Western Undegraduate Exchange

The joy of going to school and living on the Eastern Side of the Sierra Nevada...

If you are attending a community college, like so many of my friends are, or did...AND plan to transfer to a four-year to complete your BA or BS degree...you might want to consider applying for the WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange program) which allows students in neighboring states with good grades, the chance to attend for little more than a in-state resident student.

Technically, the WUE Program is one that you are responsible for applying to if you are looking to go from say, California Community College to an Oregon University or Nevada University. Each 4-year has their requirements, but it is easy to apply as long as you have a good GPA (believe most are 3.0 or 3.2 +). What it will save you is thousands of dollars each semester.

Some other options for out-of-state transfers is that you pay the "out-of-state" fees for one year, and then you can apply for in-state resident after the first year. Unfortunately, I applied for WUE and received that, and they do NOT allow you to apply for residency after the first year. To stay WUE you have to keep up your GPA...which means you study like I do until 3-4AM every night...and have very little free time to enjoy. The dangling carrot at the end of the stick however is that your student loans are minimal - and you have a degree!

Would I like to be sitting out in the livingroom at night with my hubby, or for that matter go to bed at the same time...sure. But school IS priority, because it is only a few years of sacrifice for the ultimate goal.  If you are thinking about returning to school, and are curious about attending a university out of state...give a call to their admissions office...they normally are very helpful and willing to send you information.

I will be very honest here in closing. I do miss being with my family and friends, and spending time doing medieval reenactment with my group, but school is NOT forever, and it will be so worth all the sacrifices. Yes, there are some events and experiences that I missed out on, but I believe that my education and obtaining my degree will outweigh all the "fun" I missed out on.

Working with our Jacob Staff to record Verdi sed layers

University of Nevada Seds class out in field measuring stratigraphy.