Colorado State (Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins: transplants, waterpark, how much)
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We are beginning the college search and Colorado State comes up as a contender. I have read and gotten great insight and advice from city-data for years, so here are some questions:
1. How is the college and town relationship...is it friendly for the most part?
2. What is the town's "vibe;" that feeling of being there that only comes from being a part of the community or living near the community for a while? It's subjective of course, but is also not something that surveys or rankings can really pin down.
3. We're from the Sacramento, CA suburbs, so our kiddo is used to very different weather. Climate zones can only tell you so much when you're not living in the environment. So when do the daffodils start to bloom in Ft. Collins?
4. Anyone willing to share their experiences with the university/college on their own are welcome too!
1. Yes. It's a symbiotic relationship. Some locals do get annoyed by college kid partying, but that is also the case in other college towns.
2. Nice vibe. There are people who move there just for the town itself, not for anything related to the university. If you like small-city living, and don't mind being far from a major airport (a good hour-and-a-half drive to Denver International Airport, which is actually not in Denver) you will likely enjoy living in Ft. Collins. The town has been listed on several best-places-to-live rankings, and it's growing fast. Rising housing/rental prices reflect its popularity.
3. They can bloom as early as February! But usually March, and obviously it matters how high you live. (Altitude matters.) Your kiddo will be surprised that it can snow into June... though most transplants are also surprised just how much sun and warmth you get even in the winter, with streaks of 50-degree weather not uncommon even in January-February.
A bit of realism. Don't move to Ft.Collins for the skiing. You're pretty far away from the better ski areas, and the drive isn't fun. Ft. Collins feels much more out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere than Sacramento. That may or may not matter to your child. It did to mine, who decided against going to college there for that reason. I would also question whether Colorado State is worth the out-of-state tuition. Colorado ranks among the lowest in the country for per-student-spending on the college level. It affects class size, and access to classes just like at Cal States... except here you're paying a hell of a lot more.
We are beginning the college search and Colorado State comes up as a contender. I have read and gotten great insight and advice from city-data for years, so here are some questions:
1. How is the college and town relationship...is it friendly for the most part?
2. What is the town's "vibe;" that feeling of being there that only comes from being a part of the community or living near the community for a while? It's subjective of course, but is also not something that surveys or rankings can really pin down.
3. We're from the Sacramento, CA suburbs, so our kiddo is used to very different weather. Climate zones can only tell you so much when you're not living in the environment. So when do the daffodils start to bloom in Ft. Collins?
4. Anyone willing to share their experiences with the university/college on their own are welcome too!
Thanks in advance
I graduated from CSU in the late 90s, and my middle kiddo starts there as a freshman this fall.
1. The relationship between the school and the city is better than it was. A lot of that is due to the growth of the city over the last 30 years. There are still some blue hairs in town who hate the university. They fought the building of the on-campus stadium (a much-needed replacement for the school's awful, rundown, and poorly-located off-campus stadium), and they pop their heads up every time the athletic department makes the news, but they're in the minority.
2. Fort Collins is fairly laid-back and slow-paced compared to Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs. The Fort Collins-Loveland-Greeley area is around 500k population, but it feels much smaller because everything is so spread out. Old Town Fort Collins served as one of the inspirations for Main Street, USA at Disneyland.
3. Sacramento proper doesn't really have a winter. Fort Collins does. Snow season is September to May, but most years it doesn't start snowing until early-mid October, and the last freeze of the season is typically around Mother's Day. Winters are inconsistent. It can be sunny and 65 for a week and then turn on a dime and be 25 and snowy. Summers are generally more pleasant with average highs in the upper 80s in July. Today, for instance, it was overcast and in the mid-50s in Fort Collins. I can't tell you when the daffodils bloom, but things usually start greening up in early April, but because it's so dry here things will generally start to turn brown in early July.
4. FWIW, the outdoor recreation around Fort Collins isn't as good as Denver or Colorado Springs. You're closer to Rocky Mountain National Park and the Snowy Range of Wyoming, but much further from the better ranges of Colorado. As vunderbar mentioned, skiing isn't nearby. Eldora is the closest resort, and it's pretty small.
Fort Collins also is not in the mountains. The western side of town bumps up against the hogback so the mountains are right there, but the city itself is on the plains.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vunderbar
I would also question whether Colorado State is worth the out-of-state tuition. Colorado ranks among the lowest in the country for per-student-spending on the college level. It affects class size, and access to classes just like at Cal States... except here you're paying a hell of a lot more.
I wouldn't assume they're paying out-of-state tuition. CSU is part of the Western Undergraduate Exchange, and California is a WUE state. If their kiddo gets into WUE they can attend CSU at or very near in-state tuition levels.
Last edited by bluescreen73; 06-01-2022 at 11:40 PM..
" I wouldn't assume they're paying out-of-state tuition. CSU is part of the Western Undergraduate Exchange, and California is a WUE state. If their kiddo gets into WUE they can attend CSU at or very near in-state tuition levels.[/quote]
^^^ Very true. But getting into WUE is increasingly competitive. The average student saves just under $10K a year... which means OP's child is still likely to pay around $40K a year. (This is based on CSU's own cost of attendance estimates for this academic year.) Whether that's worth it is, of course, quite subjective.
We visited Colorado State as one stop on the college tour route for my son. It reminded my wife and I of our undergraduate college; that is, Oregon State in Corvallis (and it was also a lot like Washington State in Pullman which I have visited several times).
vunderbar and bluescsreen73 gave you their opinions which I agree with; that is, a mostly friendly and supportive smaller city with a major college in a rural setting within a reasonable drive to a major city with more amenities.
I liked it, but my son decided to go elsewhere.
We also lived in Sacramento for a few years. My wife got her teaching certificate at Sacramento State. We do not miss living there. We live now in Colorado Springs (and the kids are now graduates of the University of Colorado system).
We are beginning the college search and Colorado State comes up as a contender. I have read and gotten great insight and advice from city-data for years, so here are some questions:
1. How is the college and town relationship...is it friendly for the most part?
2. What is the town's "vibe;" that feeling of being there that only comes from being a part of the community or living near the community for a while? It's subjective of course, but is also not something that surveys or rankings can really pin down.
3. We're from the Sacramento, CA suburbs, so our kiddo is used to very different weather. Climate zones can only tell you so much when you're not living in the environment. So when do the daffodils start to bloom in Ft. Collins?
4. Anyone willing to share their experiences with the university/college on their own are welcome too!
Thanks in advance
Hi,
We are from NJ and our oldest daughter just graduated from CSU last year (2021). She absolutely loved it, received a great education, and is still in Ft Collins working in her field of study (neuroscience). Her freshman year she declared that she is never coming back home...and she loved where she grew up in NJ
I went to CSU in the mid 1980's and loved it as well. CSU is very friendly, down to earth place and the city of Ft Collins is a great college town/small city. I honestly can't say enough good things about it, especially the people.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nebloke
Hi,
We are from NJ and our oldest daughter just graduated from CSU last year (2021). She absolutely loved it, received a great education, ...Ft Collins is a great college town/small city. I honestly can't say enough good things about it, especially the people.
Good luck and Go Rams!
and a really nice thing about CSU... you can be in WY quicker than Denver!
(I grew up in Masonville (Population 5), so Ft Collins (10 min) was going to a BIG town... (~25,000 population then vs, 168,000 now)
We are beginning the college search and Colorado State comes up as a contender. I have read and gotten great insight and advice from city-data for years, so here are some questions:
1. How is the college and town relationship...is it friendly for the most part?
2. What is the town's "vibe;" that feeling of being there that only comes from being a part of the community or living near the community for a while? It's subjective of course, but is also not something that surveys or rankings can really pin down.
3. We're from the Sacramento, CA suburbs, so our kiddo is used to very different weather. Climate zones can only tell you so much when you're not living in the environment. So when do the daffodils start to bloom in Ft. Collins?
4. Anyone willing to share their experiences with the university/college on their own are welcome too!
Thanks in advance
I'm so happy to introduce you to my absolute favorite place at CSU FoCo: [URL="https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x87694b967879aa0f%3A0x915c94b2119d1684!3 m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com %2Fp%2FAF1QipM8i2whGbUMSEUkCVScuqcgV4dxvUvNozPDJC6 H%3Dw213-h160-k-no!5scolorado%20state%20test%20garden%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1Q ipPqxLPJSOSb33S-gzbqEa2Jdnmdz2e4S-RVqhXI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivqMqarqv4AhUFCjQIHWe xAIsQoip6BAhUEAM"]the test gardens[/URL]. It's absolutely gorgeous when students arrive in August for fall semester.
CSU is a great school and Ft Collins pretty much has everything. But, have to go to Denver for the big amusement park, waterpark and major sports (MLB, NFL, NBA). The big Broadway Shows are in Denver as well.
CSU is a great school and Ft Collins pretty much has everything. But, have to go to Denver for the big amusement park, waterpark and major sports (MLB, NFL, NBA). The big Broadway Shows are in Denver as well.
A college student will find plenty to do on campus and in the surrounding community to fill his spare hours. The amusement parks can wait until summer. If there's someone big at Red Rocks, students can take the Bustang to Union Station and then Uber to the show and back. Or they can just carpool with friends like my kids did.
OP, my kids both love CSU. My eldest, in fact, is going back next year for a graduate degree after having worked in her field for a few years. The city is great, but what's most important is whether or not CSU can provide the academic program your child needs. CSU offers some really incredible and unique degrees, but it's not exceptional across the board. Take your time evaluating the specific program your child wants to pursue because in the end it's the academics and the credentials he earns that matter, not how cool the town that surrounds the university is.
Last edited by kj1065; 06-15-2022 at 03:32 PM..
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