To start of I’m from New York City born and raised and after college I plan on going to graduate school in California then coming back to New York. I’m going to be 17 in my first 5 months of college and I’m black. I have been reading that a lot of the students at the school and in the area are especially racist and I have honestly never really encountered that before. I know the difference between a stereotypical joke and someone being racist but I’ve never really encountered it because where I’m from everyone looks different and most of my friends are white. I’ve read that a lot of students said it was so bad that they feared for their safety and transferred first year. I then searched it online and read a lot more articles about it. Is it really that bad. Im not one to get offended easily or take things out of context but I don’t want to be running to my dorm before night because I’m afraid skin heads will take me. It’s probably only a small amount of people and I should meet the people in the school before jumpin to conclusions but this school is my dream school and my mom said that it’s where I should go I was going to accept without visiting I’ve wanted to go here for the past 8 years and all this bad news is giving me Wierd doubts. It’s like a great school with everything I love against getting terrorized verbally and possibly physically. Please give your input
Regardless of this question, can you afford it? You have a lot of good SUNY options that are going to be a whole lot cheaper. And attending ANY school without visiting is a terrible plan. It doesn’t seem like you are well advised on your college search…
I’ve lived in Boulder and husband is a CU-Boulder alum. The area is anything but racist. Just the opposite. It’s called the People’s Republic of Boulder for a reason! Very tolerant, very progressive. My husband is not white, and I had a few African-American friends there – I say “a few” because, seriously, one of the weirdest things about Colorado if you’re from the East is how non-diverse it is – and I’d say it’s true that folks who aren’t white are well aware of being a minority in a sea of white faces. But actual intentional racism? Nah, that’d be very non-Boulder. And rampaging skinheads would probably be caught by crystal-wielding, dreadlocked mountain bikers who would force-feed them granola and make them do yoga until they turned vegan 
I think Meet a Black Guy by Improv Everywhere was in Colorado
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyRwrrggxok&feature=iv&src_vid=lYJ9zOyzI4w&annotation_id=annotation_470562
I’ve applie to SUNY schools and I might go to one fore two years but Boulder has been my first choice all around
That is really great to hear because some of the articles I’ve been reading have been really been discouraging me from what seems to be a great school
Sorry, but it is silly for a school you have never visited to be your “first choice” and the object of such fixation. Especially an OOS public school that will be expensive for you. Can you explain the academic reasons for your interest?
I applie SUNY but I don’t like them, CU Boulder has a good political science program and so does SUNY New Paltz that’s why I applied there too but I like what I’ve heard and have “seen” second hand. The town is a lot better than the SUNY schools where you have to drive 40 minutes to get get to a freaking Walmart. Aside from what I’ve read about race issues Boulder has a great social life and I have read a lot about the professors in the social sciences department and I think they would be really good. They are ranked 38th for political science nationally and there are thousands of schools so that’s really good @intparent
I would definitely visit Boulder before deciding that it’s “the one.” @MomOnALaptop is correct that Colorado is fairly white and Boulder is very outdoorsy and crunchy granola. The racism question aside, which I agree is probably a non-issue, it’s VERY different from NYC and the lack of diversity and regional vibe may or may not feel comfortable when you’re in it.
There are many fine political science programs across the nation, if CU-Boulder turns out to be not what you expect.
On the plus side, there are lots of direct flights between NYC and Denver!
We’re big fans of CU and the Boulder area in our family, but it’s off the table for our son because of OOS costs. To be frank, I’m not really hearing your reasons as compelling ones for CU-Boulder. Poli Sci would be strong at pretty much every big school (and a whole ton of smaller ones). It’s like English – everyone has it, and on the undergrad level, unless you’re super-focused on a specific topic or goal, you’ll find good Poli Sci depts all over. (And Walmart? Oh LOL. Is there even a Walmart in Boulder, or has it been boycotted out of town? But yeah, it’s a good walkable town with lots to do, and definitely not out in the boonies.)
I’d expect someone who had CU-Boulder as a favorite OOS to be hugely drawn to outdoor activities and the mountains, and/or a progressive person who really wants to live in Colorado, and/or wants a “big university” experience with lots of great depts, course selection, maybe the sports scene etc – and also want an admissions safety while still getting a great school with a good reputation. Which is a HUGE plus. CU’s admit rate is something like 84-88 percent, and you don’t get many schools that good (let alone that beautiful) with such a high level of openness.
IF you have the money. Because it’s affordable in-state, but we’re talking $52,000 a year OOS, for gosh’s sake. That’s the pricetag of a LAC, but with a LAC you’d have a shot at serious aid money that could cut the costs in half. Remember that a lot of those rankings really reflect graduate programs, and that won’t be relevant to you anyway as an undergrad! I think SUNY New Paltz is kind of NY’s CU-Boulder (in feeling), so isn’t that the better bet? I mean, yeah, Boulder is more gorgeous, but $52,000 worth of gorgeous?
@awkwardcity, How much will your parents pay per year? If they’re willing to pay ~$50k/year and you have the stats, go wherever you want. You can always transfer to another (full pay) ~$50k/year school later if you decide you don’t like it. If they can’t pay that much or you need aid, which you aren’t likely to get at an OOS public, aim for some SUNYs.
I think it’s a bad idea to not seriously consider SUNYs because you’re under the mistaken impression that you have to drive “40 minutes to get to a Walmart.” You might have to drive 20 minutes, if you were allowed to have a car on campus freshman year (which you’re not), but if you’re a full-time college student living on campus with a meal plan, why would you need to go to Walmart? Freshmen college students aren’t driving 40 minutes for toiletries. They walk downtown for them.
@austinmshauri the SUNY schools I applied to are surrounded by nothing. Literally nothing but field, farms and houses and the school I was talking about in particular was SUNY Oswego where the closest place to the school is a Walmart 40 minutes away.
@awkwardcity Answer the question regarding how much your parents can pay per year. The reason so many posters are asking is that every day, we see a large number of posts by students asking about OOS publics. Some of them can afford the full cost and that’s great for them. Unfortunately, most students find out they will not be able to swing these schools financially without going into an unreasonably large amount of debt.
CU Boulder relies on full pay out of state students to balance its books. If your family makes say, $40,000 a year, CU doesn’t care. CU’s financial aid department will still expect you to pay the full cost of tuition minus any pell grants or loan aid given.
So how much can your parents pay, per year, for your college expenses?
@whenhen with my mom at dad $80,000 but they’re divorced
Ok so CU Boulder is financially viable. Great.
By the way, I interned in Denver last summer and went to CU’s campus many times (needed access to some academic journals). I’ve been to a truly racist college town before and Boulder is not like that at all. It’s not diverse but it is accepting.
Remember that political science rankings are not based on the quality of undergraduate education a school delivers. They are primarily based on research output. While a high ranking assures you that the department coverage is broad, it does not tell you anything about how discussions regarding say, political interest group theory will go, nor does it tell you anything about how able undergraduates are to work in meaningful ways in their departments. Rankings are usually far more important for grads than undergrads.
@awkwardcity, Have you visited any of the SUNY campuses? Oswego is fewer than 5 miles away from a Walmart. You could make it there in 10 minutes. It’s ~1.5 miles from the drug store, so you could walk there. And it’s hardly surrounded by fields. SUNY Oswego is in a small city on Lake Ontario. If that’s too small for you then that SUNY isn’t a good fit and you should apply to a different one.
There are several SUNYs that may be academic fits and all are reasonably close to a Walmart.
SUNY Cortland: ~2 miles
SUNY Brockport: ~3 miles
SUNY Oneonta: ~3.5 miles
SUNY Plattsburgh: ~2 miles
SUNY Fredonia: ~3 miles
SUNY New Paltz: ~17 miles (but there are several drug stores ~1/2 mile away)
I still don’t know why it’s necessary to have a Walmart close by when you’re living on campus and have a meal plan. If it’s that big a deal to you, there are several state schools that would meet your requirements and cost much, much less than the OOS schools you’re contemplating now.
If your parents can afford to pay ~$50k/year for you to go OOS, you can afford not to like the SUNY schools. If not, I’d try to find something to like about some of our state campuses. Is the $80k what your parents earn, or what they’ll pay per year? Please make sure they know OOS colleges now cost $50k/year (costs have risen a lot since we were in school) and that you probably won’t get much aid.
Note that the school Net Price Calculators won’t be accurate for you because your parents are divorced.