<p>First of all, congratulations on the Boettcher!!!</p>
<p>It's really hard to say where you should go; that is such a personal decision.</p>
<p>My kids also went to a Colorado high school (well, S is still there as a senior). Theirs is an enrollment of just under 2000 kids.</p>
<p>Our D was one of the valedictorians of a class of 450. She was also admitted to Georgetown and UCLA. She chose CU because she really wasn't sure what she wanted to do and there were some significant "negatives" with the other two schools (Georgetown had fantastic kids, but not much green space on the campus, classrooms kinda run down, very specialized as to what most of the kids were majoring in and she didn't want to pidgeonhole herself. UCLA was an amazingly beautiful campus with great academics, but the snotty, this is the center of the world attitude of the California kids was VERY much a turn off!) and has been very happy there and VERY academically challenged. And this is a kid who has always been one of the most driven that I have ever seen. So I don't think you'll have to worry about CU being a let down from your high school curriculum in the slightest.</p>
<p>As far as being like high school, I wouldn't worry about that too much. They are completely different animals. Because of our high school's size, there are probably about 30 students from D's graduating class that also went to CU. But in a school of around 28,000 like CU, you really don't run into those kids unless you choose to. D's boyfriend went to the same high school so of course she sees him, and his housemates are also from the same high school so she sees them as well (Boyfriend somehow stayed closer to those high school friends than D did). D plays intramural soccer with kids from her former high school, but she does not room with any of them, nor does she really see them all that often. D's boyfriend is in PLC and many of their friends (and D's housemates for next year) are from that group.</p>
<p>As for Colorado College, of course I don't have any personal knowledge, but one of D's best friends attends there. She's a geology major and loves it. I do know that even she admits that there is a HUGE amount of marijuana use there. She doesn't imbibe, but as she tells us, you just learn to pass the joint when it comes your way. Of course, there is more to CC than that!!! Another one of our school's valedictorians attends there (was also accepted to Notre Dame) and he has had a very positive experience. I know that if languages are your thing, CC has various houses that you can live in where the goal is to speak only/primarily that foreign language. One of the "cooler" things about CC is that you get the sons and daughters of some very wealthy east coast/west coast folks attending. So it's a very different type of kid than what you'll get at CU, which is more your local bright kid.</p>
<p>There is a dad on this forum whose son attends CC and he may be able to give you more information. His screen name is 07DAD. You may want to send him a private message.</p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck in your decision.</p>