Thoughts on Boulder?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| What is everyone's thoughts on Boulder? My kid would love to go but I am not sure how I feel about it. They like to ski but I wouldn't say they are the most outdoorsy but they love that their are different things to do around and near Boulder. |
Anonymous
It is highly ranked for handling climate change - so there’s that … |
Anonymous
| So what are your reservations about it? |
Anonymous
Boulder, Colorado is beautiful & home to a lot of high tech start-ups. Boulder is a wealthy community. Skiing in Colorado is not cheap, but it is fantastic ! Without more context, I do not know how to respond further. (Boulder is very white & wealthy.) Everything is relative; so, what are your son's other options ? |
Anonymous
| Are you concerned he’ll spend too much time skiing and using weed? If so, might be a legit concern. |
Anonymous
You do understand that those are requirements ? |
Anonymous
|
I went to grad school there. Loved it. The outdoors activities are not limited to skiing. There is great hiking right in Boulder - Red Rocks, Mt. Sanitas and the Flatirons. I would routinely do amazing hikes after school/work all the time. Lots of people do mountain biking, kayaking, rock climbing and more. And yes, the skiing is awesome. Because you learn how to work the system and only go when the powder is fresh and the sky is blue.
Plus, it's in the middle of a great area - you can drive to Moab, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, etc. I did a lot of great road trips living out there. Rocky Mountain National Park is only 45 minutes away. The weather! Simply the best anywhere. Summers are not too hot. Winters are wonderful - occasionally it gets cold but really it's sunny and nice all winter. I used to pray for a bad weather weekend so I can be a lazy couch potato without feeling guilty. The school itself has a rep as party school for wealthy (mostly white) people. There is definitely that element. But, it is a University that is improving. As an alum - I'm proud of all the cool things they are doing and how the business and engineering schools in particular have gotten better. There's also a great entrepreneurial spirit out there since Boulder has building limits - lots of people have to start their own companies to live there. That said - it is expensive. On par with DC for central Boulder. The campus is beautiful and football games with Ralphie are a blast - pair that with Coach Prime coming in. I would be fine with my kids ending up there. |
Anonymous
|
Boulder is amazing
Cu-Boulder and uvt - Burlington are extremely underrated |
Anonymous
| I'd pass. Way too woke, and Prime Time is just insufferable. |
Anonymous
|
I went to Boulder and think it's a great school. Academically, it's pretty similar to a lot of large state flagships. It's big enough that your experience can be as academic as you want, but the culture is not at all academically intense. So I think it works best for either someone who is very self-motivated and will find opportunities (there are many, many opportunities to be had, including a great honors program and a lot of excellent departments) or someone who sort of middle of the road academically and does not want intense pressure/stress. This can vary a bit by department now course. The engineering program is much more stressful, as are some of the other STEM programs -- there are a lot of pre-med students at Boulder so, for instance, bio can be a tough and more intense major.
Boulder itself is wealthy and has a similar culture to places like Berkeley -- lots of wealthy liberals who are sometimes deeply out of touch and unrealistic. I say this as a very liberal person. Boulder's culture outside the university is kind of obnoxious. But the university is so large that as a student, you really don't interact with it much unless you want to. It gets a reputation as a party school and if that's an experience your kid wants, it will absolutely be available. Yes, lots of drinking and pot. A pretty active greek scene. Plus a lot of socializing that centers on athletic programs, including the football team. Again, very typical of most large state flagships. However, if that's not his scene, it's also extremely easy to sidestep. I never did any of that (did not attend a single football game while I was there) and it was no big deal. I had other interests and found lots of friends who shared them. Most students live off campus after the first year. I actually think this is a big reason the greek system is a major draw -- it can be somewhat annoying to find off-campus housing because Boulder is pricy and not that big. Though I'd talk to current/more recent students about this, as maybe they've changed it. I lived in a series of group houses after freshman year and one was great, one was horrible, and one was fine but an annoying distance from campus. However, that was my senior year and after returning from a semester+summer abroad, so I was way less invested in campus culture at that point. I got an excellent education, had a number of phenomenal professors, the weather is good, and the campus is very pretty. For me it was kind of a no-brainer to go -- I was in-state and received a good scholarship. I do think the OOS costs are sort of nuts, but it's also the going rate for a school of that size and quality and all college costs are nuts now. One downside, I will note, is that the school does not have a very strong alumni network on the East Coast or in the Midwest. That has not mattered for me as I went to grad school on the East coast. But if your child is from the DMV and intends to return to this area after, it could be a hindrance in terms of job search. So I guess that's my one caveat. |
Anonymous
|
I hope one of my kids goes there.
My dad and sisters went there and they all live in the area now. I love it. |
Anonymous
What does this mean? Please explain. |
Anonymous
You would not get in. |
Anonymous
It's not "woke" PP doesn't even know what "woke" means. Boulder because it has a University it leans more liberal then say Colorado Springs. Then again Boulder doesn't have cults that marry kids or abuse them or groom them so.... |
Anonymous
Perhaps look into Hillsdale or Ole Miss. |