Colorado State University-Fort Collins Top Questions

What is your overall opinion of this school?

Sasha

I would most deffinietly change the parking situation, it is absolutely ridiculous to find a spot and is quite annoying. There are many people that give me crap for going to CSU but i also get a lot of good responses too it really just depends on where they went/go to school.

Kelly

CSU is just right in size for me. It is exactly what I wanted. It is the right amount of students, has Greek life, and has pretty good athletics. I grew up watching college sports and going to cheer on the teams back at home so that is something my school had to have. On campus, I spend a lot of time in the library, the various computer labs, and in LSC (Lory Student Center--our go to area where food, books, clothes, etc. is sold). CSU is definately in a college town. We have the support of numerous neighboring businesses which is awesome!

Alex

I love the open campus, our buildings aren't on top of each other, the grounds are always clean, kids are usually friendly and polite, holding doors open for others, saying excuse me, etc. I think CSU is in a great town, its a good size city with a small town feel. I do wish CSU's administration would be a little more honest with us, like the Sonny Lubick situation, president Penely said, in an all campus- all student body email, that Coach wasn't getting fired (b/s!) and then to find out a few days later in our (EXTREMELY) liberal school paper, that Lubick was fired as Head coach but was being asked to take another position, thats not being truthful if you ask me. I think we have a strong sense of school pride, even tho our football team sucks kids still show up to the games wearing their colors proud.

Katy

The best thing at CSU is the social life. One thing I would change are some of the teachers. I think the school is just right. People think it's cool that I go to CSU. I spend most of my time hanging out with friends in the dorm or in the lory student center or outside when it's nice. Yes, it is definitely a college town. The administration is good I really like my advisor too. There is a lot of school pride. One experience I will never forget is the preview and the football games my first one. The most student complaints are either about how bad a few of their teachers are or how bad the RAs are.

Samantha

Compared to my my high school there is a lot of school pride. Its nice to walk around on campus and see that almost everyone you pass is wearing some sort of csu appereal. It makes me see i go to a great school because know one is ashamed to be a CSU Ram.

Brooke

I love CSU. The size is perfect, because you don't get lost but you don't have to see the same people every day if you don't want to. The campus is gorgeous, and the location is perfect. The town is lively but classy, with enough college to make it fun and enough other residents to make it more like a town. I got a lot of crap for coming to CSU from friends who were going to Creighton, Princeton, etc., but many of them regret going to the schools they attend right now and are jealous of my experiences at CSU.

Lauren

The best thing about CSU is the community which it is in. I think the community is great and very college orientated. I think there is a lot of pride in the school and I have pride in the school. I spend most of my time on campus in the classroom. The number one thing I would change is more parking!!!!!

Meg

If i could change one thing about CSU is there emphasis on sports. Granted we need more money for all sports including clubs, but often classes get cut due to budgets. The reason i came to csu is because of the people and the landscape. Also CSU has the one of the best natural resource colleges in the nation.

Lauren

I love the campus. Its really pretty in the summer and fall. I also like the way campus is arranged. Sometimes it might take you awhile to get to class but at least the buildings are pretty easy to find.

Morgan

CSU is great, it has a great feel. The size is great, yes you have your 200+ people classes, but you also have your 20 people classes. Fort Collins is a great college town, its a big town but feels smaller because its so spread out. School pride is down after a loosing basketball season, but I think over all everyone is still proud to be a CSU Ram.

Meg

I think CSU could use alot more of school pride because my cousins go to Penn State and they eat, sleep, and breathe Penn State. But here its alot different. Our athletics are terrible and that is a big factor in whether or not someone is going to have school pride. Its all about bragging rights and if our football team doesn't win then we have nothing to brag about and the same goes for all our other sports. And free gear is always important to help people develop more pride in CSU.

tater

CSU is just the right size and the town of Fort Collins is an amazing college town. I feel like there is a lot of school pride.

Kendall

I really like CSU and always get good responces when I tell people that I go here. I think that the univeristy is very well set up very student friendly and also i love the feeling that you are supported by the community 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}. I love the college town feeling there is always so much to do. Everything is very accessiable.

Austin

Coming from a small high school CSU seems gigantic. Although it is a big school, it means more people to meet! CSU is a good school, because their is so much to do here. We have a great rec center, and fun intramural sports, with fields always available to go play on. Also there are many extracurricular clubs and classes that can be taken for fun. I would say that CSU is academically a great school with programs across the board. A problem with CSU is our school pride. While I'm sure that the majority of the people here enjoy the school there just isn't that outgoing school pride you would expect, and this is due to our losing sports. If our teams started winning then I'm sure our pride will increase.

Rose

I think the size of CSU is perfect. I prefer a bigger school, but even though CSU is big, you still get a few aspects of a smaller school. It has the large classes, the crowds on campus, and the campus of a larger school. However, you will still see people you know on campus every week, have friends in classes, and, if sought out, will find the special attention people crave from their profs. In addition the city of Fort Collins is amazing. It is a place one could never get bored in. There's just way too much to do. It pretty much always sunny, but still gets snow. Yet, it gets nowhere near the amount of snow the rest of Colorado does.

Julie

I think that CSU has a lot of friendly students. There is always someone around to help you out or someone who will help. There is also a lot of activies and clubs that CSU offers to get involved. I especially like how fitness oriented CSU is. There are a lot of 5K races in town and the rec center is always busy with a lot of students. CSU is a very big school and some of the classes are very large. I have a lot of classes that can have up to 300 seats and are full! Knowing this it can be hard, if you are shy to make an impression on teachers. You really have to break out from the crowd. It will be important for when and if you need letters of recommendation. I spend a lot of time at the Lory Student Center and the Library. They are both excellent places to meet up with friends on campus. Fort Collins is deffinitly a college town. Many of the houses near and far from campus are owned by students and its a challenge to figure out where you would want to live after the dorms. A lot of the apartment complexes are just big party areas for students. Its cool if you like that but even if that is your lifestyle when you want to get sleep or if you have a test the next day and your neighbors are partying till 4 in the morning there isn't too much you can do about it. CSU has a lot of school pride and its good to be in a school that does so. I would say that the biggest comlaint at CSU is the parking. Parking is really bad and expensive. But it doesn't bother me much because I take the bus or ride my bike. It saves time, money, and the environment in the end.

Brianna

CSU is a really fun school to go to. I was surprised when coming here how well-kept everything is. Every club is well established and easy to contact or join, buildings are renovated frequently, the landscaping is always perfect with groomed lawns and no dead spots even in the heat of summer. There are theater or music productions put on nearly every weekend for entertainment, as well as traveling comedians and shows. Everything seems to work well and it is easy to tell that funds are spent well here.

mike

friendly, welcoming environment positive learning environment

Lisa

I love how mellow and relaxed CSU is. I feel like I can walk around campus and always see a smiling faces and students who are truly happy to be on our campus. The University offers a large number of different clubs, groups, interests, and jobs for a diverse group of students. The University size is perfect allows students to share and participate in many of these opportunities. The University has made me more aware of the environment and global issues. The only problem I have with our campus is the parking!

jenna

Everyone at CSU seems to love being here. It is a wide-open campus that seems to almost always be beautiful (especially in summer and fall). I love walking around to the different dorms on campus, and sometimes I like to go explore the random buildings that seem to be scattered throughout. People are usually friendly and welcoming with quite a bit of school pride. Some say we speak our minds too much, but that's probably a good thing.

Shelby

School is a little bit too big for me, if the students droped by about 5-10,000 that would be perfect. It is better to have smaller classes and be able to get to know your professors and get to have interactions with them. Then rather in classes of 200+ you are just a number.

Tanya

I love CSU. The campus is incredibly easy to navigate and it would be very difficult to get lost. We are a prominantly white school which could be a drawback. There is a great community at CSU. For example I work at the bookstore and will find people who recognize me from classes or from a party and are happy to introduce themselves to me. Everybody is incredibly friendly. On campus I am generally in class or in the library (again, I'm science!), although when it's nice out lots of people, often including myself, are outside on the grass. The town of Fort Collins is really nice. Definitely a college town with a lot of great people. The mall is smaller, so shoppers have to go to Loveland or even to Denver. There is plenty to do, especially outdoor activities. Hiking, fishing, swimming, biking, etc are all favorites. Finding a place to rent is very easy, both houses and apartments alike. The bus system is great for some areas, and terrible for others. My walk to the bus stop is about 12 minutes if you walk fast. I have a friend who walks for 30 seconds. There are trains but you get used to them within the first month. The biggest student complaints are probably parking issues. It is expensive to park on campus and the traffic is terrible and spots are hard to find. I personally park off campus and walk or take the bus.

Jay

School Pride! I have never met a person who went to CSU who does not love the school and what it stands for. This is Colorado's State school, we ALL have the opportunity to learn here and it is a magical place. Ft. Collins is one of the great college towns, small but not too small. Artsie and down home at the same time, a family town, a college town.

Devin

It's a big school, no doubt about it. What I have found and what I've heard from my friends in other colleges and departments on campus is that you get to know people within your program. It may not happen your freshman year, but by the time you're a senior, you'll find that you know quite a few people as you walk around campus (unless you lock yourself in your dorm room for four years). The student center is a hub, so is the library. May departments also have little hang out areas. Fort Collins is most assuredly a college town! Most local businesses have student discounts, landlords know us (for better or worse), and old town is all about good places to hang out (both for underage and 21+ crowds). The administration has had its spats with students, but I think they try to do what they can to help us out. Recent controversy: Well, let's just say the student newspaper made national headlines with a certain headline, ("F*** Bush!" ring a bell?). Everyone had their own opinion...the faculty that I had at the time tended to stay out of it. I think it kind of depends on the department though. Ram Pride is alive and well. However, if you are looking to have amazing athletics all year round, you might want to keep looking. We are in a state of "transition" with many of our athletic programs. Still, the games are a blast and they aren't too pricey either.

Allison

CSU is the perfect fit for me. It's a beautiful, fairly large campus with a diverse population of students and a wide array of majors and minors. The Environmental Health Department is full of top notch faculty and staff and the college has abundant opportunities for socialization, activism, research, leadership, and entertainment. I've been disappointed in the Chemistry department because I have not have any really good professors (I've taken CHEM 111,113,341,343). I also wish they offered a psychology minor. "The Collegian" loves attention--they printed "FUCK Bush" in large print in one of their newspapers as well as featured many controversial articles-like the one on how local hookah bars are spreading herpes.

Meredith

The town is very conservative and so are quite a few of the students. The administration doesn't really care too much about the students opinions, and the student government is not very involved. Also, as I being out of state pay a lot for dorm living, and I do not receive proper respect by the employees.

Iris

CSU is a large university, but because of its goal towards smaller classes, you still get to know fellow classmates. When walking through the plaza, students can usually recognize at least one familiar face through out the day. The town of Fort Collins is another reason for this familiarity. Fort Collins has a small town feel to it even though it occupies so many residents. The environment of CSU and Fort Collins is friendly.

Torry

CSU is a fantastic university with something for everyone. The location is prime- nestled up next to the foothills- and the size is just about right. For the thousands who go here, it may seem intimidating at first to walk around campus every day and hardly ever see someone you know. Over time, however, you begin to find the people you relate to and spend more time in your circles of friends. That's when CSU feels like family. Ft. Collins is an ideal college town, with a busy yet historical old town only a few blocks away and plenty to do for everyone. As mentioned before, the mountains are nearby (a 15-minute bike ride), so if the town feels stuffy, you can always escape. I spend a lot of time in the Morgan Library, which is packed with resources, study areas, and technology. The student center is the hub of the college calendar and an ideal place to meet up with friends. I never tire of walking around campus and discovering hidden spots or cool buildings.

Torry

A lot of school spirit from some people - like the student government. People seem to take pride in the school and the campus grounds.

Emily

There is a lot of school pride at CSU. Everywhere you go people are sporting CSU gear from wearing CSU logo clothes, hats, to using binders that say CSU on them. Although the turn out has been a little poor at sporting events these past couple of year, I really do feel like the students and staff are very school spirited. I love that CSU is located in Fort Collins. I love that CSU is situated in down-town because there are many restaurants, shops, coffee stores, etc to go to. It is close to the mountains for snowboarding but is also near a reservoir, which is great for water sports.

Rachel

Big pictures CSU is where it is at!!!! I will always remember freshman year Ram Welcome weekend which is the weekend before school starts the school provides many different activities for the new freshman, transfers and other students to attend mainly to get to know campus and make it feel like home.

Andy

CSU is a great college town. There is always something going on and many companies cater to college students. The size of the college is just right, not too big or too small. When I tell people I go to CSU, unless the other person lives in Colorado they usually don't know what it is.

Stephanie

I think that CSU is great and the best thing about it is probably the people. Everyone you run into is friendly. The other great part about CSU is that it is only a two hour drive from the mountains so you can go snowboarding or skiing practically every weekend. Fort Collins is a great college town and it is hard to get bored. The only downside I would say is if you don't like the cold and snow it's probably not for you. Sometimes it can get pretty cold walking between classes or trying to ride your bike through the wind and snow.

molly

One thing I would change is tuition price or the way we spend our money. I think more money should go to having more teachers providing more class times and smaller classes rather then spending the 5 million on colleget sports like football who don't bring in any money.

Emily

The best thing about CSU is the gorgeous land that surrounds the campus and Fort Collins. Amazing resources like the Rocky Mountains and Horsetooth Resevoir open up a lot of options for students to get outside and enjoy good weather (when it happens to come along). CSU is huge. I would have personally chosen to go to a smaller school had I fully known the enormous amount of students that go here. When I'm on campus I spend most of my time either in my dorm room, at the rec center or in the library. I personally don't have a lot of school pride. It's hard to get invoved with so many other responsibilities and holds on your time. One experience that I had actually happened today. I went on a 3 mile bike ride with my RA. It was a blast to be able to hang out with her and get some good exercise in on such a gorgeous day. Most frequent student complaints = FEES, crazy cost of books/bundles

Jacob

Still learning about the university, since this is my first semester.

Paige

The best thing about CSU is that it has a phenomenal fashion merchandising program. If I could change one thing I would re-do all of the dorms so that they all looked like Summit and Academic Village. The school is a very good size and the campus is very well set up. People think I am a bit crazy to be going to school so far away, but it helps you to mature and grow up faster. I spend most of my time at classes and at practice for cheer.

Rachel

The best thing about CSU is how they incorporate alot of the enviroment and are starting to switch to become a more eco-friendly school. The one thing I'd change is the pace center it's an unfortunate situation for those who have trouble taking tests and need the instructor based learning. They react in a good way. I spend most of my time in my dorm studying or at the gym and going out at night to other's houses. I think CSU's administration is too conservative and there needs to be more of a mix by incorporating more liberal thinkers like CU's.

Tyler

I ahve a lot of CSU pride and I like the school a lot. I'm happy i made the choice to come here for school. The town is really relaxed and has a college great atmosphere. Most of the students are easy going and nice. There is always stuff to do and places to go. Its just a great school and a great town

Dylan

I find CSU a very good campus, it's not big or small. I like the idea that all the buildings are next to each other and that there are no main streets to cross between different colleges. I spend most of the time in the student centre and the library. I also like the fact that fort colllins is a college town, meaning wherever you go around fort collins you'll find something to do with "CSU" or "Rams" which increases the sense of pride in us as students.

taylor

CSU is big but not too big. As long as you join a club or find a group of friends that you enjoy it helps take way the overwhelming feeling that CSU is so big. People dont have much reaction when I tell them that I go to CSU they just say "oh thats good", i think its because its a state school and most think its just an ordinary school that is like all the other state colleges, they dont know about it unless theyve gone there. there is a lot of school pride, i wish there was more promotion of the games because i dont even know that they are going on but when i do go to a game there is a lot of school pride in students.

Christina

input

Jason

Fort Collins is a growing community with a small town feel. Old Town in amazing! I love how we are located right against the foothills, it makes for wonderful views walking around campus. Being in Colorado you get all the seasons. I really like the size because it is big enough to have the resources for good programs, events, and infrastructure. Also, within your particular College it is a small feel because it is less than 2,000 students and even less within your particular concentration. CSU has an average amount of school pride - the CSU vs. CU game is always great CSU is very well recognized in the Denver Job Market!!!

Erika

I love that the school feels like a loving community.

Erika

I think that CSU is a great school. It is just the right size for me. I love that it feels like a community, which is very important to me coming from a really tight community. I love that students are respectful of others opinions, and seem to be open minded in general.

Kelly

Fort Collins has been made a college town by CSU. It is a very cool town to live in.

Allison

When I first came to Fort Collins I wasn't a huge fan of the city, but I did love the school. Now that I have lived there for almost 3 years the city has really grown on me and I have more Ram pride than I did as a freshman. The city is great, definitely a college town, there is always something to do and always somewhere to eat. I really love the location because its not too far away from home but it still feels like I "went away" to school, its a small city but the mountains are easily accessible and so is Denver. The school itself is a great community and the campus is gorgeous! There are a lot of students and a lot of people assume that you will never see the same person twice, but that isn't true. Once I got into the College of Business and involved in other activities I always see people that I know or have had class with. Being involved really helps bring down the size of the campus.

Monica

CSU is in Colorado which is a fabulous state! It is very environmentally focused and cares a lot about increasing our use of wind-power and improving recycling programs. I would change the way the buildings on our campus look, they are not very attractive. For me the school is too large, it was hard to adjust to the lecture halls and not having my teachers know me anymore. A lot of my friends go to small private schools in other states, they all respect my decision to attend CSU but a lot of times they look at it as "just another state school" or "the easy option." Many adults in my community really have a positive reaction when I tell them where I go to school. When I am on campus I spend most of my time in classes. If I am not in class I am either hanging out in the student center eating lunch and listening to someone play piano or studying in the library. This is definitly a college town, there is a cute downtown that has plenty of bars and a popular night life. This is not a sleepy town and people expect there to be college kids everywhere.

Ryan

When I tell people I go to CSU, I typically get a good respons unless they attend CU or are current Alum of CU and they would rather just be rivals all their life. For the most part though people see CSU as a good school and a great place to get a college education.

Matt

The best thing about CSU is that despite the large number of students here, it still feels like home. I can go anywhere on campus and see people I know. When I first came here, I was worried it'd be too large of a school, but being here for 3 years has definitely made me feel differently. If I could change one thing, it would be our athletics program. It has struggled for a while and I'd love to see an amazing season from football and basketball before I leave. Nobody reacts with surprise when I tell them I go to CSU, unless they're from CU, but that's expected, we hate them. On campus I spend most of my time in Rockwell Hall, which is home to the College of Business. If I'm not there, I'm usually at the Lory Student Center, which is right in the center of campus and is the most widely populated part of campus throughout the day. There you can grab a bite to eat in the wide variety of restaurants, meet with your friends, schedule and attend special events, watch a movie in the theatre, etc. Fort Collins is an amazing place to live. It was just recently voted #1 place to live in America. The atmosphere is a great mix of everything. Old Town is awesome on the weekends and provides the perfect place to hit the bars and enjoy the night with your friends. The city itself is not that large, making it easy to get to and from pretty much anywhere, no matter what side of town you're on.