We live in California and are considering a few schools in Colorado. University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs and Colorado State University Fort Collins. While I can see stats for each, GPA, etc. wondering how to figure out the feel of each school, want to narrow them down before we go for a visit I would prefer a more college town, less commuter campus. Any suggestions how to find out? Also, has anyone compared them and have any observations to offer?
Jenn
Common data set section F1 will tell you what percentage of frosh live in the dorms, which is usually a reasonable proxy for how residential the campus is (upper level residential students commonly live off campus near the school).
94% CU Boulder https://www.colorado.edu/oda/sites/default/files/attached-files/cds201718_temp2.pdf
96% Colorado State http://irpe-reports.colostate.edu/pdf/cds/cds1718.pdf
57% UCCS https://www.uccs.edu/ir/sites/ir/files/inline-files/CDS_2017-2018v3.pdf
Both Boulder and Fort Collins are very nice towns, Boulder richer and more expensive. CU Boulder has a housing problem for upperclassmen, and many rent off campus, where the rents are very high. But it’s definitely not a commuter school. UC Colorado Springs is more of a commuter school as far as I know. CSU may be cheaper both in tuition and housing, especially for OOS, but CU Boulder is higher rated, especially in engineering and physics. I’d say CU Boulder’s campus is beautiful, CSU’s is nice but not outstanding.
Awesome info! I appreciate the data. Trying to look at a few states that I have little experience with …
Jenn
Note that CU Boulder has an odd situation with respect to fraternities:
11 are recognized by the school (3 MCGC, 5 NPHC, 3 CU-IFC).
19 are completely off campus under the “IFC on the Hill” because they did not agree with the school’s conditions for recognition in 2005, after pledge died of alcohol poisoning.
2 were part of “IFC on the Hill” but were expelled due to not meeting that organization’s conduct rules.
CSU is part of WUE, so it will be cheaper than CU. UCCS is just cheaper
Boulder is more of an urban experience than the others. It is closer to Denver for concerts, films, sports, theater. Also closer to the airport. Students only live on campus as freshman, but there is lots of (expensive) housing surrounding the campus. CU is the flagship and has most majors, and the only one I can think of that it doesn’t have is nursing (that’s at CU Denver/Anschutz). The social fraternities are not recognized as student groups but most are just off campus on the Hill, in the same areas they have always been. There is PAC-12 sports, high tech majors like aerospace engineering and computer science in engineering or in A&S, music, theater, a lot of strong science majors. Many of the OOS students are from NY, Chicago, Texas and California.
Ft. Collins is more of a western town. It has some tech businesses (Intel) but lots of agriculture studies and of course the vet school. The schools are about the same size for undergrads. D1 sports but in the Mtn West conference for the most part. Big, new football stadium. More of the OOS students are from western states (partly because of the WUE tuition break). Just feels more western.
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Colorado Springs is the biggest city, but the least urban feel. It is heavily military and has several megachurches. It has its own TV stations and newspapers so not as tuned into Denver. It is just much more conservative in every way. It has the US Olympic center, The Broadmoor for golf, and a nice ice arena. The Air Force games are a blast even if you don’t go to school there. Students can and do live on campus more than just freshman year. It was a commuter campus but is growing and as it does, more and more dorms are built.
All three cities are the county seats, have courthouses and government operations. Not everyone in town is connected to the universities. CU and CSU are a much bigger part of their towns than UCCS. When you are in Boulder or Ft. Collins, you know the university is there. Colo Springs? Not so much. The Springs does have the AFA and Colo College to up the student population and provide other social opportunities.
You also may want to consider Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction. It is also a western town, but the school is a nice size and if an engineering major, the degree comes from CU-Boulder.
Expensive is all relative when comparing prices for rentals in Boulder to say apartments by say Berkeley or UCLA. It’s still less than 50% of the cost.
Thank you! Very helpful feedback.
Jenn