College-bound students now have an easier way to find UW System campuses that best meets their needs. A new mobile app called UW Journey guides students through the college search process by comparing and contrasting the 26 UW System campuses. It matches a student’s career goals, extracurricular interests, lifestyle and more. Users can also sign up for alerts about important dates, such as when admission opens, ACT test days, and financial aid deadlines. The app is available in the App Store and Google Play.
“We invite students to start their college search with UW Journey to consider the full range of UW campuses that meet their needs,” said UW System President Ray Cross. “Whether you are a transfer student, an online student, or a recent high school graduate, UW Journey brings you one step closer to finding the UW campus for you.”
“UW HELP has a long history of serving as the front door to the UW System,” said UW Colleges and Extension Chancellor Cathy Sandeen. “We know students use their phones for everything now, so it made perfect sense to develop a mobile app like UW Journey. It is a fun and interactive way to learn about all of the campuses and the opportunities and resources each offers.”
The UW Journey app sifts through data and instantly shares which UW campuses are a fit based upon a series of questions, such as their areas of study and interests, if they would like to start with a 2-year or 4-year campus, and how far they would like to live from their hometown. Built-in tools provide side-by-side comparisons of UW campuses including:
- Number of programs offered at the campus
- Campus and community size
- Cost of tuition
- Faculty to student ratio
- Residence hall information
- Options for athletics and other clubs
The UW Journey app is also available in a website version. UW Journey was developed by UW-Extension’s UW HELP program, which strives to incr ease access to the 26 UW System campuses through personalized advising and outreach activities such as college fairs, community presentations and training sessions for school counselors.
UW HELP also develops publications, websites, and other electronic resources. In 2016, UW HELP advisers communicated with nearly 140,000 students, their family members and school counselors through face-to-face presentations, calls, chats, texts, webinars and email. Learn more at uwhelp.wisconsin.edu.