<p>CU Boulder vs. Colorado State University? Which one is "better" and why? My sister went to CSU and really liked it, so I know more about that school than CU.</p>
I live in Colorado and most everyone I know look at these schools the same. Some say that CU is much better, but that’s cause they either went there or are stuck on a bandwagon. CSU is respectable (have the number 1 vet program, good business school, agricultural school). It also depends which city you like and their environment. Boulder is mountains, tons of start-ups, closer to Denver, skiing. Think like a silicon valley for the mountains. Fort Collins is also a nice town, but more flat, breweries (boulder has some too). Both have been rated as good towns to live in. Which is better depends on you and what you’re majoring in. For physics, music, or engineering I would choose CU, for example. CU has a great physics and astronomy program. Last I checked, they got more nasa funding than any other school. CU is more known to out of state people. In my opinion, overall, it’s the best public school in the state. But CSU is good as well. I visited CSU and it looked really nice. I like CU more but I like Fort Collins more. If I had the choice, I would choose CU. Visit both!
We are from Colorado, son attends CSU. If you ask him or any of his friends, CSU is hands down the better choice. I am sure the opposite is true if you ask any of his friends that attend CU. The 2 schools have very different reputations among Coloradoans. Boulder is a very liberal community and many say the party scene is way out of control. I also know several students that transferred from CU to CSU for that reason. Not to say that CSU doesn’t have a party scene…I think it’s just not as prevalent. Although a large campus, CSU seems to have a more personable, smaller town feel…probably a greater percentage of in-state versus out of state students. Fort Collins is a safe, friendly college town and less than 2 hours from skiing, 1hour from Denver. The quality of education or program is what you make of it and for majors like engineering or premed, it won’t matter where you did undergrad. Also, CSU business school recently outranked CU.
I have friends that have attended both CU and CSU. Both are very good schools but their atmospheres are drastically different. People that attend CU either love it or they hate it and many end up transferring out. It is very cliquey as well as a much more liberal than CSU. CSU is known to be much more laid back and accepting. Both Boulder and Fort Collins are awesome towns that are both filled with well known startups and breweries. I have been to both campuses and in my opinion Colo State had a much better campus because it seemed much more modern and open. If you want more of a traditional college look then CU has more of that kind of look. CSU is also cheaper than CU. You need to go check out CU though and see which atmosphere you like more.
Cost of living is very much less in Fort Collins than Boulder. So overall cost differential is bigger than it seems. Students live off campus in both cities after freshman year. CSU has a serious freshman binge drinking problem
that is not so prevalent in Boulder. Boulder has more drug use. Boulder is not really that liberal, but I am from NYC and find Boulder to be mostly religious freaks and beer lovers and food freaks as well as skiers. its not intellectual in Boulder and not really any more liberal than Fort Collins, I have lived in both cities, Fort Collins for nine years and five minutes from Boulder for 16 years. Fort Collins is just about the same for liberal politics as Boulder although they tend to think they are not! Strange but really look at the voting records to see i am right.