Having the experience of living on campus can be as important to the overall college experience as classes. The residence halls are where students bond, often forming lifelong friendships while learning how to live without parents and with a roommate — or a few roommates with suit-style rooms. It’s also where many experience free-range intellectual discussions with faculty and classmates after hours.
Unfortunately, the traditional four-year education is increasingly beyond the financial reach of many students and families. The best — and often the only — option is to attend a two-year community college.
And now there is a way to combine the living-on-campus experience with a two-year college.
At Northwest College, a community college in Powell, Wyoming, students from anywhere in the country can both live and learn on campus, just as they would at a four-year school, but for the cost of a two-year education. The rural college is unique not only in Wyoming but perhaps in the entire Northwest.
“Unlike typical community and junior colleges, NWC has on-campus residence halls, off-campus apartments and townhouses for older students, a student center with multiple dining options, and a robust Student Activities office that puts on over 100 student events each year,” says Carey Miller, communications and marketing director. “We give students the ability to transfer to a four-year college or university to complete a bachelor’s degree or to go straight into the workforce.”
NWC also offers the same types of federal financial aid as four-year colleges and universities, and scholarship packages rivaling other institutions. Scholarships are available for academics, sports, the arts and non-athletic endeavors like livestock judging, in addition to need-based scholarships. The college recently introduced a Welcome to Wyoming Scholarship that provides reduced tuition for qualifying out-of-state students.
Part of the school’s draw is its small-town atmosphere — Powell’s population is about 6,400 — as well as its location.
“We're in the northwest corner (of Wyoming) and the furthest away from the University of Wyoming,” says Dee Havig, interim vice president for student services. “We’re just the perfect place to get a lot of students from Montana and, through our intercultural program, almost 70 international students here this year.”
Another draw rivaling four-year institutions of higher education is the amazing number of programs and activities for students, including some 45 clubs and numerous teams that compete in National Junior College Athletic Association games. The school also brings touring bands and performers to campus every semester.
“One of the things we pride ourselves on is putting on programs and educational events in the residential halls,” says Chris Dugger, residence life coordinator. Last year, for example, science professor Michael Cuddy conducted fun experiments with students in the halls. “It’s the kind of thing students love that brings them together.”
So does simply walking across campus. “It's easier to know those around you in a small-town school,” says Lee Blackmore, interim residence and campus life director. “There’s just a feeling of community and belonging.”
To learn more about Northwest College, visit nwc.edu.
Northwest College has been serving students for 75 years. The world around us is always changing, and Northwest College is committed to evolving to continually meet students' needs.
