<p>I went to Boulder and it’s the only school I wouldn’t have let my kid even apply to. </p>
<p>I absolutely 100% loved the time I spent there - who wouldn’t - but I should have gone to Skidmore. </p>
<p>Only one for-profit school (and an obscure one that does not figure prominently in the usual articles about for-profit schools’ low graduation rates and high student loan debt) seems to have made the list.</p>
<p>My son is very interested in Boulder @emilybee. We visited and thought it would be a good safety for him. Is it really that bad?</p>
<p>They seemed to do more stereotyping than really looking into some of those colleges. There’s no way most of those would fit my “Bottom 15” list out of the 3000+ colleges out there.</p>
<p>No Boulder’s not that “bad.” </p>
<p>DS goes to CU Boulder as a grad student and loves the school. Hates his roommates. He is living off-campus and has roommates who are there to party, not study. He is switching to on-campus housing this fall where there will be oversight into the volume of the music and the pot-smoking/drugs. </p>
<p>He really likes his professors and feels they are interested in teaching him what he will need to know to be successful. He likes it better than the big state university he attended for undergrad where the profs were more interested in their research then the students. </p>
<p>Please don’t get me wrong…I am sure there are unis that I wouldn’t have wanted DS to go to - but Boulder is the only one out of the 3 I attended (two were for grad school) which I would have put my foot down. </p>
<p>I loved my years at Boulder - actually thought I would never leave. But, imo, unless you are extremely motivated to do well and can put blinders on it’s a school I would avoid. Also, they also make it very difficult to graduate in 4 years - not offering classes you need for your major when you need to take them so you can graduate on time. I have heard this hasn’t changed much since I was there in the 70’s. </p>
<p>“The 4-year graduation rate for the class entering in 2009 was 47%, a new record for the third consecutive year. Residents also set a new high at 49%, while non-residents equaled last year’s record of 44%. The rate for students of color was the second highest ever at 38%, but one percentage point below last year.”</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.colorado.edu/pba/records/gradrt/highlights.htm”>http://www.colorado.edu/pba/records/gradrt/highlights.htm</a> </p>
<p>Most kids at Boulder have to move off campus after Freshman year as they don’t have enough housing for more than freshman class. A few stay in the dorms after than, but it’s a very few. </p>
<p>I dont think CU is the worst one at that list by a good margin. But that was before legal pot. </p>
<p>I don’t think it being legal now is going to make one wit of a difference. It’s not like when it was illegal it stopped anyone. </p>
<p>Interesting list. Some I might agree with, some I have no idea about. Lots of SEC schools though! Maybe I should say lots of Southern schools since I think Florida State is in the ACC. </p>
<p>I’m surprised NYU didn’t make the list. It’s super-expensive for the quality of education (admittedly, a couple of its programs are top notch)…and can you imagine having to drive into NYC and moving your kid into the dorms? (I know several people who have and they said it was quite the adventure.)</p>
<p>It’s a bunch of sensationalist drivel, primarily using Princeton review data. I’m not sure what their axe grinding was about for those particular schools (like Why Pitt Institute of Art vs. any other one in the country - the rationale they used would still hold).</p>
<p>I think lists like these are silly. What I’m surprised about is since Alabama is listed @mom2collegekids hasn’t commented yet. 
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<p>I happily sent my kid to one of those dreaded schools, and would have had no qualms about her applying to several of the others. Drivel.</p>
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<p>I’ll respond. I wouldn’t have even have clicked on the link if I hadn’t read this response b/c Boulder has a fabulous physics dept so I already knew the link was bogus.</p>
<p>It is amazing, though, that with UA being ranked 36th in top public schools ranked nationally that the link claims it has such pathetic academics. Have to wonder about all the rest of the schools at the bottom.</p>
<p>I wonder where the journalist earned his/her degree? That school should obviously be ranked #1 for the article. :)</p>
<p>It’s just a clickbait list based mainly on “party schools” with a few others thrown in. Honestly since the advent of Facebook there seem to be more and more sites that just recycle old stuff and repackage it to get clicks and sell ads. </p>
<p>University of Alabama? Really? I’m not a fan and don’t have a connection, so I’m not partial to that school. However, a lot of parents are jumping at the chance to send their children there with the way they hand out full scholarships. And, yes, the academics are decent.</p>
<p>sally305 – I was thinking the same thing! NYU sent my child a glossy brochure (one of many, actually) that used a good amount of ink coaching prospective students on how to convince their parents that it is totally okay to send an 18 year old to New York City to college. Obviously, they thought they needed to do that.</p>
<p>I’m an Ohio University graduate, and I actually wanted one of my kids to go there. I loved the place, and got a great education there. I worked at one of the most popular bars near campus. Still I got a terrific education!</p>