University of Colorado at Denver Questions (Boulder: appointed, rent, hotel)

[MarleyRocks]

Hi there. I am currently trying to make the decision of where I will be going to college. I live in Reading, Pennsylvania but am trying my hardest to get out of here.

One school i've been thinking of attending is the downtown campus of the University of Colorado. I have not been able to visit the campus yet but will do so before making a decision. However I was wondering if anyone could offer any insight about the quality of life and education the U of C has to offer.

I will be attending for Civil Engineering so if anyone has any specifics about the quality of their engineering program that would be greatly appreciated as well. Also any general information about the area surrounding the campus (I would be living in their dorms) would really help.

As I said earlier I will definetly be taking a trip to check the campus out for myself before making any decisions, however I figured any insight from others that know the area or have attended the school would be very helpful and serve as a good basis when I head out there.

Once again I'd like to say thank you all very much for your time and help.

--Nate

[wanttomoveeast]

I loved UCD. But one thing I'd like to point out, it's not exactly the "campus" you might be looking for. In fact, I wouldn't call it a campus at all. It's really for people like me, who work downtown or work close to downtown and work all day, taking classes at night. There are tons of students in the day, it's just not like regular campuses.

I'm sure someone here can describe that better than me, esp. Katiana who's from your side of the country. I bet she knows.

[vegaspilgrim]

Why would an incoming freshman from out of state come to Colorado to attend CU Denver as opposed to CU Boulder? I just don't get it.

And btw, it's CU, not "U of C."

[wanttomoveeast]

Some of the programs are a little bit different, that's the only reason I can think of. Or maybe he doesn't want to live in Boulder. But hey, good point, Boulder campus is much more of a traditional campus than UCD.

[denver_hacker]

Originally Posted by MarleyRocks

Hi there. I am currently trying to make the decision of where I will be going to college. I live in Reading, Pennsylvania but am trying my hardest to get out of here.

One school i've been thinking of attending is the downtown campus of the University of Colorado. I have not been able to visit the campus yet but will do so before making a decision. However I was wondering if anyone could offer any insight about the quality of life and education the U of C has to offer.

I will be attending for Civil Engineering so if anyone has any specifics about the quality of their engineering program that would be greatly appreciated as well. Also any general information about the area surrounding the campus (I would be living in their dorms) would really help.

As I said earlier I will definetly be taking a trip to check the campus out for myself before making any decisions, however I figured any insight from others that know the area or have attended the school would be very helpful and serve as a good basis when I head out there.

Once again I'd like to say thank you all very much for your time and help.

--Nate

CU Denver is a commuter campus with little on-campus housing, so it's not a traditional college setting. I think there is one housing building on campus and another on the other side of downtown Denver, in a renovated hotel. The school itself has a decent rep, but mainly as a professional school - not so much a research institute.

[cowboyxjon]

CU-Denver is a commuter school for the most part and you probably wouldn't have the same type of college experience as, say, CU-Boulder or one of the other colleges in Colorado.

With that said, why CU? Why not Penn State or Pitt? I'm just asking because I grew up not far from you (in Pottsville) and went to Penn State. It was great and I also liked that the main campus had so many programs to offer. Tuition, at least as of 2004, was reasonable for in-state residents, too.

[Katiana]

Hi, saw my name mentioned, so I'll chime in.

I'm familiar with some of the colleges in PA, esp. Pitt, where I went, and Penn State, where my bro went. UCD is NOT anything like Pitt. Pitt is urban, but it's a regular "college" with a lot of straight-out-of-high school kids. If you visited there, you know what it's like. Regular dorms, all the stuff you get in a residential college experience. The best comparison to here is the University of Denver. DU is a good school, but pricey. However, it might not cost much more than out of state tuition at UCD. My niece went to UCD. It is not like that at all. Someone else detailed the housing situation. I think the old hotel (actually a motel) is not really a dorm, but has been converted into some sort of private apts that are rented to students. There is a large contingency of older students. Some kids from the area high schools go there directly from HS, but they live at home or rent apts with their fellow high school students. I can't (won't) tell anyone else what to do, but I wonder if you might feel a bit isolated, being from out of state. A very large majority of the students are from Colorado, most from metro Denver.

I think the engineering programs at CU-Boulder are more highly regarded, and the college experience in Boulder is the standard thing.

[wanttomoveeast]

Katiana: I knew you'd have something to say! The Regency is the converted hotel that is now for students. It is private housing, but super cheap for students. They also have a shuttle to campus and do all kinds of student stuff -- free pizza during finals and such.

With Boulder CU, it def. has a great engineering program. My dad is an engineer and most of his friends finished there. They are all really successful.

[jkcoop]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I think the engineering programs at CU-Boulder are more highly regarded, and the college experience in Boulder is the standard thing.

That's what I was going to say. My son is planning on engineering and he was mainly looking at CU-Boulder and Mines.

He's planning everything towards CU at this point.

[jjacobeclark]

I moved to CO in 2004 to attend the Music Industry Studies Program at UCD. Boy, was I disappointed. There are actually three housing options for students at Auraria Campus, none of which were there when I first attended. The first is Regency located near 38th & Fox in a sketchy neighborhood and like 2 miles from campus. The second is the Inn at Auraria located at 14 & Curtis, very close to campus but in the middle of Downtown, far away from things like parks or grocery stores. The last is the Campus Village, located in the industrial flats near Mile High Stadium. The Campus Village, I believe, is specifically for UCD students. All of those options are expensive and UCD requires first-year students under age 25 to live in one of those options. They are definitely not typical dorms with typical college students living in them.

Auraria campus is totally lame in comparison to other universities I have either attended or visited. The library, study halls, student union, and computer labs all close by 10 pm. The classes are not at all challenging and the instructors all have to work second jobs. There's no camaraderie among the students and absolutely no school spirit, but that could be because there are actually three institutions sharing the same classrooms and professors. The Metro students look down upon the CCD students, but the UCD students look down on the Metro students. There is no campus neighborhood to speak of. There aren't any cheap bars or restaurants catering to poor college students. If you're expecting to attend college parties or socialize with other students outside of class, then you're definitely looking at the wrong university.