Hi,
I’m just trying to get the vibes at Boulder. I wanna make sure that I’m ok with the student life @ CU.
1.Politics?
2.Wealth, flaunting it or nah?
3.Party Scene
4.High Academic Environment?
Please respond with views on a number!!
Dear Abbyness67 (this is long, but worthwhile)
I’m neither a parent nor a student, but I can give you a few details and a better site to get info from
other students.
- Both parties are active...perhaps last year more Dems. (Colorado has a large retired Military)
- Of the Out of State Students they are predominately Calif. and Ill. The Rub at CU...is the Trust Fund kids, with Daddy's credit card. How many...don't have a number for you, but I guess enough to activate the vib. As for Boulder, it's the number 1 college town in US. The residence refer to themselves as The People's Republic of Boulder. CU Boulder is within the city limits. Homes are so pricey the Professors live in different cities, unless they have been at the Univ. a long time (take this into consideration, you'll probably be looking to rent after 1st year of dorm life).
- Weed is not allowed in the dorms or most places within the Univ. The Hill has the most parties as that
is Frat. Vill. Be advised that the Frats are not part of the University...they are Independent. If you are
female, stay away! If anything bad is going to happen...odds are it's the Hill. ALWAYS go in a group at
night. A lone person is a target!!! There's safety in numbers. Others...besides students can be walking
the campus.
The dorms do have parties, depends on where you are. I would venture a guess, you want a party you
can easily find one. The Univ. isn't as highly rated as it once was...for partying.
If you are studious…you are not ostracized. There are Honors RAPs. These students party less, but
no one cares if you don’t smoke or drink. - Academics...the price to attend is well over $200,000. for 4 years OOS. So I imagine most parents
have high hopes their student is achieving. In-State you're much better off and reasonable. You have
a number of colleges within the University, so academics is relative to each.
The University is highly regarded for Aerospace. Colorado is #2 in that field. CU Boulder is NASA’s
#1 highest funded public Univ.Since you didn’t state what your area of study would be, it’s hard to nail down.
Ceramics & Physics are highly regard as well. Engineering as a whole is ranked 32, the Univ. has an
overall rank of 92 (otherwise check with US News and World Report for Stats).
Questions you didn’t ask…CU Boulder is 71% White, followed by Asian, Latino, and 2% African-American.
Roughly 55% male, to 45% female. This ratio is for the entire undergrad Student Body. It changes
drastically in some discipline, where females might be 20% or less.
If success is what you want...STUDY, (those who are the most successful work at it like a 9-5 job) Sleep
8 hours, Eat a well balanced diet, control the salt & sugar...no ones looking over your shoulder, but you
could put on 25 pounds if you aren't careful. 1st sign of feeling sick, get to the Clinic - best if your under
your own power. Call home when you're doing laundry, you'll make Mom happy. Texting works, but Mom's
are wired to voice.
Use your 1st year to make friends in your major, so you have others to study with. Having trouble...go
to the Professors office hours right away. Leave the weekends for socializing and you'll be off to a good
start your Freshmen year. Rule of thumb...Homework 1st, fun later. You have to get in the SSE-3 first.
Want to Flunk-out...then skip classes, as no one cares! You enter the University as an Adult! Don't show
up for tests. Do all the weed you want, it's legal if you're 21, just away from the University, because you
can get written up there. NO ONE will care - except - those that funded your college.
Student site:
Google - CU Boulder (reddit), you’ll find on either page 1 thru 3, usually. You want the student help, then
tell them if you are in-state or OOS. As well as, your major. GPA and test scores if relevant to question.
Go back and read some of the previous posts…your question may have already been asked. Nothing
irritates the students more than asking a question that was asked on previous page.
Final observation: If a Liberal Arts is your desire and you are out of state…don’t pay the price for Boulder,
unless you are a Trust Fund kid, or want to be an Olympic Skier! Track Star, Athlete or Cross-country.
The Altitude is nearly 9,000ft. Also, you’ll need plenty of skin cream male or female…it’s DRY & Sunny!
They have over 300 days of Sun per year…even when it’s snowing - the Sun is out.
Drink plenty of water the 1st few weeks, you’re likely to feel lightheaded.
PLUS Side…the students (for the most) part are Buff. Meaning they are the healthiest, most body conscience
group nationwide, so is Boulder. It has 80 miles of bike and walking trails. A fantastic Rec Center, with an entire
wall of glass overlooks the rocky mountains, at one of the basketball courts. So Buff, is a two sided coin, can also
stand for Buffalos, since that is the school mascot.
Good Luck!
EDIT…University Stats…US News and World Report 2018, Courses total 3600, Male 56% Female 44%
Rankings:
National University #90
Top Public Univ. #39
All Engineering #30
Physics #18
Aerospace #11
Environmental #11
Ceramics #5
Out of state students are often wealthier by far than in state students. In state students are often middle class and go to CU Boulder as they cannot afford out of state or private options. The school is at least 60-70% in state students. The more accomplished students get about half off the in state tuition, making it affordable even for lower middle class Coloradoans, but not free. Student Housing is somewhat pricey in Boulder, but students do commute from home to save money.
The town itself is very wealthy, and its a small town, just under 100,000, but the student body is middle class,
as otherwise they would be at a private school, costing a lot more. The setting and campus are stunning, matching pink Lyons sandstone with Spanish tile roof on each building, and a view of the iconic flatiron foothills.
There are now a high number of foreign students on campus, especially in the college of engineering. The music college is near conservatory levels for some instruments, voice and music theory. College of Engineering is hardest to get admitted to with higher stats required, Music requires an audition, Leeds School of Business is also harder than Arts and Sciences. The teaching college at CU Boulder is very strong and there is a newer media/journalism college formed out of the older school of Journalism to update it.
The College of Arts and Sciences has the highest drop out rate, look at graduation rates to get an idea.
In general, the sciences, music and engineering, are much stronger than the liberal arts at Boulder. Biology, physics, chemistry and biochemistry are all ranked programs and some students do research at the remote Medical campus, east of Denver. Many of the Boulder science students go on to PhD programs at very top schools. LIkewise, JILA
and NIST, and NOAA mean there is access to science jobs in Boulder for both undergrad internships and grad school projects in the sciences. Weather and climate modeling is a big focus of Boulder’s programs, so the math is very strong.
I think the business program is a little weaker, but still leads to good jobs in accounting and marketing, law school is reasonably good in Boulder, but its hard to get a good prelaw education given that the liberal arts classes are somewhat weak, but if you work hard, could get into grad school, medical, business or law school from Boulder.
Distractions abound in Boulder, clubs, bars, parties, skiing, hiking, biking. Its a town that attracts runners and bikers for training due to high altitude and hundreds of miles of trails nearby. Downhill Skiing is not as close, though, Eldora
is 30 minutes but not the best resort, very windy and no easy trails there except a green bunny hill. Eldora Blue/black hill has some good skiing, but very windy. There are busses from Boulder to the many more popular ski resorts on Interstate 70, about 2-4 hours away.
Boulder as a city, is actively voting in Democrats and not in favor of Trump’s Admin. The older residents are very liberal, students more mixed. But remember its a very small town and does not really reflect most of Colorado which is more mixed politically. Denver is largely conservative attorneys, accountants and some younger crowd.
The University President Bruce Benson is a staunch Republican who has a good relationship with the powerful Republican contingents in Denver and in our State House. He resides in Denver and oversees four campuses including Boulder. Money flows to CU Boulder even though our state coffers seem empty at times. We are always building a NEW pink sandstone academic or science or art building in Boulder!
Drugs are easy to come by and used readily. Most freshman have access to drugs in Boulder. The rules are not enforced about drugs and we know of plenty of situations in dorms, but then, they are getting a tiny bit stricter so beware. The Music Department in particular is very druggy.
bump
Looks like OP is no where to be found. Nice job @Ann of the Hill, good overview of Boulder. Only thing I might disagree with, is most students do find rentals with roommates in the city of Boulder, and can afford that. There are also some four year living situations, like Global Engineering, that are priced OK, so most students do live in Boulder when they go to CU Boulder.
@Coloradomama Could I get your opinion on the Psychology program at Boulder? DD would be OOS so the tuition bill would be high, is the program in psychology worth the high OOS tuition? She is currently leaning towards an interest in forensic psychology.
Update - University Stats for Freshmen & Undergrads total Sept. 2017 Enrolled:
Freshman Class - 6570 (Largest yet)
in-State - 51.5%
Female - 46.7%
GPA - 3.66
SAT - 1244
ACT - 27.3
Colleges with largest enrollment
A & S - 70.5%
ENG. - 13.0%
BUS. - 8.6%
Largest Race/Ethnicity
White - 68.0%
Latino - 13.0%
Asian - 8.5%
Merit Scholarships
In-State - 34.1%
OOS - 25.5%
Largest % of Out of State Students
CA. 12.6%
IL. 3.9%
TX. 3.4%
I was just accepted into aerospace engineering and will be attending in the fall.
My Profile:
34 ACT; 3.8 GPA
family income of $100k+
politically left but have many conservative friends.