Should I go to CU Boulder or a state college?

I got a scholarship for $55,000 at CU Boulder and I want to go into Aerospace Engineering but I’m having a difficult time to decide due to the tuition.

I can go to Oklahoma University which would be around $27,803 per year in-state cost of attendance. I could get some scholarships from there but probably not much. Oklahoma University has an alright engineering program, but I do not think the location is great to get connections from industry companies like SpaceX.

Or I can go to CU Boulder with a $55,000 scholarship (Presidential Scholar) and get an Aerospace Engineering major there. The cost of attendance in Boulder is about $52,300 per year. The aerospace engineering program is better than OU’s and it is a target school for future jobs in aerospace engineering.

Which one should I go to? Please help ASAP!

Thank you

I assume that you mean $55,000 over 4 years, or $13,750/yr, right? Even that is a very big scholarship for CU.
I work for CU and I can tell you that the administration is very serious about its Engineering school, and especially proud of Aerospace. The new Dean of Engineering is Bobby Braun, who has extensive connections to NASA (as does my boss, who shall remain nameless). Boulder is a big hub for the aerospace industry, and growing. If you can make the cost work, and you are ready to compete in a tough (but exciting) school, it might be worth the investment.

Yes, $13,750/yr. I was excited when I received the news and CU Boulder is my first choice, but my parents are telling me to go to Oklahoma University for 2 years to complete my gen-ed classes and then transfer to CU Boulder with the transfer scholarships if possible. They said the total cost if my education would be cheaper but I don’t know if it would be. My choice would be to go to CU Boulder for four years since if I transfer I may not get the scholarships.

I would like to know what I can experience during the first two years of CU Boulder compared to my state college so I can convince my parents that going to CU Boulder in my freshman year is a better choice than transferring after two years.

Thank you for the reply.

The University of Colorado is an amazing institution. I’ve loved every moment here. I’m not an engineering student but I can speak to the high caliber of students in the engineering school, and the school at large. My good friend is actually in the Aerospace program and is working with SpaceX to send up a satellite this summer. I don’t think you can get that exposure many other places.

I would come to Boulder if I were you. I think it would be a good investment!

You should probably talk to someone in the AE department before you assume that you can transfer. There is serious competition to get into those majors, and just as much competition to stay in them. You would certainly have to be taking exactly the right transferable classes at OU. They might very well reject you or send you over to Arts & Sciences, which is not what you want.
There is more than SpaceX here. LASP at CU does satellite work, and Ball Aerospace, Lockheed and Sierra Nevada are all local. Have you visited with your parents?

They sent me to Arts & Sciences to complete my Pre-engineering Program, so is that not a good deal for first year? My parents told me to go to OU for two years so I can save money, but if I want to transfer to CU Boulder anyways then it would only save about a total of $12,000 if I transfer to CU Boulder in two years.

I guess they rejected me in the AE program if they put me in the Pre-Engineering Program? What should I do now?

@GiantNoodles, this is important, read carefully how to transfer between CU Boulder A&S and Engineering. You must meet a GPA requirement and you are allowed to try to transfer twice. If you do not meet the requirements two times in a row, then you can get a BA in physics, math or computer science. (or any other subject you want in Arts and Sciences ) The physics degree is very good at CU Boulder. It might serve you very well if you want to work at Space X, but think about this, if you can work hard enough in the first two years you can transfer to CU Engineering.

If you go to U of Oklahoma, I think its not that likely that you can transfer into CU Boulder Engineering, but if you earn all As and take the exact requirements maybe. You need to read the requirements for an Aerospace degree either way. If you are in Boulder in Arts and Sciences you need to be taking EXACTLY what the engineering students are taking, and attempt to get As. The advising at CU Boulder is not very good, and it can be confusing. You are not likely to get blocked to register for calculus for engineers, differential equations, physics 1 and 2 and see if there is a chemistry requirement for engineering, so take all of that in your freshman year. All CU students are free to take engineering classes as you wish but sooner or later you will have to declare a major in Arts and Sciences if the transfer to engineering does not work out. If it does, Applied Mathematics is another major you can consider, its easier to complete in four years, compared to Aerospace engineering. good luck. U of Oklahoma may also be good to get a mechanical or other degree, then come to CU boulder for a masters degree, is another option you have.

@GiantNoodles Read this website carefully to understand the requirements for a transfer:
http://www.colorado.edu/engineering-advising/transfer-within-cu