I’d like to know more about the academic environment at University of Denver for high-achieving students. My child is very academically inclined, with near max score on SAT and some 5’s on APs. He’s also very social and well rounded. He’s been accepted at the University of Denver but wonders if it is academically challenging enough for him.
DU has appealed to him - right size, great city, beautiful campus, new facilities - but he is unsure about the academic environment, even in the honors program.
Can anyone offer some informed perspective on this? Thank you.
It’s not a school known for its academic rigor, although it has a respected music program, a once-important international relations program, and a business program that’s well connected to the local business community (good internship opportunities.) In the past 15 years or so, DU has tried to raise its academic standards by offering generous scholarships to top Colorado students; in my daughter’s graduating high school class a couple of the straight-A type students went to DU because it offered them free rides.
So there are strong students there… but IMO, the majority of the undergrads are simply average high school kids whose parents can afford the steep tuition.
If your son is looking for a real intellectual atmosphere, DU may prove to be a disappointment. I say this as someone with connections in the Colorado academic world and who knows faculty there, as well as a few grads.
My D is going to be attending DU in the Fall and this was one of her concerns.
She is not a perfect test score kid, but well above average, a strong student (high GPA with very rigorous course load), has some national-level ECs (Studied in Jordan with the State Dept through NSLI-Y, Paid Intern at CityYear through BofA Student Leaders and was national spokesperson for the program, Coke/USSYP/Presidential Scholar Semi/Finalists) and has some very high career aspirations. Initially, she applied EA to DU and got in with the highest merit scholarship (Chancellor; DU has no full rides directly from the university). She speaks Arabic & French and has an interest in Intl Relations which is an area of strength for DU. She plans to double-major in IR/Econ and do minors in Gov, Arabic and Leadership. She’ll be in PLP (Pioneer Leadership Program) and the Honors program.
While DU itself doesn’t give full rides, a large foundation (Boettcher) in Colorado awards a small number of full tuition+ scholarships for top CO students to stay in state (and these scholarships end up being full rides when the schools add in their merit aid). My D was fortunate to receive one of these scholarships and as part of the process she’s spent a lot of time on campus at Boettcher and Honors events and has been able to meet kids who she feels like will be strong academic peers and who are driven like she is.
I do agree that there are plenty of average or slightly above average stat kids at DU, but I do think the more academic kids can find their people. The campus is wonderful, it’s got a strong social life, and being able to get to the foothills/mountains for outdoor recreation is a huge plus.
My DD definitely had higher ranked choices (including Claremont McKenna, Scripps, Bryn Mawr, Conn College, American, Tulane, etc.), but she was impressed with the professors, the personal attention and loves the campus at DU (except for the fact that it’s less than 30 min from our house) and she knows that she’ll probably head on to grad school, so for her, using her Boettcher to attend DU was a good choice.
DU has a great reputation in Denver. Top notch facilities and the professors are outstanding. You can get a great education at DU. However, in terms of academic rigor, it likely won’t be as rigorous as some of the more elite schools in the country. There are definitely high achieving students that attend, especially those that receive merit scholarships. The majority of students tend to be more average. If your child is looking for intellectual discussions and to be pushed academically, they may not find that at DU.