<p>Hi, hoping someone in the know can help! What are the relative merits of CU-B vs CSU for:
- engineering programs
- campus life
- niceness of dorms
- proximity to town (restaurants, shopping, nightlife - hoping not too much of that last one!)
- proximity to skiing
- friendliness of students/residents
- ease of getting classes, getting to know profs</p>
<p>Also, I've poured over each school's web site, and my general impression (just from the web) is that CSU is welcoming, friendly, and does what it can to make it super easy to learn everything you want about the school (and also easy to sign up for a tour), whereas CU-B is bureaucratic and so large it is almost impossible to find what you're looking for.
One click and we were signed up for a tour of CSU. Conversely, I had to almost apply to the school just o sign up for a tour-- had to set up an account and get a student ID; unbelievably convoluted-- took me a while to even find the web page. Makes me wonder if it will be difficult to navigate the CU-B admissions process as well, and/or solve admin problems if you're actually a student there?</p>
<p>Any insight? I would especially appreciate any tips or inside info I can't get from the websites.
Thanks!</p>
<p>Both are good schools, in college towns. We live between them. </p>
<p>CU Boulder is closer to Denver (and airport) and the big mountains. The town is very artsy/upscale. The campus is beautiful, with red tile roofs. CSU feels more spread out (more grass), relaxing. Campus housing is limited, so students at CU and CSU seem to move off campus after freshman year. Boulder definitely has a good bus system, and I think same for Fort Collins. </p>
<p>It seems CU has the edge on engineering/research reputation, but I think both schools are good. I’ve heard that CSU is quite strong in Mech Eng.</p>
<p>Ft. Collins is down in the flatlands east of the mountains near a big reservoir; Boulder sits in the middle of the mountains. Not saying that Ft. Collins is far away from skiing, but it’s farther than Boulder is. </p>
<p>FWIW, there’s a couple of huge breweries in Ft. Collins. (New Belgium and Anheuser-Busch so I’m not talking about trendy micro-breweries.) Ft. Collins certainly has more manufacturing industries than Boulder.</p>
<p>Ft. Collins is doing some really innovative stuff with green engineering tech–mostly through CSU’s mechanical engineering dept.–if that’s an area of interest.</p>
<p>My just-passing-through impression of Ft. Collins is it’s more sprawling residential and middle American than Boulder which has a trendy-hip vibe going on. </p>
<p>I’ve never had a kid at CU, but my best friend’s son graduated from there not too long ago. My impression is that he didn’t have too much in the way problems dealing with the CU bureaucracy. (I’m sure I would have heard horror stories otherwise.)</p>
<p>While I didn’t attend school in Colorado, I now live outside of Boulder thus can contribute in a small way to this discussion. Definately more distractions (i.e., nightlife) in Boulder. Skiing is only 30 mns away from Boulder with public transportation taking you up the mountain to boot. Ft. Collins being an hour from Boulder is 1.5 hours from skiing. From an aesthetics perspective CSU is in the prairie with mountains in the background while Boulder is at the base of the Flatirons (i.e., foothills). I would hazard a guess that CU will have more out-of-state students for whatever that’s worth. </p>
<p>On CSU’s side is definately cost, both from a cost-of-living standpoint as well as tuition. </p>
<p>Both are not too far from Denver International Airport (45 mns vs. 65 mns in Boulder’s favor), and both are going to have very friendly people. Most/all of this (besides cost) falls in the intangible/fluff side of things, but I hope it adds some insight nonetheless.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your input! I’m feeling as though CSU might be the better fit for S, but the CU campus is gorgeous. I guess we will see where he gets in.
Thanks.</p>
<p>If you are out of state, be aware that CO rules make it very tough to transition to residency. They made that very clear at CO School of Mines (a state school) info sessions. OOS should be prepared to pay OOS tuition for for 4 or more years.</p>
<p>Yes, and I would not have posted that CSU offers the OP WUE tuition without first checking the CSU website (assuming that the OPs location is accurate):</p>
<p>Also, while CSU WUE has gpa/test score criteria, it does not restrict on the basis of major and is given to all students that meet the qualifications.</p>
<p>I have been to both campuses/towns and like them both. I was much more impressed with CSU than I expected to be. Ft. Collins has really become trendy. I think CU has a little edge in academic prestige, but not a significant one.</p>
<p>We looked at them both with S1, it reminds me of the Michigan State and University of Michigan. Each, CSU and CU, have programs that they are very good at. CSU has stronger instate like Michigan State and both have great campuses…only different. CSU like Michigan State has the vet school and stronger natural sciences and majors like hospitality etc. I would say pick the stronger program you are interested in if cost is not a factor and if cost is a factor pick the one that fits your budget better.</p>
<p>One thing I’ll add, although OP didn’t mention this (just for future readers who might do a search and come up with this thread). Colorado just passed a law that makes marijuana legal for recreational use. There are already 100+ dispensaries in the Boulder area from the medical marijuana era. I would assume that Ft. Collins has a similar (but maybe smaller number). This may not have any concern for your student with regards to this issue, but out-of-state parents who are looking to send their kids to any school in Colorado, might want to make a note of this new reality.</p>
