UofU tops for helping entrepreneurs

The University of Utah has earned the top spot in a ranking of top 50 U.S. colleges for aspiring entrepreneurs.

LendEDU, an independent marketplace for student loans and student loan refinancing, said its study considered “the opportunities that are available for those interested in entrepreneurship in general.” Rankings were based on the number of entrepreneurship courses offered, average tuition and fees, and entrepreneurship resources available.

LendEDU noted in its rankings that the UofU and its Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute offer about 40 courses specifically related to entrepreneurship and have below-average tuition and fees of $12,222.

“Students have a chance to compete in the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, which is a statewide competition focused on student business-models,” LendEDU said. “Cash prizes total over $100,000 to the selected winners. The grand prize is $40,000 while other awards are offered to teams who lead in subcategories. Possibly the most important program offered through the university is the ‘Company Launch’ program. Here students will have an excess of resources available to them such as office space, a business mentor, legal services and more.”

The rest of the top 10, in order, are the University of Iowa, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, UCLA, University of Delaware, Babson College, University of South Carolina, University of Texas and Arizona State University.