I graduated from there a couple years ago. It's a great school.
There are some apartments, like Wolverine Crossing, that will match you with roommates based on your preferences. If you don't want Mormon roommates, say so. Just saying you prefer wild parties, R-rated movies, and noisy late nights ought to do it.
I went there. I think it might be a little difficult to find non-Mormon room-mates, but you likely can if you try hard enough. It's a really good school, in my opinion. Good luck.
Went there too. Lots of awesome people but lots and lots of Mormons. (That's to be expected though) But You should be able to find the non mo's. Good luck!
I like the school. It is in Utah county, and in some ways it can be too much like BYU. For example: I took a class on human sexuality where students rated virginity as one of the highest attributes they were looking for in a spouse, and the teacher discussed how factors such as cohabiting before marriage and marrying someone of a different race increase the probability of divorce. The syllabus for one of my classes gave extra credit for video submissions, but required that they comply with the BYU Honor Code. I took an anonymous poll before my presentation in an English class about stay-at-home dads, and 100% of the class was opposed to dads staying home with their kids. There is an institute building on campus, and they do recruit students by giving out free candy at their booths in the hallway. On the other hand, there was a group that gave out free flavored condoms in the hallway, too. UVU has a growing number of international students, openly homosexual students, and the atheist club is supposed to be starting up again. I get the feeling that it's transitioning from a BYU prep school to a real university.
My older kids went there for a least a few semesters. My youngest will be going on full scholarship. It's a very good school. For the cost, it's a fantastic school.
(BYU still has a great engineering school and Utah State and the U both have better CS programs, but UVU's CS program is much better than BYUs, though I've heard BYU revamped theirs and it isn't as dreadfully bad as it was pre-2000.)
BTW, one very cool thing about UVU is that they have certificate programs for those who need to learn skills, such as being a bookkeeper, without all the baggage of non-related classes. They also have an excellent nursing program.
I work at UVU (I am not faculty) and have worked here for two years. There's an interesting enough mix of never-Mos, TBMs, and ex-mos to make it a diverse and interesting place. My oldest will be starting here this fall and he's excited. His non-Mormon freinds will be coming with him--his Mormon freinds are leaving on missions.
As for housing, I don't know what to tell you there and how to avoid LDS roommates.
In my job I work alongside students, faculty, and administration. It's a good school that is striving to become a quality educational institution. I've been impressed with the qualifications of kids coming out of certain programs.
IDKW people think it's difficult t find non or exmo roommates; There's plenty of them all over Utah County. As long as you don't have to sign some bullshit "honor code" inspired lease, you can so what you want in your apartment/house within reason. Jut make sure your name is on the lease.
I like UVU it has lots of oputunities there and sports that are available to me and in my interested and mormon roommates aren't that bad i room with one and she is't that bad or anything.
back in the day Utah Valley State was known as byuwanabe or Ricks South, or byu west. Not sure how much has changed, but just remember you will be going to school in the most highly populated areas by mormons in the world. So... good luck.
All the zoobies have to live in BYU approved housing. If you look for housing that is not BYU approved you will have a better chance of not having Mormon roommates.
UVU is a good school. I've got an MBA from there. There were no Mormon undercurrents to the curriculum or to the classroom.
If you're looking for non-Mormon roommates, I'd suggest you peruse ksl.com's housing classifieds. Most BYU students will need to live in BYU-approved housing; housing units that meet the requirements are usually listed as such.
Stick to smaller housing units. If you really want to dodge the college atmosphere, I'd suggest living in Springvillle or American Fork.
If you want to, you can probably find a small rental to yourself for about $500-$600/month. I've got a couple units in that range that almost always rent to students focused on academics and don't want to have to deal with roommates.
I went to UVU. I stayed in both BYU approved and non-BYU approved housing. Obviously, BYU approved housing tended to attract more of Peter Priesthood/Molly Mormon types.
In non-BYU approved housing there where still lots of Mormons but they where a lot more laid back. And yes, if you look hard enough you can find non-mormon roommates. There are non-mormon out of staters that go to UVU because it's a pretty inexpensive school. These students tend to stay away from BYU approved apartments.
Also, keep in mind that some apartments aren't technically BYU approved because they are too far away from BYU campus. But they still want you to sign a code of conduct very similar to the BYU honor code. These places should be treated as BYU approved. Stay way!!!
My son just graduated from UVU and has really enjoyed his program. The professors were all great and he had the opportunity to do research and present at conferences.
There are lots of non-Mormons there and a lot of no longer Mormons like you.
I had a scholarship to BYU. I would have gone to another university, but it was too close to my home. I wanted to leave my house to escape abuse, and I left two days after high school graduation.
The dorms at BYU were a lot of fun!
I loved the skiing! Tennis, hiking, science classes, piano, etc. There is everything you want at BYU. If you're creative, interested in fine arts, music, literature, etc., you will be disappointed. We used to drive up to SLC for all that.
Great social life! Something going on every night, and more on the weekends. I didn't drink, anyway, so never missed it.
I went to BYU with a great group of Mormon friends, all from California. We stuck together. I didn't enjoy the more fanatical Mormons from Utah, Arizona, and Idaho--they were more "acquaintances" than real friends. You will move on when you graduate, anyway.
I could never get past the fact that from the Interstate you could see that one of the buildings was named after David O. McKay. That makes me think that TSCC has plenty of its tendrils in the affairs of the college.
I work at UVU and got my bachelor's degree there a few years ago. One of my family members currently attends. Plenty of non-Mo, ex-Mo, and diversity of all kinds on campus, including the faculty and staff. There's a Starbucks in the library, a very active Spectrum club for LGBTQ supporters, and even a non-denominational meditation room on campus. If you're openly non-Mo, people generally quickly learn to respect that.
Housing: There's a housing office in the Student Health and Wellness building, plus a bulletin board in the hall by the Woodbury Business building where students advertise leases for sale, apt vacancies, etc. Most of the apt complexes list their rules on their websites, so it's pretty easy to weed out the ones that have BYU-type policies. Wolverine Crossing is good; I've also heard good things about the complex nearest Walmart (don't recall the name). Check outside the main Provo/Orem area for good deals and more liberal rules.