life at cu boulder?

<p>Hi I recently was accepted into Cu Boulder. At the moment I am extremely happy and excited. However, I was just wondering what life was like at CU. Is the business school good? What activities are the most popular? What is the diversity like(I am Asian =p) Any description of Boulder would be very appreciated =]</p>

<p>My son is a freshman OOS student at CU from California. He is really enjoying his experience at CU. He wanted a good balance of academics and social life, and I think he is getting that. He is an engineering major. I do not know personally anything about the business program but have heard it is very reputable. As far as diversity goes, the campus is not very diverse ethnically, mainly because around 60 -70 percent of the student population comes from Colorado, and Colorado is not a very diverse state. That being said, I think it is a very welcoming campus and all kinds of diversity are welcomed and appreciated. My son’s future roomate next year living off campus is Asian (Korean). In terms of social activities, you can pretty much do anything you would like to do. The intramural sports program is top notch, my son has competed on two intramural teams with his dorm mates, he attends football and basketball games, has gone hiking up to 14,000 feet, and of course does lots of snowboarding! He also attends concerts at the Fox Theater which is walking distance from campus. The area around the campus known as “The Hill” has lots of eating places and shops the students frequent. He is also a member of an engineering fraternity and he does things with them also.</p>

<p>Depends how much u like weed.</p>

<p>There are plenty of students who do not participate in the “drug culture” of CU.</p>

<p>Congratulations on your acceptance.</p>

<p>Rousse54 summed it up well. CU-Boulder is a good mix of academics and social life. There are lots of outdoor activities all year round, and people spend time on The Hill and on Pearl Street at the restaurants and shopping. They also go to the football and basketball games, and many use the Rec Center to work out. As most state schools are, it’s made up of just under 70% in-state residents, and, because my kids went to a fairly large Colorado high school, they entered CU with a large number of their high school classmates. But, neither kid really hung around with those kids after making new friends at CU. The diversity at CU isn’t a strong point, as Colorado is not that ethnically diverse, but I certainly wouldn’t expect any issues either. You can also participate in the Greek system if you want; our son is very involved with his fraternity and IFC (the Interfraternity Council, which presides over all of the fraternities), but only 10% of the kids go Greek, so if it’s not your thing, there are plenty of other ways to make friends.</p>

<p>The Business School is very well regarded. And bellyflop55 is wrong; while there are kids who imbibe, like nearly ALL colleges, that doesn’t define what CU-Boulder is. My kids certainly saw it, but chose not to participate. And they were (and still are) happy there.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision.</p>

<p>I really appreciate the detailed answers in here. The thing is, I am what someone would call a lower middle class student. I heard Boulder is a very expensive place to live in. Of course I am planning to spend most of my time studying but would I still be able to enjoy life outside of the school?</p>

<p>My son seems to spend very little money while at CU. He does a lot of things on campus which are low cost or free. He participates in intramurals but the cost there is minimal. He doesn’t even eat off campus that much preferring to save his money. He has attended a few concerts off campus at the Fox Theater but the tickets for the concerts usually fall within the twenty dollar ranger per concert. Boulder is expensive in terms of housing, but I do not think it is expensive in terms of costs of fun activities. And there is always plenty of things to do on campus like movies which cost like a $1, bowling at the UMC, etc.</p>

<p>Rousse is correct: Boulder is expensive mostly because of housing costs. There are a number of cheap places to eat, just as you’d find in any other town of the same size. Quite a few restaurants take the Buff dining plan dollars as well. Lots of restaurants have good happy hour deals (half price on a wide range of appetizers and entrees) between 3 and 6. </p>

<p>And I second the other opportunities for fun Rousse mentioned: tons of activities on campus for free/cheap; concerts around $20 at the Fox or Boulder Theater.</p>

<p>That sounds relieving. I’m a person whos into a lot of outdoor activities like hiking and snowboarding. Would it be possible to participate in those kinds of activities?</p>

<p>There are lots of hiking activities as part of the campus activities. My son lives in Baker Hall and as part of his dorm activities he hike up to 14,000 feet on 2 separate occasions during the fall semester. Also, tons of places to hike in and around Boulder. As far as snowboarding is concerned, well, of course you can do it! My son bought the ski pass at the beginning of the year, I do not remember the exact cost but it was somewhere around $300-$350 for the pass. This pass enables him to snowboard at either of 3 resorts: Arapahoe, Breckenridge and Keystone. There is also a slightly more expensive pass that adds 2 or 3 more ski resorts. The pass is the only way to go as the individual lift tickets cost like upwards of around $90. He joined this student organization called The Herd at the beginning of the year, for like $25 per year, and for $5 roundtrip he can pick up a bus on campus and take him up to the ski resorts. Now that is a deal! There is also a local small ski resort called ElDorado, which is only a 30 minute bus ride on the city bus from campus. The students get free rides on the Boulder buses as part of their registration fees.</p>