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CU-Boulder is a party school which has all the departments and the availability of a good education. However, few people take advantage of its/their FULL potential. Surprisingly, it is not hard to get into, even from out of state, for as popular as it is. I have met a few people who went there, and have liked NONE of them ... and they are "way cool" in perpetuity, as if they've never left that mindset.
You bring up Colorado's flagship school ... and Adams State. Instead, I suggest checking out CU-Denver. Sure, it's easier to get into than CU-Boulder, but it does NOT have a conformist vibe. It's just a practical school for a very diverse student body, like you would find in any downtown campus. Still, it has a nice green, treed campus in the shadow of downtown . It's an urban commuter school and, well, you can find an apartment nearby and walk, bus, or ride your bike to it. It, too, has all the disciplines, and is in the shadow of a good medical center. Because it isn't as selective, you'll have to do really well at CU-Denver for grad/professional school.
I know quite a few who have graduated from CU Boulder and also know kids who are attending there now. Our son included. I have NOT experienced what the above poster has in regards to people who have graduated from there. Quite the opposite actually.
I can only speak of what our son is experiencing and his degree. Yes, it is known for being a party school. But I do believe that is blown a bit out of proportion. Yes, my son has heard stories. But on the flip side, there are many, many serious students who attend school there. My son is in a dorm as opposite from party as you can get. And he is taking full advantage of many opportunities - and there are many. He's having a great experience. He has an amazing adviser.
It really also depends on what someone is interested in as to where a good fit would be. For example, if one were interested in ROTC CU Boulder is one of the main campuses for that. Students attending other colleges have to come to Boulder once a week for those classes which would be big pain in my opinion. Our son is in the Aerospace Engineering program. CU is the school for that.
Last edited by WhereTheSidewalkEnds; 02-04-2013 at 04:13 PM..
I know quite a few who have graduated from CU Boulder and also know kids who are attending there now. Our son included. I have NOT experienced what the above poster has in regards to people who have graduated from there. Quite the opposite actually.
I can only speak of what our son is experiencing and his degree. Yes, it is known for being a party school. But I do believe that is blown a bit out of proportion. Yes, my son has heard stories. But on the flip side, there are many, many serious students who attend school there. My son is in a dorm as opposite from party as you can get. And he is taking full advantage of many opportunities - and there are many. He's having a great experience. He has an amazing adviser.
It really also depends on what someone is interested in as to where a good fit would be. For example, if one were interested in ROTC CU Boulder is one of the main campuses for that. Students attending other colleges have to come to Boulder once a week for those classes which would be big pain in my opinion. Our son is in the Aerospace Engineering program. CU is the school for that.
I didn't say it wasn't a good school. It IS the state's flagship university. However, it takes determination to avoid getting absorbed into the party scene. Party schools often have dorms designated as "magnet" (like HS) or special interest dorms that cater specifically to students who want to be in a building with people who are more academically minded. Sadly, the people NOT in those dorms make fun of people in those dorms. As for Boulder, there is indeed a sharp dichotomy between a huge batch of rich Greek system types and a huge batch of granola types, both on campus and in the community itself. I don't like either extreme. I'm a big believer in urban schools to get more diversity, and I don't mean that to indicate political correctness, but REAL diversity, as in every type of person imaginable. In CO's case, the flagship school is in a college town and the urban school is a satellite campus. In places like Seattle, for example, it's the other way around. If I lived in Denver, I'd pick CU-Denver, but that's me. I also added the caveat that, since it's less prestigious, a person going there would have to do better than a student at CU-Boulder for grad school or whatever.
My son is in the engineering dorms and frankly, if those kids are being made fun of they don't care or know. Our son is to busy to worry about what others think.
OP, it really depends on what you want to do as I said before. Different schools are better than others for certain degrees. People's generalizations of Boulder do get a little tiresome though.
CU is a big school. A very big school. A super-duper big school. Physically, it can take 20-30 minutes to walk from one side to the other depending on your pace. Like most big schools, it has essentially anything you want: you want a left handed underwater basket weaving club, you can probably find it.
Majors run the gamut from a little fruity and weak to extremely strong-again, like most state universities. The engineering school is fairly strong, as is the business school, but liberal arts have pockets of solid scholarship, also.
Students can get into Greek life, parties, study groups, student government, student protest, athletics (take part in, watch, or do intramurals), ROTC of all types, foreign exchange, language study, etc., etc. depending on their inclination and maturity level. It has a wonderful gym complex, dorms of all types, dining choices of all types, a decent library.
Basically, CU is what you make it. It is also in Boulder, which isn't honestly all THAT big. CU doesn't dominate Boulder, but it's a big chunk of it and a lot of the businesses cater to students. It can be a bit spendy to actually live in Boulder, but get a little out of town and it's less of a hit-I lived in Longmont and really enjoyed it as an older married guy.
Denver is about an hour-ish away, Eldora (ghetto slope but fine for most skiers, including me, of limited ability) is about 40-ish minutes away.
kids are being made fun of they don't care or know. Our son is to busy to worry about what others think.
The engineering building is its own entity. There are several computer labs there, packed with white boards. One day I was grinding away at some code, and looked up at one. Some smarta*** had written:
"Come to liberal arts! We have the easy classes and pretty girls."
I have lived in Boulder County, Colorado for 30 years.
My younger daughter, my nephew and my son-in-law all have bachelor's degrees from CU-Boulder. The latter two also have a master's from there, as does little DD's boyfriend. DD transferred there from a private college. She said that she liked that CU is big enough you can find a group of friends no matter who you are. The Greek system is not *that* strong there. The frats were kicked off campus several years ago b/c they wouldn't go along with some of CU"s rules. I don't remember all the details. According to my 2010 US News guide, 8% of students are members of fraternities and 13% are members of sororities. Those numbers are much diluted by the 25,000 student body. This "granola" thing is mostly hype. Most popular majors there are business, management, marketing and related 15%; 15% social sciences; 11 % technological and biomedical sciences; 9% psychology; 8% engineering. The DD majored in biology; my nephew in finances (bachelor's and master's); son-in-law in engineering (both degrees); and the boyfriend in engineering. CU has 4 Nobel Prize winners in physics and one in chemistry. Very few students live in the dorms past freshman year.
Those numbers are much diluted by the 25,000 student body.
UCD is a far different school.
If you think about it, 25,000 is still fairly cozy. Schools like UT-Austin, UMinn., and Ohio State have 50,000. I think the ideal size for a university is about 15,000 to 20,000.
If you think about it, 25,000 is still fairly cozy. Schools like UT-Austin, UMinn., and Ohio State have 50,000. I think the ideal size for a university is about 15,000 to 20,000.
My point is, even with 13% of females in a sorority, there are almost 11,000 females who are NOT in a sorority. Ditto with 8% of males in a fraternity, there are more than 11,000 males who are NOT in a fraternity. This is way different than at some small colleges.
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