University of Denver Top Questions

What is the stereotype of students at your school? Is this stereotype accurate?

Julia

Rich and entitled is a common stereotype, and I'm not going to say it's proven to be untrue.

Jeffrey

DU has a reputation for being a school for snobby white rich kids. I have attended the school for 2 years and I can honestly say that I don't see it. Sure, there are plenty of caucasian students who attend DU. Maybe people assume these students are rich because they attend DU? It is pretty expensive, but I don't know. But most people I have come in contact with at DU are nice kids, that are down to earth and are very friendly. Last year especially, I began to notice more ethnic groups represented here at DU. It seems that the school is trying to rid themselves of this "all rich white kids" stereotype.

Corinne

The stereotype tends to be rich white kids, generally stuck up, who are paying for everything with daddy's credit card. The rich white kids thing sticks pretty well, because tuition at DU is pretty steep, and it's just a reflection of demographics in the USA as a whole. Some of them will be the stuck up kind who are paying with daddy's credit card and able to get away with a lot of different things. But definitely not all of them. There are plenty of people who are only there because they were able to get a scholarship to knock off some of the tuition price, or who are taking out a huge amount of loan money, or are even paying for it themselves. People I've met are super involved, whether it's in academics, sports, or another club. Students are very good at finding their passion and making it into a lifestyle.

Lindsey

I think that the stereotype of students at DU are that we are rich, snotty, very smart, have had very easy lives, and that we are very secretive. Sometimes I think that people think that we all love the outdoors and are ski bums. Although students at DU may be like this, I think that the population can de described as unique. There are quite a few people that love to hit the slopes, but there are plenty of others that just love to hang around the campus in the winter. Also, there are some rich students, but a large population of the campus is actually attending DU on scholarship or with financial aid.

Anna

So, I hate to be brutally honest, but there are quite a few stereotypes despite DU's attempt to be considered a diverse campus. From my standpoint, yes, DU often appears to have a mix of racially and ethnically diverse students - then again, I come from a small farmer's town in South Dakota where the entire population is white (333 citizens reside there), so I might just be experiencing culture-shock when I notice a colorful campus of human individuals. Ask anyone else and they'll say it breaks down like this: 1) Greek Life sets the scene - although DU is not known for having outstanding Greek Life chapters (which they aren't), a huge portion of the school is devoted to this lifestyle or social status one may say. Don't be surprised come freshmen year once all of your friends ask if you are going to "rush" or not, and definitely don't feel pressured into it. This stereotype isn't necessarily a good one on campus. 2) Rich, ungrateful kids go to DU - Due to the University of Denver's high tuition cost and prestige-looking campus, many students are stereotyped as being rich and snobby kids who live off their parents. Although this is definitely not always the case, there are a few kids out there who show off their privilege and complain about what we jokingly call "first-world problems." For example, you'll hear someone complain about DU's outrageously-high tuition, but then later see them driving around in a brand new BMW gifted to them by their well-off parents. Ironic. Anyways, don't let that stereotype get you down. Although one may think it would be hard to find true, non-materialistic friends here, you're bound to find someone eventually. I did.

David

DU is known as a school for wealthy students that are not Ivy League material and enjoy to ski. There are many students that fit this description, but there are also various sub cultures that exist. Students here are not the brightest but they aren't complete slackers either.

Gergana

Some of the common stereotypes of the students at my school is that they are rich, white kids. However, this is NOT an accurate stereotype!!

Ellen

Because DU is private, a lot of people assume that the students are rich and snobby. While there definitely are some wealthy kids here, there are plenty of down-to-earth people who either are not wealthy or don't flaunt it if they are. I never feel intimidated because of money, and I don't think twice about the brand of my clothing or the fact that I don't have a car. Overall, I think the fact that there are wealthy kids here is true, but the snobbiness is definitely not an issue.

Jonathan

An over-privileged snob. Tends to group into cliques but is also a bit lonely.Winter-sports addict. While a good number of the students who attend DU come from wealthy backgrounds, they are rarely ever snobs. Most DU students are open to new ideas and relationships, cliques can happen but are not common. I have found that it is difficult to make close friends at DU. Other students I have talked to have had the same problem. Whether it be the quarter-structure of the school or the student body that causes this I can’t say. I do know friends can be found, and a majority of one’s classmates are agreeable people.A good number of DU students go skiing and snowboarding during the winter months, so the ski bum stereotype is sometimes accurate.

Kalyn

The University of Denver has preps, jocks, geeks, nerds, hippies, stoners, international students , non-traditional students (moms, & older people), thespians, red necks, goths, wanna-be gangsters, but the prevalent stereotype seems to be rich spoiled kids. I do admit, out of all the colleges I've visited, heard about from friends, or transferred from DU seems to have the most Frat kids that I'm met, maybe only coming close to CU Boulder's frat population. But I think the rich kids and frat kids are only more visible as they usually live on campus or very near. The international students are probably the next most visible. They are usually based down the street, and many of the students at DU come from Japan, China, Germany, Netherlands, Jamaica, Nigeria, South Africa, Chile and from all over. There are a bunch of exceptionally bright students too. DU kids love to study abroad and the school is becoming a little more foreigner friendly by having a couple international studies buildings on campus and providing programs like the Conversation Partners.There are rich geeks as well as poor ones, probably due to the many ways you can access grants and scholarships. Mostly, what makes DU's campus so diverse is that a little more than half of the students seem to come from every other place but Colorado. Everyone seems to keep to themselves because they are all at DU to do some serious studying, which sometimes makes it hard to make friends if you live off campus. Overall, I think that having little diversity on our campus and rich spoiled kids are the biggest two untrue stereotypes about DU students.

Annalee

The University of Denver has a stereotype of rich, white students. This is not true. More than 84{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students attending DU receive some form of financial aid. Also, diversity at DU has been increasing as well. The University of Denver has a stereotype of being a ski school. Colorado is the prime spot for skiing and snowboarding during the winter, and you will find many students who do ski and snowboard. The difference is that DU students are also committed to academics, and usually prioritize classes first. The stereotype is true in the sense that DU is filled with active, courageous young people who enjoy the Colorado outdoors. However, there is more to DU than just skiing or snowboarding, and students are well-rounded in their life choices.

Kiley

Since the University of Denver has a student body with such diverse interests it is difficult to give the university an overall stereotype. There are many different groups of students and even though you may be able to label them with a stereotypical name, such as "jocks" "frat kids" or "geeks", each group gets along with the next creating a tight knit and accepting student body.

Khubaib

A common stereotype for the University of Denver's student population is that there is a lack of diversity and that all students come from affluent background but it could not be far from the truth. I'm a prime example of how these stereotypes aren't true.

Youval

Since DU is a private institution that, let's be honest, is extremely expensive to attend, there is a stereotype that everyone at DU is white, rich, and doesn't really care about anyone but themselves and the people in their little bubble. However that is definitely not the case. Yes, we don't have an overwhelmingly diverse student population, but the majority of the student body is committed to "the public good", including social justice, diversity, and inclusive excellence. Every type of person is represented at DU, there are local Denver kids, and a huge international student population. There are the hockey and lax jocks, the studious engineering and science majors, the fun loving fraternities and sororities, basically anyone you can think of.

Zakary

Here at the University of Denver, 6000 students shell out close to $50,000 a year to have the honor of working towards that illustrious DU degree. With this price tag comes certain stereotypes. Rich, white, country club attending, stuck up, entitled brats. That is what this Kansas farm boy first thought when he stepped foot on campus. Don't get me wrong our campus is gorgeous, teachers are amazing, and classes aren't too crowded. But I could not get past the idea that everyone in my classrooms thought they were better than me. It took me a while to get over this fear, and actually go out and meet others, and I learned something. I was wrong. Or at least mostly wrong. I was able to surround myself by a group of friends who are down to earth, caring, and at their core are very similar to me. Now there are definitely some people here at DU who fit my original stereotype of this school, but the number of unique, thoughtful, and interesting people attending this school absolutely outweigh them. I learned something important from attending DU, it sounds cliche, but you really cannot judge a book by its cover.

Shannon

Our stereotype here at DU is that everyone is white and rich. While we do have a bigger white population, there is still diversity here at DU. We have a ton of international students, as well as domestic diversity. And for the rich part, I have yet to meet a single student here at DU that is paying full tution. We all have some sort of scholarship or financial aid going to school here. I think that it's a sweeping generalization that everyone here is rich, it's a little ridiculous.

Christian

The stereotype at DU, to put it bluntly, is that most of us are rich, spoiled white kids. Part of this isn't very accurate -- more than 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of DU students are here on some sort of scholarship or financial aid, or both. A majority of students are white, however (roughly three-quarters). Another stereotype is that we're all Colorado kids who love skiing or snowboarding. Part of this isn't true at all -- only about 35{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of freshmen this year are from Colorado. The majority of students are from out of state, so you actually get a much wider variety of geographic backgrounds than this stereotype would suggest. And regarding the skiing -- I'd say it's mostly true that a majority of people here love to go up to the mountains on weekends, especially during Winter quarter, but I don't ski or snowboard, and I have personally met many people who aren't necessarily avid skiers or snowboarders. In any case, of all the stereotypes on DU, this one is probably the most true.

Mackenzie

The biggest stereotype of DU is that all the students there are wealthy ski bums. While this is true for some students here, it by no means describes the whole student body. Most students at DU receive some type of need-based aid, and the school is rigorous and selective enough that anyone who ONLY skis will not be here long.