<p>Hi! I was admitted to CU Boulder like December 17th (I still remember the date). This school is my second choice (I'm still waiting on UC Berkeley), but I am falling in love with this school TOO MUCH. The first time I came across the website when I was researching, I instantly fell in love. The strong academics + social scene + activities = AWESOMENESS. Plus they gave me the Presidential Scholarship, I CAN NOT turn that offer down.</p>
<p>I'm probably going to choose where I'm going after April 1st. By the first week of April, I should know where I'm going for sure.</p>
<p>Question. Which residence hall is the best? Or at least, from your experience, has a good atmosphere and close to the school. I know that I should choose my college SOON because the halls are filling up fast. </p>
<p>Also, are there malls/clubs/bars near the vicinity of the school? THANKS! :D</p>
<p>Congratulations on getting the Presidential! My son is a freshman this year at CU and he lives in Baker Hall. The popular dorms on campus are the ones that surround Farrand Field, such as Baker Hall, Libby Hall, Cheyenne Arapahoe, and Farrand. Sewall is also a popular dorm but it is not around the field. Some of the dorms also have RAPS in them (residential academic programs) in which they have some kind of emphasis and each resident in those programs are required to take a course each semester in the RAPS. Some of the RAPs have certain requirements, such as having to be a member of the School of Arts and Sciences, etc…so you really have to look at the dining and housing website to check them all out. Baker Hall does not have its own cafeterial but there is a cafeteria right next door at Libby Hall. There is a new cafeteria on campus as of this year, called the C4C (center for community) and it is now a popular choice among the students as it has like 9 different ethnic food choices.
Right outside the campus is “The Hill”, where there are restaurants, small shops, typical to a college town. There is a small mall called the 29th Street Mall that has Macy’s and a few other shops and a movie theater and some restaurants. Otherwise a bigger mall is like about ten miles away from campus.<br>
If you want to get a dorm around Farrand Field, be sure to put in your request ASAP as those dorms are popular and fill up fast. If you wait too long, it is possible you would get into Williamsville which is the off campus dorms a few miles from campus. Those students have to take a shuttle bus to get to the campus. They are newer dorms and have air conditioning, their own cafeteria, etc…and some students really like them. But like I said, they are off campus.
Have you visited the campus at all? It is quite spectacular!</p>
<p>I just wanted to add that there is the wonderful Pearl Street Mall. It’s an outdoor pedestrian mall with lots of great restaurants, shops, bars, etc. It’s close to campus, very pretty and has a fun atmosphere. There are street performers on the weekends and sometimes concerts and other special events. It is much more a destination by itself than 29th Street (which is also an outdoor mall, but poorly designed in my opinion). 29th Street does have the theater and some nice shops and restaurants as well.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information! I’m thinking of Baker Hall [there’s something about it that just… appeals to me]
Yeah, I’m actually going to talk to my parents like next week about this. I want to seal the deal. I’m from Northern Virginia, and my parents really want me to go to Virginia Tech or UVA, but CU Boulder is just MORE AMAZING. I really want to go to CU Boulder. Ever since last summer, when I was doing my research, I fell in love with this school. I’m majoring in Astrophysics and I heard that they contribute a LOT to NASA especially with research + probes/satellites sent to outer space. That is like a big factor because I’m quite obsessed with space and physics.</p>
<p>I will definitely look into some of the other Residence Halls. I guess living near the campus is good so I don’t have to take the bus. There’s actually that Honors RAP that wanted me to do the Residential thing, but I did not want to do it. I’ll probably do something else, but not just that. </p>
<p>I haven’t actually visited the campus. I’m quite busy with academics, and I’m not willing to miss school. When I get all my decisions though, I’m going on like a visit colleges-spree and CU Boulder is definitely going to be one of them. I should go to that admitted students day, but sadly, I have a Model UN conference on that day. </p>
<p>It’s great to know that there are malls around the campus. I’m a shopaholic [yet I’m a dude], but I just like buying hoodies and shirts. Theaters are a MUST. I cannot live without movies! </p>
<p>Another question, what would you say (from what you know) about the campus’ diversity? What is it like? I’m half Spanish and half Filipino, but I get along well with all kinds of people.
Also, would you consider this college more liberal or conservative? Just for an overall feeling.</p>
<p>LordGagaMonster: Well, astrophysics, pretty cool! My son is an aerospace engineering major and you are right, CU Boulder is like the number one institution in the country or something like that to get the most funding from NASA. There are tons of opportunities to get internships and work with various space themed companies, like Space X. I actually think Space X is working in concert with NASA and CU Boulder graduate students to build a space shuttle. They are actually building it in the bottom of the engineering building at CU.
Baker Hall has nice architecture outside. Inside it is kind of old and nothing special, but the rooms are pretty spacious for dorm rooms. They are typical dorm rooms with shared community baths. One floor is all men, (the ground floor which is the one my son is on) and one floor is all women and one or two more are coed. Any dorm surrounding Farrand Field is centrally located to most things on campus. The physics building is actually directly across from Baker and Libby Hall…which might be convenient for you.
In terms of diversity, CU is not known for being diverse since about 70 percent of the campus population is from Colorado, and Colorado is not a diverse state. That being said, I would say it is a very welcoming campus and anyone with any type of ethnicity would fit in well there. Also, Boulder is a very liberal town, and I think the campus is more on the liberal side, although not exclusively…</p>
<p>So what I heard is true about the campus being more liberal. I’m more liberal in the political spectrum so I’m quite happy!!!
I’m so excited to come visit the campus!! I can’t wait until I graduate and actually go to college!</p>
<p>Mom4four: I share your pain. Last year my son only received the Chancellor’s as well, and it was only for $15000 over four years. He had a GPA 4.0 UW, 4.22 W, and a composite on ACT of 31. Some other students posted their stats on cc, and some had about the same stats as he did and got the Presidential, but he did not. A few looked like their standardized test scores were slightly higher than his, although their GPA’s were lower, so that made me think maybe they valued the test scores more highly, but I have no idea…He is attending CU, though, and really enjoying it…</p>
<p>It appears in my D’s case and in some others (LaLew’s) her GPA and standardized test scores are both higher and yet they were offered $10,000 less.</p>
