CU Boulder, Cal Berkeley or Washington?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Colorado
1

Hi everybody,

I am a senior at a top high school in a high school in Arizona. I have a 35 ACT and a high GPA plus good EC’s (captain of two varsity sports teams and volunteer at a local homeless shelter). I am applying to CU Boulder , Berkeley and the University of Washington. I am also planning to apply to UCLA but was not that excited about the school when I visited. I want to study History and Econ. Boulder was really sweet when I visited. The campus, the people, the academics and the overall quality of life are all a draw for me. I want to study History and Econ. Right now I am leaning towards CU. Money isn’t an issue, so I just wanted to get everybody’s feedback. I know I might be giving up some prestige but I really fell in love with CU when I was there. What is everybody’s take on CU?

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For Econ I would go with UCLA, just a stellar program. For History, Berkeley, but it depends are you interested in native American and US history? CU Boulder has an expert in that field, with a Pulitzer Prize, Professor Elizabeth Fenn. There are some newer economics professors who are good at CU as well.

What is your end goal in life? If you want to go to business or law school, you will be OK at CU Boulder, if you study for LSAT and score well. If you want a PhD in history, the higher ranked programs are a MUST. If you want a PhD in economics, you need a double major, in math and economics, which CU is actually very strong in math, if you are bent that way. But UCLA and Berkeley are at least as strong in mathematics as well. The problem I see at U of Colorado is the Arts and Sciences is a catch all school and so serious humanities students go elsewhere. A liberal arts college, does that interest you? You would get more attention to learn to read and write well at a liberal arts college, but I do think UCLA is truly stellar for economics. Berkeley is a history/English powerhouse too.

CU is a smaller school with closer relationships between professors and students, is one positive. If you are a stand out A student, then CU professors will love you. AT UCLA or Berkeley you will be in a sea of A students with just as high a score on the ACT. You will fight more for attention out there, but it may be worth it, depending on your end goal.

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They’re in fact significantly stronger.

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If you love the vibe at CU, I can’t imagine you would be happy at either CAL or UCLA. If you are set on history or econ, you most likely will be going on at some point for an advanced degree. While CU may not have as strong a program as the others, you will still receive a great education there and can always look at some of the stronger programs for a Master’s or higher. So much of what you get out of college is due to “fit” and it sounds like CU is a top contender for you in that category. The top UC’s schools are very competitive and there is no guarantee you will even be accepted, although on paper, it certainly looks like you would be a likely. With your stats, you also might have a better chance for some merit at CU than at the others, although I know you said money is not an issue.

5

Thanks for replies everybody! My father was the one to first suggest CU Boulder to me- he runs a large asset management company and does a lot of business in Denver. He didn’t go to CU but says a lot of his clients in Denver / Cherry Hills Village did. He thinks CU Boulder will give me a great education, very good contacts, and allow me to have an awesome college experience and get a great job no matter what I study.

When it comes to CAL, I am worried that the student body is too far left and that the school wouldn’t be the full college experience. And last year when CAL students burned down and vandalized their own student union, I was turned off and started to seriously consider CU Boulder as an alternative. I am a political moderate and think I wouldn’t be socially accepted if they are that intolerant of free speech.

I will keep everybody up to date on my apps / decisions!

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@liberalarts2018 I think Boulder is very similar in stifling free speech. The word “Trump” is not allowed
inside city limits over there! OK, joke, but here are more details about Boulder: . Boulder
has a concentration of climate scientists at government labs, like NCAR and NOAA, and the climate research centers at CU Boulder. and thus, Boulder feels very l threatened by Trump’s budget that could cut
climate research, and Trump supporters who may deny climate change, and not want to fund that research work.
Boulder is paradoxically mostly white though, not very diverse in race, so its mostly old white people who
are voting Democratic and teaching at CU Boulder. Look up the Conference on World Affairs, held at CU Boulder
to get an idea. Its a bit of a joke, mostly Democrats with one Republican stool on each panel, and they slaughter
the Republican “pig” in every panel discussion. Really stupid, but thats Boulder !

If you are after a more politically balanced student body
consider schools like Case Western Reserve U in Ohio, schools in Iowa, Wisconsin, Kansas,
or schools in Atlanta. There are plenty of Republicans in those states, and the student bodies there
are more open minded.

While Colorado was a swing state, Boulder is decidedly Democratic.
Boulder is pretty far left
as a city, but not as “crazy activist” as Berkeley. UCLA is balanced and plenty of Republicans are there, UCLA’s economics department is very central or right wing, not left. The left leaning economics departments are U of Chicago and MIT.

Don’t worry and just don’t get involved in politics and you will be fine at Berkeley, CU Boulder or UCLA though.

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@liberalarts2018 The fire at Berkeley was started by outsiders, not Berkeley students. There is a movement
called antifascism, and those people are terrorizing some campuses, lately but its calming down. Berkeley students
are not necessarily any more liberal than Boulder students. Many Berkeley students are very serious students. Boulder students? Well, many are here to ski, some are here to study. Boulder Engineering is very good, Arts and Sciences, no where near the quality that you can get at Berkeley or UCLA. Consider the CU LEEDS school of business, maybe though, its a bit more serious students than the large Arts and Science pool at CU Boulder.

You can still get a good education in Boulder, but you have to focus and not get drawn into the party scene here.
Its known as a party school locally, with a serious engineering college, and a very serious music conservatory.

Here is the info about the Berkeley fire. It was NOT started by students there.

http://reason.com/blog/2017/02/01/uc-berkeley-protesters-set-campus-on-fir

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While UCB students are left-leaning, most are unlikely to be any more left-leaning than one would expect based on age (younger people are more left-leaning than the general adult population), location (most are from California), and race/ethnicity (about three quarters are non-white, so you should expect them to be left-leaning on racial issues and generally opposed to the white nationalism that makes a lot of noise from the right).

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If your heart is at CU Boulder, then go for it. But to set the record straight, the folks that vandalized UCB weren’t students. As a large public university, the public think the campus belongs to them. It wasn’t students who vandalized their school.

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The CU campus thinks of itself as very liberal, but it is in Boulder county and that’s not quite so liberal. Two of my most republican friends were raised in Boulder. Everyone in Boulder isn’t associated with the university. I’d also say it is ‘college student liberal.’ Many of the kids I went to school with were ‘save the world’ liberal (and do it with other people’s taxes as you aren’t paying any yet) when we were in school but are either moderates or conservative now. So not quite die hard liberals.

I say the negative compared to the other schools you list is diversity. Boulder just isn’t very diverse. It is only about 45 minutes from the Capitol so if you are interested in internship they are very easy to arrange (and transportation is free to students in the metro area). It’s also very easy to get to other things in Denver too - major league sports, concerts, theater, airport, restaurants. It’s easy to feel part of the bigger metro area while still being in a much smaller community for the actual school. It is farther away from the core of the Pac12 than the other schools (but fun road trips!).

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Even though finances are not an issue with you (per your post), with your high scores/stats you can likely receive strong merit aid / scholarship at CU–but would not at UCLA or Berkeley.

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Very different schools, fwiw. Not clear to me that a student would be a good fit at all three… or four.

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again, thanks everybody for your replies. I have boiled down my college search to CU, Berkeley, and UCLA. I am now considering a finance / history double major or maybe even a triple major with political science, too. I know its ambitious but that’s the kind of student I am. Right now, it comes to down to fit. Berkeley definitely has the edge in the rankings but CU Boulder has, from my experience when touring and sitting in on a lecture hall, equally as intelligent students. I loved that they were smart, personable and laid back. The guy who gave me a tour at Berkeley was super uptight and awkward… I’m certain that CU is the whole experience but I’m still trying to decide if the trade off in rankings is worth it… I mean, this is all assuming I get into Berkeley but with a 4.9 and 35 I’m pretty certain I have a good chance haha. And UCLA is a dark horse in all this. I like their econ program but the campus seems too urban for me.

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Try for a scholarship to CU, compensation for your hard work in high school. Get paid and then you can feel good about it as well.

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If you like the Boulder vibe, go there. You would be giving up some prestige, but fit beats prestige, imo. It is a perfectly good school and very well respected locally if you decide to stay in the area after graduation.

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With CU Boulder, you are going to need to apply to Leeds school of Business for the undergrad finance degree. It seems you will easily get in, given your grades and scores. CU Boulder history department is OK, I would tell you, that a lot of C students get into CU Boulder here in Colorado, but only into Arts and Sciences. Leeds School of Business, Music, Engineering and College of Education are a bit more competitive than CU Boulder Arts and Sciences. So you may find that the students are better in the finance degree, than the history program at CU.

So, if you want finance, look over this school at CU Boulder and make sure you specify it, on your applications.
The criteria are
a tad harder, so its much better to get into Leeds and transfer into Arts and Sciences, should you change your mind, than visa versa.

However, I still say the finance degrees at Berkeley and UCLA are going to be stronger, but yes, very nerdy at Berkeley. Berkeley for in state kids, is only the very top California kids. Out of state, still requires mostly As and a lot of AP courses, to get into Berkeley. UCLA has got a lot of kids who like the beach. It seems pretty nice campus too, but its not Boulder, which is a very small town, of only 100,000. LA, one of the largest cities in the world.

Here are the options for majors you have at CU, if you apply to Leeds, Accounting, Finance, Marketing or a management degree. You can easily combine that with any major in Arts and Sciences, such as history or poly science.

https://www.colorado.edu/business/academic-programs/undergraduate-programs

The business colleges in California, are much stronger though than CU Boulder for a finance degree.

Where do you want to work eventually? I you want a job in California, I would go to UCLA, or Berkeley if
you get in.

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Compare Leeds School of Business finance degree with the Berkeley Hass School of Business programs here:
http://haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/

And then look at UCLA’s economics programs here. You cannot major in undergraduate finance at UCLA.
http://economics.ucla.edu/undergraduate/

However, I still say that UCLA may prepare you better for the very top MBA programs if thats what you are after,
than any degree at CU Boulder, including, the Leeds undergrad finance degree.

So it really depends on hour goals. If you want to get into an MBA program, go with the top ranked school, or
you may not get into your MBA program. If you are less picky and want a Colorado experience, then go with CU Boulder.

CU Boulder is well respected but its just no where near the education you will get at Hass School of Business or
the Economics programs at UCLA. You will work much much harder at either UCLA or Berkeley, I mean at least
ten to twenty hours more per week. So you will learn more.

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^ Thanks for your insight. I am not particularity worried about landing a job because my father has many connections everywhere in the country. That is why I am more concerned with fit.

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Look carefully at Berkeley’s business and finance undergrad program here, its the second two
years of your four years at Berkeley:

http://haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/pdf/suggested2yearplan.pdf

Then look carefully at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business programs. They are four year
programs and you must apply to Leeds to get these majors, including finance.

https://www.colorado.edu/business/academic-programs/undergraduate-programs/finance/finance-requirements

The Berkeley, program, if you can get into it, will lead to jobs like Morgan Stanley in New York City,
or Morgan Guarantee Bank management training programs.

The CU Boulder program will be fine if you want to stay in Arizona at a bank or run a business in Arizona.

It really depends on your goals, which one you should pick. UCLA is much more similar to Berkeley I would
say than CU Boulder. CU Boulder is about the same as Arizona State. You would save money going to Arizona State,
and I think it does offer a more rigorous business program.

If you later decide you want a PhD in political science or history, the California schools will give you
a better background for that as well, and a better change at admissions. You will be working much harder
at UCLA or Berkeley than you will be at CU Boulder.

Good luck.

20

Take a look at the very well ranked W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State
and compare what they offer to CU Boulder.

https://wpcarey.asu.edu/undergraduate-degrees

I think you can get an OK finance education in Boulder, but it would cost you less to go to a better
ranked finance program at Arizona State.

Boulder does have very very strong mathematics and science programs, top in the nation, but
for business I would choose UCLA, Arizona State or maybe Berkeley if you can stand the nerds up there.