<p>I know one has upwards of 20,000 students and the other is more around 6,000 but that is not very important to me. I am wondering which one is better in terms of academics, social life, etc. Does Chapman have parties just as much as CU-Boulder does? I care about academics but want to be able to cut loose on the weekends and find a good social event/party, will both be able to satisfy that? Same goes for Miami. How does it compare?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>I do not know anything about Miami or Chapman, but my son is a senior at CU Boulder. Even though he is in a difficult and time consuming major (engineering) he has still had time to enjoy himself. He has snowboarded, attended football and basketball games, gone hiking, camped in the mountains, water skied in the Boulder Reservoir, had parties at his off campus rental house, gone to shows at the Fox Theater, etc… Lots to do in Boulder and not all of it revolves around parties, although that is certainly part of the culture.</p>
<p>out of curiosity, do you know what his GPA and SAT scores were when he applied so I can compare to myself. also, do you think boulder’s academics rival the likes of “higher-up” universities?</p>
<p>What do you mean, “higher-up” universities? In some areas (engineering, several sciences) Boulder is among the top in the country. In others - foreign languages for example - it’s somewhat mediocre.</p>
<p>higher up schools perhaps like university of virginia that are good but not top of the ranks</p>
<p>bump. bump.</p>
<p>Instead of comparing yourself to just one student who got in, google the Common Data Set for colleges you are interested in. They will give the data on the midrange of the admitted class each year. Or google ‘X university statistics’ will do it usually.</p>
<p>OP, My son is a sophomore at Chapman. LOVES it. Old Town Orange is a great college town, and Chapman is right IN town. It’s very walkable. He’s enjoying the social life as much as the academics. Including the Undie Run, held at the end of each semester :)</p>
<p>You didn’t say what your intended field of study will be. The film school, for example, is a big draw. Chapman’s Dodge College of Film & Media is highly ranked and thus very competitive, meaning excellent GPA/test scores required for applicants.</p>