<p>I really want to go to U colorado boulder and got accepted. However I am bummed and so are my parents about all the 'partying' and 'partying' reputation the school has. I know there is partying everywhere, and I also want to have a good time. But I want to study, enjoy my classes and the experience of college, not just get trashed every night. Every time I mention to someone I am probably going to Boulder they go...so you want to party!!! That is not why I want to go there and I wish that 60 minutes never aired that show because it wrecked it for Boulder.</p>
<p>I would love to hear from someone at Boulder and hear the truth about the school and if drinking is so rampant or more so than other schools??</p>
<p>First of all, congratulations on your acceptance.</p>
<p>As a parent of two kids who go to CU-Boulder and both have high grade point averages (one is Phi Beta Kappa), yes, there is partying. My kids have found a balance of getting a good education and partying. I can’t compare it to other schools today, but compared to my own college experience back in the Stone Age when I went ;), the presence of alcohol and drugs is really no more prevalant now than when it was then. And I went to a small, church-affiliated liberal arts college!!</p>
<p>Partying certainly doesn’t dominate the CU’s social scene, and there are many there who don’t drink at all, or rarely do. It doesn’t dominate my kids’ lives either. There are simply too many other fun things to do in and around Boulder that you don’t NEED to drink to have a great college experience there.</p>
<p>Actually, if you look at The Princeton Review’s 2008 list of the Top 20 Party Schools, CU has gone down on the list to #13. Far better than the times when it was #1, or close to it. </p>
<p>I find it hard to believe that anyone could get “trashed” every night at any school and still be there after the first year. Do I think that there ARE people who do indeed behave this way? Yes, I do. And some of the do go to CU-Boulder. But you’ll also find a few of them at nearly every college or university across the country. In any event, neither my daughter nor son have ever talked about that being the behavior of anyone they know of. It’s an exaggeration, and a stereotype not based upon the way most people live in college.</p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck in your decision. CU-Boulder has been a good choice for my children and my husband and I have been happy with the quality of their education.</p>
<p>Another Boulder parent here. D and friends enjoy parties on weekends, and not even that often. More often its going out to eat and to movies. (Although she has gotten very good at Beirut). And they work their butts off during the week. My D is happier than most of her former HS buddies. These kids have struck a balance between working and playing. D’s professors are attentive and supportive, and I am also happy with her choice.</p>
<p>Not true at all about it being easy to maintain a high gpa. Both of my kids work VERY hard to earn their grades. I’m sure there may be some classes where it might be true, but neither my son nor daughter have taken them.</p>
<p>Her roommates are in social sciences - both are working hard. Not 24/7 by any means, but weekends start on Friday. Easy to maintain a passing GPA - probably. High GPA? Not so much.</p>
<p>I would imagine communications at most places would be one of the less competitive majors. (Please don’t flame me - I am sure there are some programs that are selective and demanding.) This is a place where the Honors program could serve to enhance what might otherwise be a modestly challenging course curriculum.</p>
<p>This thread has been quite reassuring to me. The party scene at Boulder is one of my biggest concerns with going there (the other being finances). So I’m glad to see partying isn’t as prevalent as it seems sometimes.</p>
<p>Edit: I’m also in the Honor’s program, so hopefully that will help.</p>