overall a lot safer. Even though Clemson is way warmer, I like the fact that Wyoming has four the actual four seasons. Now that I have looked into these two great schools, I would definitely chose The University Of Wyoming.