University of Colorado Boulder Top Questions

What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

Dominick

I really dislike how dirty the bathrooms around campus are. There are some that are fine, but a large amount are pretty gross. Sometimes you even find a few that are repulsive. The residence-hall bathrooms get particularly filthy. I even feel compelled to contact faculty sometimes.

Dominick

I really dislike how dirty the bathrooms around campus are. There are some that are fine, but a large amount are pretty gross. Sometimes you even find a few that are repulsive. The residence-hall bathrooms get particularly filthy. I even feel compelled to contact faculty sometimes.

Eyerusalem

What I consider to be the worst thing about the University of Colorado Boulder is the cost. This includes the costs of tuition, the cost of housing, and even the cost of books. The University of Colorado Boulder is such an amazing school but the cost does not make it easily accessible to everyone. As a middle class student from a first generation home, I am paying the same amount as an upper class student is paying. I believe there needs to be more opportunities in place for those who are financially incapable. For example, more scholarships and grants.

Anthony

Unfortunately, the cost of attendance. When compared to other schools, it's not too terrible, and in all honesty it's a crisis on the national level.

Justin

There are a lot of unique people here and if you have the wrong mindset it is very easy to become just another person in the crowd. People are very friendly but making friends can be somewhat difficult

Kalyn

The worst thing about this school is being forced to walk across campus in the freezing, cold snow. Though the campus may be beautiful with foliage everywhere and the mountains as its back drop, in the winter months it can be down right miserable to walk, even a little bit, on campus. In Colorado, the weather can change in a matter of hours. At the start of the day, it may be incredibly sunny and then begin to snow at lunch time. I cannot tell you how many times I have worn summer close and was completely blind-sighted.

Sierra

The in-state tuition is pretty bad and the out-of state tuition is flat out ridiculous. I have had many friends complete one year at CU Boulder and then drop out because of some kind of fiscal tragedy. Also the parking rates and repercussions of not paying those rates are insane, one would think with the tuition being so high they wouldn't need to nickel and dime their students as much as they do.

Sarah

The worst thing about my school is probably the lack of diversity. A large majority of the student body is composed of Caucasians. While race and ethnic background certainly shouldn’t be used as a barometer to define the students, a lack of diversity can make people feel excluded or uncomfortable if they do not identify with the majority of their peers. Furthermore, having a campus that includes many different races and people of different backgrounds can add to a rich learning environment by including different points of view, different ideas, and different beliefs.

Jackie

The constant stench of marijuana in the residential halls. I understand it is legalized now but I live in the Honors residential hall and I didn't expect the smell to be a constant problem. If it's like this here, it must be worse in other halls.

Briana

The worst thing about CU Boulder is that it is known as a "party school" when this is a common misconception. It is a great school and I made a great choice!

David

The size of classes

Natalie

I think the worst thing at CU Boulder is the partying. I am not someone who goes to parties and do not hang out with people who do. Other than that I love my school.

Victor

Sometimes the reputation of partying too much can be a hinderance.

Matt

There was a very wide range of student quality and preparedness and classes were often not as challenging as I would have liked.

Matthew

It seems like this "State University" is run more and more like a buisness. Bigger and bigger classes (300+ sudents) and current students being used used to solicit alumni for money gives the school a less school-like atmosphere.

Hollie

This is a very large school with a heavy emphasis on being a part of a sorority/fraternity and being involved with all the social activities on campus, which detracts from a student's studies. If a future student wants to have a laidback, fun experience, CU is a great option. If academics are very important to a student, depending on the field of study, CU may not be the right place.

Zachary

Its party reputation as portrayed by the media

merissa

The worst thing about my school is the registration process. To register for classes here at CU is a lengthy and very confusing process. Also, if you have a declared major then you are suppose schedule an appointment to talk to your academic advisor, however the advisors can't get to all students. The students who don't talk to their advisors have a hard time knowing what classes to take the next semester. All students register on different days (based on year not acaemics) making the students last to register, with little choices of classes left.

David

I feel the worst thing about CU Boulder is how the buildings are mapped out and room numbers laid out. I am still getting over my difficulty of finding my way to new buildings and classrooms. Many of the buildings seperate the room numbers into directional numbers, so depending on which side of the building the room is on it will have a directional letter in front of the number. This makes it rather difficult for me to find my way around. But I am slowly getting the hang of it.

Skyanne

The tuition is very, very high for out of state students, and it seems like the university uses that money for things that may be unecessary.

Athena

There is very little diversity in the school. For the most part the students are upper class, liberal caucasians from the Colorado area. This is a problem because a lack of diversity keeps me from interacting with people with other ideas and of other nationalities. I feel confined by the people around me, and having differing ideas and being from a different background then most of them, I feel some what out of place.

Kathryn

Boulder has a windy season in winter and spring, and the window of my dorm room would rattle constantly. You learn to live with this, and in a way it's a point of pride to be a Boulderite and live with the wind (it gets so severe that I once saw someone playing soccer by himself - he'd kick the ball as hard as he could into the wind, and it would come right back to him). On mornings when you need to get to class, though, pride can go hang itself - you just want the wind to stop.

Molly

I think that it is very large, espeically in lower division courses where the lectures tend to be 300 students. I think that if the classes were smaller in lower division, students would perform better and their overall gpa's would be a reflection of this.

Na

This is hard to answer as I absolutely love UCB, but one bad thing I can say about it is its infamy as a party school. (But, a majority of the students do not "party.")

Tayler

My main disadvangtage right now is the location of the dorm rooms. Living off campus allows for difficulties arriving to class and doing the assigned projects. However, I have never missed one class nor a project. Just a small hurdle of the issue of transportation.

Haleh

It was not a culturally diverse school, as an Iranian-American and Muslim female I often felt out of place as the majority of students socialized by attending house parties and bars

Jordan

The worst thing about the University of Colorado at Boulder was the diversity. While the school strongly encouraged the students to broaden their social understanding, the lack of culture made that difficult.

Kendra

The campus is not very diverse. There could be a more diverse student body.

Monica

The greek life can become very overwhelming for non-greek members. It doesn't completely rule the school but a lot of emphasis is placed on it, and if you are non-greek you tend to find other non-greek friends.

Allison

The worst thing about CU Boulder is the discontinuation of repeating classes. Recently CU decided that every class that a student takes will go on their transcript. I think they are doing this to try to motivate the students, but I think it will actually do the opposite.

Samantha

The worst thing about the University of Colorado at Boulder is probably the amount of people that actually attend. There are so many things going on with the campus, it is difficult at times to adjust to the environment. Many students have come to this college for the wrong reasons and there is a significantly irresponsible culture in its midst.

Hannah

The reputation as a party school is really quite depressing. Like all universities and colleges parties exist, but how you view your school is really about how you take advantage of your opportunities. Partying is just one road you can take, and the availability of parties at my university does not have to affect the quality education I receive here.

Ashleigh

The worst thing about my school is the lack of diversity. Being a girl of racial minority, I have noticed that there are not many students who share the same ethnic background as me. The campus is predominantly caucasian and in that sense lacks variety in cultural background.

Dillon

The worst thing about the University of Colorado is the dormitory room sizes. For incoming freshman, the dorm room are strictly small and tend to get crowded once you have a roommate. A good suggestion is to bring items that you really need for the Fall semester than bring another batch of items for the Spring semester. However, you are able to meet diverse students once settled into your dormitory.

Arielle

The worst thing about the University of Colorado at Boulder is that there is no school spirit. With no school spirit, it does not allow students to really get a feel for the school. In other words it doesn't make you feel as if it is your school and you have no pride in it. Especially at sporting activities it does not make it fun when no one is really cheering for your school's team.

Brittany

CU Boulder has the reputation of being a big party school and for the most part it is. However, not all parts of the school fulfill this stereotype, like science and engineering which are both extremely academically focused, and thus just attending the school brings along a false and misleading label.

Garrett

Almost all activities are alcohol related and almost everyone parties thursday through Saturday.

Sonia

Grading Policy

Shawn

The lack of diversity on campus. Also, the amount of arogant people who get drunk and try to start fights on the weekends.

Britany

Since it is a more expensive college to attend, most of the students do come from wealthier households.

Karianne

The worst thing I consider about my school is that it is recognized as a party school rather than an institute of challenging academic higher learning.

Austin

Alcohol and drugs, especially marijuana, are highly prevalent and often abused on and around campus. CU Boulder is notorious for having a very large "party" community. While I'm not necessarily opposed to these things in moderation, I believe that their presence here is excessive. Late night keggers (held somewhere nearly every night) and the like strongly affect students' ability to succeed in class, as well as provide a disruption for anyone who must deal with intoxicated or otherwise impaired peers.

Kelsey

Sometimes it is more like a corporation than an education system. Yes, they have organizations and you can receive a wonderful education if you want to, but many times it seems focused on getting you in and putting you out again. Especially in the large general classes which most everyone have to take at one point or another, you are a student number and with an internet password. It is understandable for such a large place with so much to offer, but sometimes it is hard being just one face in a sea of 30,000.

Deanna

Probably my freshman dorm. It was kind of far away from campus and the bus never got to school on time, which was really unfortunate. But, I don't live there anymore, so it's really not a big deal to me anymore.

Katherine

Probably the worst thing about my university is the conflict it has with the city community, and neighborhoods that surround it. The local communities do not seem to appreciate the fact that college aged adults live close to campus (and thus close to them) and are continually trying to interfere with businesses and extracirriculars/student orientated activities that cater to the student population. There is a constant tension between the city community and the university community, and it feels as though the surrounding community does not want to work and live together with students.

Morgan

some professors and TA's do not understand english well making communication and learning difficult; mostly in science courses.

Cory

There is a lot of greek life. It tends to make it clicky and a lot of the social gatherings are domintaed by it. But that is great for those who are or want to be involved in greek life

James

Fraternities, all of the guys are really unfriendly and think very highly of themselves.

Matthew

The off campus houses and apartments are fairly expensive

Amy

I guess it would have to be that there isn't any really initiative to make our school exclusive, i feel they let eveyone in regardless of gpa or test scores. That way it would weed out the people who don't are serious about school.