Hey y’all,
I know choosing a college is pretty stressful, and CC is a particularly offbeat school, which makes it kind of hard to read. I just started this year and this site was really helpful to me when I was decided, so if anyone has any questions about CC, the block plan, or anything, I’d be happy to help!
How conservative/liberal is the student populace?
That question can be answered on a number of levels. In general, CC is a liberal haven in an astoundingly conservative city. That said, there is neither polarization nor avarice on campus. The focus is always on individuals and respect for individual rights. I hate to use politically charged terms, but if anything, CC is libertarian with a very positive outlook for the future.
If you are talking a strictly political orientation, I would have to say that most students here - but not all by any measure - feel the Bern. But at CC, there is a civil political dialogue that bears almost no resemblance to the general political atmosphere.
Thank you! Wondering how the block plan works for the D3 athletes at CC. When they travel for games, they must have to miss class? Seems like missing a day or two of such an intense class would be very hard to make-up.
Missing class is definitely a really bad idea. It is almost impossible to catch up and get an “A”. One thing people forget about the Block Plan - the faculty only teach one class per Block. So if an athlete comes back and puts in the effort, the professor typically makes the time. I actually have a 3 person project this Block, and both of my partners are athletes who will not be in class the entire week of the project. All anyone can do is buckle down and make up the work.
Hey! Thanks for doing this.
A following question on the overall political atmosphere on campus…At the school I’m currently at, it’s overwhelmingly liberal and while I don’t have a problem with that, the students tend to be overly judgmental of any other opinions or views, and you can get kind of ostracized on campus for having those views. It gets to the point where a liberal/political undertone is applied to everything (floor themes are about drag queens, floor meetings are only about discrimination, in-class discussions of a book turns into a bash of the author’s political views, etc. I don’t really care for politics much though, and it all feels a bit confining.
Does CC have that same kind of atmosphere or is it a bit more accepting? Thanks!
CC is definitely not a judgmental place.
Just thought it might be useful to point out that we had Newt Gingrich on campus a few days ago and Bernie Sanders tomorrow. So the CC campus is open to all ideas, though there is considerably more excitement about feeling the Bern.
@ohwe11 I have a question concerning career placement services in CC. I am planning on majoring in Computer science and Economics and would be extremely interested in being in a place with decent career services (internships, projects …) Is colorado college the kind of place where I’d be surrounded by people with the same interests or at least be able to pursue mine? Thanks
Hey, @braveape , the career services here are really very good, specifically the Career center. They are fantastic at finding internships and programs for students and walking you through all the processes involved, especially if you already have an idea of what you want to do. There are definetly majors where it’s a little hard to find internships and projects to participate in without setting it all up yourself, just because of our location and the resources around-- but Computer Science and Economics aren’t some of those. One of my best friends is a CompSci major and it’s really strong, with a lot of opportunities to get as involved with it as you’d like. You’ll definetly find people that share your interests, here! If you have any more concerns about those majors specifically, I’d definetly recommend just emailing a faculty member from each major and saying you’re a prospective student looking at their majors and was wondering what kinds of opportunities are available – they’d be able to give you a lot more concrete examples about what’s out there.
My D17 is very excited to be going to CoCo next year, but she’s not a member of this website. So I have a question, if you don’t mind talking to an old lady. I remember in my college, I made most of my friends via meeting them and having semester-long classes with them. With the Block Plan, is it harder to develop deeper friendships?
Hi, was accepted here last year during regular admission and stupidly went to a large prestigious public university instead. I am incredibly unhappy there, haven’t connected with people in my dorm, hate the huge campus, and am committed to transferring out. Do you have any sense of the transfer experience at CC? What about chances of transferring after being a regular admit? I’d appreciate any input you can give me. Miserable in CA
@JenJenJenJen – Hi! That was definetly a concern of mine when I got to CC, but I really don’t find that to be the case, at all. One of the great things about the block plan is that you get to meet a lot of people for a brief period and you really do end up retaining a lot of those friendships. There are certainly people that are just ‘block friendships’ where you hang out for 3.5 weeks and then just nod at each other one your class finishes. But, I have made a lot of very close friends that I met outside of blocks, during orientation, from activities, and from being in blocks with them. I’ve made better, closer friends in 6 months, here, than in 4 years at High School.
You’ll totally get periods where you’re in a very intense block and your friends aren’t, so you’ll go through periods where you’re less close with people, but it always comes right back. Congratulations to you daughter!
@manning36 Hi. I’m sorry to hear you’re unhappy at your school, but it’s very good that you know what you want. I have a number of friends that are transfer students and they’ve all had a really good experience. I know that there aren’t a large number of transfers (but then again, there aren’t a large number of students, either), but CC works really hard to make them all feel included and welcomed on campus from orientation, onwards. People here are extremely friendly and it’s really easy to get into the social scene and make friends as a transfer, winter start, or first year new student. The only difficult part may be adjusting to the block plan, but it’s totally worth it.
I don’t know a lot about the chances of getting in. I believe the transfer rate is about 20%, but I can imagine already having gotten in before will certainly help you. Definetly make it clear why you are unhappy at your current school and why you think CC would be better.
Good luck and hope to see you on campus!
Hey, thanks for doing this! Do you know how the conducive the block program is to the sciences, specifically environmental science? I’ve heard it can be somewhat bad in that aspect, as far as rigor. Thoughts?
I see the campus is adjacent to the highway and train tracks. Can you comment on the noise impact on campus?
There is a 30 foot high sound barrier between campus and the tracks. At worst, it is like white noise near the apartments. By the time you get to the library or Armstrong, you cannot hear anything.
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I live near washburn and I can hear the train from the Drake coal plant in the middle of the night, but I got used to it. if you live on the east side, there’s the annoying bells that ring all day until 9 or something, so bring earplugs.
What does “extended block” and “half block” mean? Do you take these in addition to another class? Second question: when you add up your time in class and labs plus your time doing preparation for class (reading, writing, etc). How many hours would you say you spend per week while you are in a block? What is your major, and is that typical time for other majors?
The definitions are pretty much self explanatory. The base unit at CC is the Block. It counts as 1 unit of the 32 necessary to graduate. There are also a handful of classes - the extended blocks - which cover two consecutive Blocks and earn 2 credits. In January, there is an opportunity to take a class for only 10 days as opposed to the typical 18 days. These are Half Blocks and count as .5 credit. There are also Adjunct classes worth .25 credit and you can take one of those per year.
A student ought to prepare to spend up to 10 hours per day in class, in lab, or studying. This is no picnic. Then again, after every 18 days of class, we get 4.5 full days of picnic and peace. And there is still plenty of time for recreation on weekends. There are intramural sports at night. So this is not an academic jail.
I am an Environmental Policy major, but heavy on Physics and Chemistry in preparation for Sustainable Engineering. So I have more labs in the afternoon than most students. Science majors have more class time, but an argument can be made that Humanities majors have far more reading. My typical day is class from 9 to 11:30 or so, lunch from 12:00 to 12:45, lab from 1 to 3, study from 3:30 to 5:30, Dinner from 5:30 to 6:30, and study from 7 to 10. I typically spend 4 hours studying on weekend days. Because I take science courses with labs as my electives, I probably spend more time than most. Science labs are typically 2 or 3 days per week.
But the most valuable currency we have is time. Students and professors only have one commitment per Block. So if you want to discuss a topic with a teacher until midnight, you can. You don’t waste an hour running across campus for your other two classes in a day since everyone starts their one class at 9 and ends at 12.
Again, this is just one person’s experience, but I would not expect the same GPA as in high school, especially if you are in the sciences. There is no grade inflation here. Take your 3.3 and run with it! Most people I know had a 4.5 (W) or above on a 4 point scale in high school. None of us have anything near a perfect GPA here. Then again, people at CC are not hyper-competitive and rarely talk about grades, high school or college. Learning seems to be more important than getting a perfect 4.0
To sum it up, days during the Block can be hectic. You cannot really get away with taking a few afternoons off, or take 3 day weekends to go skiing during Block. Missing one class here is like missing a week at another college. But the professors are nice and they won’t let people drown if it is clear that they are trying hard.