This thread is about CU Boulder, not PSU, here is my two cents with a student who attended previously.

Positives:
- Engineering is very good (my student's major was mechanical) and yes more competitive for entry than other majors
- Plenty of research and clubs on and around campus, no issue finding an area of interest and people to work with
- Vibes - obviously outdoorsy, people are generally fit, active and it makes it a pretty upbeat place
- On campus - good facilities, pretty dining hall in Willville, great climbing walls, pool, gyms, etc.
- Off campus - nearly unlimited - walk off campus to Chautauqua, drive up Canyon Drive to hike, fish, climb, etc. So many trails, climbs, biking and if somehow you exhaust those, you can to Rocky Mountain National Park - more things to do than can possibly be done in four years
- Weather - sunshine most days and warm given the effect of the sun at altitude - yes there is winter but snow melts quickly and again fun to do activities then too
- College town - Boulder technically is more than a college town with 250,000 people, but the area is compact so it has an easy walk-able/bike-able feel
- Spirit - school spirit is good, people are upbeat and wear the gear, nice helpful network

Not Positives:
- Large classes - state school so many intro courses in Physics, Bio, Chem are larger
- Size of school - true for any state school, but it does feel like they are just numbers - you have to make your tribe and relationships
- Variety of professors - some good ones but some are there for research and just fair if that in teaching
- Travel - hour to Denver airport then three hours to DC, and often $400-$500 RT airfare
- Party scene - some partying is fine, but I would not allow my student to live on the Hill, too close to the party scene - some fun is good, not too much though
- Worry - I sometimes worried about my student in that setting. Some people say drugs but they are on every campus. I think a combo of distance and unclear connection to career paths on the coast(s) where he ended up gave me pause sometimes.

All in all it is a special place, and my student was happy, busy and mentally/physically engaged there. He felt that the outdoors was very helpful as an outlet given the rigor of an engineering degree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at Leeds, they’re thriving. It’s been a fantastic experience for them this far. The “weed “talk is stupid as I see posts from DC all the time complaining about how the city smells like weed. That hasn’t been my experience. Kid is going Greek which they don’t expect but dirty rush and a pre bid convinced them. Also: instate.

I’ll admit it’s pretty crazy to pay OOS tuition for a state school IMO but that’s just me.

Mines is where an engineer should go.

CU Boulder can be generous with scholarships.

No, CU Boulder is not known for generous scholarships. Little ones, sure. Note that the amount announced is usually the four-year total.

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at Leeds, they’re thriving. It’s been a fantastic experience for them this far. The “weed “talk is stupid as I see posts from DC all the time complaining about how the city smells like weed. That hasn’t been my experience. Kid is going Greek which they don’t expect but dirty rush and a pre bid convinced them. Also: instate.

I’ll admit it’s pretty crazy to pay OOS tuition for a state school IMO but that’s just me.

Mines is where an engineer should go.

CU Boulder can be generous with scholarships.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CU Boulder is fine, but I think it depends on your child and his or her major. My DD didn’t love it — she found the girls to be too rich and catty — but she got a decent education. She felt like the diversity was less than it is on the East coast, which she missed. Boys might have a different time. Engineering school is excellent. Off campus housing is very expensive. The dining halls suck. It’s hard to get around if you don’t live close to campus or have a car because the buses don’t go late (she spends a lot on Ubers).

I don’t know anyone looking to Colorado for diversity.

This all sounds like someone who didn’t do research. Boulder is a hot place for young people => expensive => expensive housing => rich people.

It was more of a realization that diversity mattered.

That happened to me at Penn State main campus. And I'm a suburban white person.

I went to Penn state as a minority.

Penn state isn’t “not diverse”

The issue is that is very townie when I went.

I assume that has changed now though. 45% are oos (though the oos mix is not as balanced as Michigan)

Cu is way less diverse than psu, racially and ses wise

I'm probably a lot older than you, PP.

I lived in Atherton, the PSU Honors dorm. The MLK house was also in Atherton at that time. It definitely felt like it was put there to be "safe" from the gen pop.

While I was there, there was a bit of a scandal about people figuring out that University Housing was disproportionately placing black students in certain residence halls out of a misplaced hope of making the dorms more welcoming. The students affected didn't appreciate that.

I heard a lot of racist comments and strange attitudes over the year I was there. Directed at black people and foreign TAs. There also seemed to be nobody around campus except for 18-22 year olds. I missed just even seeing people who weren't kids around.

The main point is, some people find a homogenous environment stifling. Especially if they don't fit with it. If you're not interested in rushing, a Greek-heavy school is probably a poor fit, etc. I didn't expect to dislike PSU based on homogeneity. When I got there, it started to bug me and contributed to my decision to transfer. So I think diversity is definitely worth thinking about when picking a college. Diversity isn't just a code word for race. It's about intellectual diversity and appreciation of the contributions of various cultures. For example, there's a Tajik teahouse in Boulder. And a big Nepalese restaurant in Golden. I don't remember any places that cool in State College.

Based upon what we say in our circle, Boulder is a fairly easy admit, even in engineering. To the diversity point, there was none among the students who decided to attend.