We visited the University of Colorado, Boulder, which is a large public university, and is considered Colorado’s flagship public research university. The University is an easy 45 minute drive from the Denver airport.
The University is large, absolutely beautiful, and bustling with energy. The 600-acre campus is located right in the heart of Boulder, which is at the base of the Rocky Mountains. From almost anywhere on campus you can view the mountains. Boulder boasts having 300 days of sun a year.
Despite its large size, the campus was easy to navigate, and was full of friendly and enthusiastic students. The University has everything, and is home to approximately 25,000 undergraduate and 4,600 graduate students. Boulder offers 85 majors at the bachelor’s level, 70 at the master’s level, and 50 at the doctoral level. It is a Tier 1 research institution and receives more than $280 million in sponsored research awards, which places it 13th nationally and 6th among all public universities. Boulder is very proud that 18 of its aeronautical program graduates have been sent into space.
Although the undergraduate class is huge, most undergraduate classes have 19 or fewer students, and 85% of classes have 50 or fewer students. There are also a number of residential academic programs in the dorms that foster connections through common interests.
The town of Boulder is wonderful, in and of itself, and reminded me, on a smaller scale, of Ann Arbor, where the whole town is full of young people, lots of great places to eat, to shop, and things to do. It also reminded me of Marin County, because there’s such a focus on outdoor living. Boulder has miles and miles of trails for hiking and biking. And last, but certainly not least, the campus is about a 1-½ hour drive to some great skiing at Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain; it’s not much further to Vail.
Some real pluses: tuition is guaranteed – first year tuition is locked in for all four years, so there are no increases! Free tutoring is available for any student living on campus (freshmen are required to live on campus). Students get free bus transportation anywhere in Boulder, free bus transportation to Denver, and free bus transportation to the Denver Airport.
When we visited, my son had already been admitted to Boulder; by the time we left, he was so impressed that he committed to attending!
Contributed by the Jordan family - Thank you!
