University of Colorado-Boulder....

<p>denver is around 5,500 undergrad and still gives you all the aspects of a big school atmosphere with division 1 sports, fraternities, etc.and a very good business school</p>

<p>yeah i like the idea of denver but everyone around here seems to bash it</p>

<p>dpc, we're not bashing it -- we just want people to realize what DU is - and what it is NOT. It's a nice school in a nice town. But nationally it just doesn't have the reputation CU-Boulder does, nor is it as good as Boston College, like some posters on this and similar threads claim.</p>

<p>Also, you said you didn't want a school with "big groups of high schoolers." But that's kinda what you'll get at a smaller private. It's the big research universities like Boulder that will have a huge diversity of ages and interests.</p>

<p>thanks katliamom...</p>

<p>and by big groups of highschoolers, I mean groups of kids who were friends at a high school in that state and all went to the state school.... alot of kids I know who go to UF are already in cliques before the first day and makes it alot harder for anyone else to fit in</p>

<p>High school cliques have a way of breaking up within the first few weeks of college. Nothing like a new environment, new friends, new challenges to loosen those old high school ties ;) </p>

<p>On the other hand, small colleges are often very incestuous and not terribly diverse, though in this case I'd say you'd be safe: DU isn't THAT small.</p>

<p>Also, I agree that big schools aren't for everybody. If your gut tells you the smaller school is better for YOU - go with the gut.</p>

<p>dpc, I go to my state school and rarely hang out with anyone from high school. It's just a matter of meeting people.</p>

<p>I just ask that because as I said everyone who went up to UF from my highschool continued being friends/roomates, and ended up not branching out at all....</p>

<p>Also is Colorado have a big frat scene?</p>

<p>Boulder has a VERY good engineering program for a university of its general rank...a lot of funding there, and highly involved with programs such as Engineers Without Borders</p>

<p>Of course, it's a party school, but almost everywhere is, and out of thousands of undergraduates, there are certain to be plenty who aren't into that</p>

<p>thanks alot!</p>

<p>Boulder seems like an awesome town, is there alot of restaurants/bars/clubs or is it smaller??</p>

<p>What other town would you compare it too? (Athens maybe?)</p>

<p>Way better than Athens. More Ann Arbor with mountains and good weather.</p>

<p>oh really, I heard Athens is awesome haha...</p>

<p>how big is it, for some reason I'm thinking Austin size?</p>

<p>Austin is like a tier two city. Boulder compares to Ann Arbor.</p>

<p>Austin area is over 1,000,000. Boulder area has 250,000. Athens 100,000. Ann Arbor 300,000.</p>

<p>Alright so I'm seriously thinking of attending Boulder but I have a few questions.</p>

<p>First I pretty much fit all the common stereotypes which kinda puts me off because I don't want to "fit the mold," because I genuinely find Boulder interesting. My parents are quite rich, I'm from California, and Skiing is one of the big reasons I want to go to Boulder.</p>

<p>I have a 3.8 GPA average and though I haven't taken the SAT yet my PSAT scores we're fairly average. 620 in math, 600 in writing ect. Could I even get into Boulder?</p>

<p>Another thing is that I do wan't to party, it's not something I want to get sucked into and then not be able to focus on my studies. Going along with the drugs and alcohol, I'm all for drinking, but I really don't want to start doing pot/drugs. Is it even possible to go to Boulder for 4 years without starting to smoke?</p>

<p>Is my fallacy of going skiing every other weekend reasonable, or is that just one of those false images the College puts up for itself?</p>

<p>I would want to get a major in Business and Aerospace Engineering.</p>

<p>Based on my knowledge of the school:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Yes, you'll be able to get into the school. You'll probably not be enticed with merit aid and the like (especially considering you're out-of-state and well-to-do), but I don't think you'll encounter any troubles with acceptance. That's a very good GPA and those are sufficiently above-average test scores, I should think.</p></li>
<li><p>A lot of really focused, intelligent (and nerdy) students from my high school go to CU-Boulder. They may drink & party occasionally now, but I'm certain that the vast majority don't end up doing drugs. Boulder's definitely a big enough school for you to avoid that kind of activity if you so choose. It's the same with any big school: it's certainly possible to survive in college without touching a cigarette or drinking a sip of beer or whatever boundaries you set.</p></li>
<li><p>Reasonable if you have a car. (The university or one of its clubs may offer carpool/shuttle service to nearby ski resorts; I'd look into that.) The nearest ski resort, Eldora, is less than 50 minutes away. I know people at CU-Boulder and CSU who, after morning classes are over, will drive up to ski or snowboard for the afternoon. If it's something you're really into, it's pretty doable.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>In California Boulder has a reputation of a huge party school, and average students. I want a good business program, and Univ of Denver keeps coming up. I have heard more serious students there, and less partying. This sounds more appealing to me. I do want friendly people, not cliqiush groups....and I don't ski, will I fit in?</p>

<p>Boulder is a fabulous town. I spend a few days there every year as part of a retreat in the Rockies that I make with a friend who lives there. I'm considering buying a house there because of its proximity to the Rockies, the benefits of a university town, the fact that it is sunny nearly 350 days a year, and the fact that it has attracted a non-university-affiliated intelligentsia that is quite interesting (albeit with a decidedly liberal political bent that I don't fully share).</p>

<p>My friend's stepsons attend Colorado College and both love it, but the younger of two regrets at times not going to CU because he finds the female students much more attractive at CU. He will drive back for parties at CU. But, I think he's very happy with the CU academics.</p>

<p>My sense is that CU as a university is probably stronger than the undergraduate style would suggest. There are good people in a number of departments that I know and Kenneth Boulding, a brilliant polymath was a long-time member of the Economics department.</p>

<p>But, it was wracked a few years ago by sex scandals involving the football team. These involved the rape of a female place-kicker by a player, the use of sex parties for recruiting, and the rapes of several girls (students, I believe but am not sure) by football players, all of which were covered up for a long time. Unlike the incident at Duke, this wasn't the case of one person making an accusation, but I believe there were 6 or 8 separate rapes plus the sex parties plus visits to strip clubs on recruiting trips, etc. I don't know how it was actually resolved, but my clear recollection that the school's female president didn't act for quite a while and didn't fire the coach for a surprisingly long time should tell us something about the school's culture. The message: football and athletes are more important than morality or probably the law.</p>

<p>Since your from Florida just go to the University of Florida.</p>