CU Denver business school? (Boulder, Center: credit, showing, hotel)

[vegaspilgrim]

Hi there! I'm originally from Denver, in my last year of undergrad at Arizona State U., and in a few months I'm going to be applying for graduate school business programs (not MBA) that I would start in 2008. I see that CU Denver has a degree program I'd be interested in, a MS in Finance. Of all the schools I could attend, CU Denver would be the most convenient since I can get in-state tuition and live at home, cutting living expenses (even commute to the Auraria campus with the light rail). What kind of reputation does CU Denver, and specificially their Business School have in the local business community? Is anybody here an alumni of that school? Is CU-Denver a good choice, or would I be better off going to CU-Boulder, DU, or out of state?

[ColoWeb]

I am in their undergrad program for a CIS and Business Degree. I have no experience in MS Finance, however. Overall, CU Denver appears to be reputable and I have not heard any negatives in getting an MS there. There are many people in the industry who take evening courses for their grad school. I know they have several good finance professors.

CU just had a meeting that changed some of its fees, but CU Denver was generally cheaper than boulder.

[vegaspilgrim]

Anybody else here who has been to CU Denver-- for any program? Are they more of a night-and-weekend classes school, or a full time day classes program, or both?

[ColoWeb]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Are they more of a night-and-weekend classes school, or a full time day classes program, or both?

They have both. I am currently taking a class from them form 12PM - 8:30 PM. The latest class that they have, I believe, ends at 10 PM.

[vegaspilgrim]

(7 Months later Update):

I've just been accepted into the MS in Accounting program at CU Denver. Originally I was going to do finance, now I've decided accounting is the path for me. My goal is to become a public accountant (CPA), do that for a while and possibly transition into corporate accounting or finance 5 years or so down the road. As of right now, CU Denver is my top choice, since I can get in-state tuition there and I'm pretty sure Denver is where I want to be-- at least for now. Does anybody here have any additional experiences they'd like to share about this business school at the Auraria campus?

[Augie Daugie]

CU Denver has a good MBA program. You may want to finish ASAP b/c if CU doesn't fix their funding crises, tuition may be raised by 50% in 2010.

[DenverAztec]

First time reading this post and I got my BS in CMS and Mgt. on this campus. DU is well know for its Law and Psychology programs. However, Metro State and CU Denver share the campus with CCD, and Metro and CU Denver both have excellent Business programs and a high rate of graduates pass their CPA exam on the first try. Business courses are extremely popular on this campus as it is basically downtown. It is not a party school, though more and more campus housing is being built and that could change it slightly. However, all of my classes had a significant mixture of all ages and backgrounds. Some classes overlaped with students from Metro and CU, not sure if they still share like that, but it was in the Business department and Sciences. The nice thing about the proximity is that you can begin networking with other students in your field. Many already have jobs with accounting firms or as accountants for large companies and may be on campus taking refresher courses or getting additional degrees. Most of them will have tuition reimbursement from their employers and it is a win win situation for the company and the employee with increased knowledge that can be brought back to the job. My brother and sister went to CU Boulder and the party scene reeked havoc on their study time and when they sought their masters programs, they ended up going to CU Denver. Though I got my BS in Computer Science, I ended up in the Finance field and then currently Project Management (Six Sigma/Lean Quality Development). I loved the Auraria campus for its location and diversity with it's students, especially those already in professional careers. It was like a High School student able to take a few college classes at a college, you had the exposure to know what to expect in the following years. This is even better as you can get your hand on the pulse of the business sector you plan to go into and what worked, or not, for others. Plus, if you want to escape classes for a few hours, the Tivoli is a Landmark theater showing independent and foreign films. Parking is expensive and the lightrail is your best option. The entire campus is going to have some incredible reconstruction happen over the next several years and some has already begun right on Speer with the new Science building. Here are a few links (hope this helps).

Auraria Higher Education Center

Hotel Learning Center coming to Auraria campus - Denver Business Journal:

DenverInfill.com - Central Platte Valley (South) & Auraria Neighborhood

This page is currently under construction, but has all the details of what is about to happen. Come back to it in the future for an update, it is very extensive.

Auraria Higher Education Center

Best Wishes with your transition and your studies!

Denver Aztec

[DENVERBULLDOG]

I have the idea of returning to school planted in my head. What do you guys have to say about CU Denver compared to DU. Obviously DU is much more expensive. What about reputation of the MBA and Master of Finance programs for each school? Does the comparative reputation differ when you leave the area?

My initial feeling is that the cost of DU doesn't justify the costs of the program like a top 20 program certainly would.

How do the job offers to top grads of each school differ? If I went to CU-D SoB, would I be able to land a gig on Wall Street if I wanted? Would I be as highly sought as a top DU grad locally?

Thanks!

[vegaspilgrim]

YES! Finally an answer to my question, over half a year later! Thanks again, DenverAztec. Unfortunately, I'm maxed out of rep points I can give you. It's good to hear somebody vouch for CU Denver. It's not that I've heard anything bad about the school, it's just that... I haven't heard much of anything. The location is great-- I might move back in at home for a couple of months and take the light rail directly to campus-- then down the road I might move closer in. My only concern with light rail is I'd have to drive about 4 miles to the nearest station (Nine Mile), and that parking garage can get full, since it's last station of the H line. If I could find some kind of accounting/bookkeeping internship or part time job in downtown Denver to keep me busy during the day and gain some experience (pretty much all the classes for the MS Accounting program are at night), then walk over to the campus after work, that would be ideal. Since I am not a business major, I have a bunch of prerequisite classes to get caught up on so I'm up to snuff with the people who majored in accounting. My plan is to take as many classes as I possibly can at CU Denver this summer, preferably day classes, and then in fall start looking for internships and/or part time accounting jobs, once I have a little bit more knowledge than I have now. The actual MS program should be about a one-year program, but it could spill over an extra semester, so I'm planning on having it take anywhere from 1 to 2 years.

I didn't even bother applying to CU Boulder. Not only is it not convenient, but I don't even like Boulder, and I DON'T want to become a "CU Buffalo." The only school's football team and school spirit I care about is the Arizona State Sun Devils. After I graduate with my bachelor's in less than 3 months, I will be DONE with the "college experience." Been there, done that-- the only reason I'm continuing with my education is I want to earn an accounting degree-- I could care less about the "party atmosphere," etc. And interestingly, CU Denver is has the special AACSB accreditation for their accounting department, while CU Boulder does not. So leaving the "school experience" part aside, do you feel that a degree from CU Denver would open up a lot of career options?

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by DENVERBULLDOG

I have the idea of returning to school planted in my head. What do you guys have to say about CU Denver compared to DU. Obviously DU is much more expensive. What about reputation of the MBA and Master of Finance programs for each school? Does the comparative reputation differ when you leave the area?

My initial feeling is that the cost of DU doesn't justify the costs of the program like a top 20 program certainly would.

How do the job offers to top grads of each school differ? If I went to CU-D SoB, would I be able to land a gig on Wall Street if I wanted? Would I be as highly sought as a top DU grad locally?

Thanks!

I was thinking about DU too at first, until I looked at the costs. DU is one of the biggest rip offs of all colleges in the USA. Their MS in Finance program, a 5 quarter (about one year) program, is $61,184-- not counting living expenses. That's actually more expensive than USC, than Washington U., then a bunch of other schools I was thinking of applying to. You're paying Ivy League-prices for a Tier 2 school. Hardly anybody outside of Colorado has ever heard of DU. Nobody outside of CO has ever heard of CU Denver either, but at least at UCD you're not paying an arm and a leg if you're an in-state student. DU likes to brag about their ranking in BusinessWeek magazine where they are top 10 for "Part Time MBA's." It's the Full Time MBA ranking that matters. I'm sure it's a good school, and if you're rich, I guess why not? But for people who aren't rich, I think it's a rip off!