College at Boulder or East Coast?

um, where do you go to school thats so special?

degrees from a specific school are a great jumping off point but its a lot more personal work ethic and ingenuity thats incredibly important after college. my dad dropped out of high school and has a very successful construction business he built from the ground up without any fancy piece of paper saying he could do so. degrees are important and borderline essential these days in a saturated job market, but it's certainly not everything. having a solid head on your shoulders from life experience is just as, and in some cases even more important, then going to a "second-tier, good" school. i think you need to get off your high horse here for a minute and realize your life plan and opinions don't necessarily apply to everyone.
 
I go to Colorado College. not the best school, but it's pretty good. I'm happy with where I go. I'm not saying that you NEED to go to an ivy league or something on that level but it helps. Congratulations to your dad for starting up a company, I don't think I would be able to do that nowadays and still have enough money left over to live as comfortably as I'd like to and support a family at the same time.

I'm giving my perspective homie. I'm not telling him what he needs to do but I feel like if I give my perspective (which is different than a few people here and can get people pissy at you) I should explain where I come from. What your dad did is not a fail-safe option. I'm simply giving him the path that allows him the most options.
 
you were right. UW was the only school i had even really heard of on that list... having a prestigious name definitely helps. one of my good friends is going to CC next year, its a sick school but the block plan wasnt for me
 
you have some strange deep seeded hatred for boulder apparently. I graduated from the school of engineering at CU and got a job right away in a pretty tough economy. There are plenty of majors at CU that have great reputations
 
I went to college with skiing being a huge influence and haven't regretted a second of it. Boulder is overrated though!
 
Really? Gonzaga U, Seattle U, U of Portland are some of the most talked-about institutions in the West right now. Also among them are Santa Clara and of course the UC system. I find it interesting that those aren't being heard about/talked about on the East Coast. Not surprising, I guess. Just really interesting. Because in any of these cities (Spokane, Seattle, Portland, the Bay Area, etc.), any potential employer is going to look at the fact that you went to GU, SU, UP, SCU--wherever--and know that you have all the necessary wherewithal and skills to get the job done, but also that you have a little something more that other candidates might not have. Plus the small class sizes and one-on-one instruction tend to help.
 
I live in the bay area. One of my friends is going to Santa Clara. I actually have heard of gonzaga, I didn't actually look at the list that hard. I didn't apply to any schools in the PNW or I probably would know about them
 
Seems like you answered your own question. Apply to the UVM business school. It's what I did, and I'm very happy with my decision. That being said, I did take a total of two years off during my time there to travel and ski other places around the country.

UVM academics are getting better and better and in 10 years your degree will look way better than it will when you graduate. It's a win win.
 
You clearly have little experience in the "business" world, and know little to nothing about boulder. Stop talking before you embarrass your self more.
 
i hope so man, im mostlikely going to grad school for physical therapy and university of utah is the 3rd best up there. people always seem to be buggin bout the mormons there, but i feel like i'd care less with all there is to ride in that area
 
as far as academics goes, its really based on what majors the school's known for. im between U. of Utah U if i can move out west or UVM if i'm only able to head up north. I got to ESU now which is sick as far as being a rider from around the poconos in PA. 30 mins from big boulder/jack frost, 15 from camelback, 40 from blue mountain. theres also a pretty sick set up near blue mountain called park 1260 that puts on summer/fall rail jams every 2 weeks before the snow finally comes in pa. Definitely a cheaper alternative if you still wanna ride but cant travel outta state. Plus the parties are off the chain
 
Which schools in the east are you talking about?

UVM does NOT have a more elite student body then UC-Boulder. The SAT profile is about the same,

1590-1920 for Boulder

1610-1900 for UVM

That's a FACT. The student bodies of the two are pretty comparable. If you want to hold UVM up above Boulder, give me some objective evidence. Show me a superior record on the GRE. Show me superiority on med shool boards, CPA exams, actuary exams(you probably don't know what those are), bar exams, LSAT's.....Show me some concrete evidence that UVM is superior to Boulder.

To the OP: I would choose Boulder over anywhere in the northeast, but I would choose other places over Boulder. I grew up on the east coast, and wanted to leave, so I am not the best person to ask.

I would rather go to a UC school, and be in California, and ski 30-40 days a year in Mammoth of Tahoe, than go to Boulder. That being said, I would not put down Boulder.

Boulder is a party school, so just make sure you get your work done.

I went to UC Santa Barbara. I chose it over Boulder, USC, and Claremont McKenna. I don't regret the decision. Claremont McKenna is a spectacular school, just a hair off the Ivy League, but I wanted a better quality of life. As long as the school is good, which Boulder is, these factors should be taken into account. Boulder is not Stanford, but it is still a good school, if you can get your work done. Some of the other schools mentioned......I'm not going to name them, but they are not worth your while.

Some of the programs at big schools will have student bodies that are Ivy level. I was a statistics major at UCSB. Everyone I knew in that major had an Ivy level SAT score. There were only about 10 people at a time in the program, and I knew at least half, so it is pretty safe to assume the other half was at least close to that level.

Once again to the OP: There are lots of great schools out there. If skiing is imporant, I say go west. U of Utah, Boulder, UNR....These places are close to great skiing. University of Washington, U of Oregon, those places would be worth considering, although I don't know much about them. As I said before, don't discount California schools. Most UC schools have a ski team, so you can get 40 days a year, at a great mountain, if you want it enough.

I think skiing should be PART of the decision, but not ALL of the decision, if that makes sense.
 
I would take it over an Ivy. I would not take it over Stanford though. If you can get into an Ivy out of high school, I would go to Boulder study and party hard, then go to a good grad school. If you can succeed with an Ivy ecuation, you can succeed with a Boulder education. an Ivy degree makes it easier, I won't argue that.

I would never go to school on the east coast.

I understand the point you are making, but Boulder has produced plenty of doctors.

And I am not fucking retarded. In fact, it could be argued that if living in Los Angeles, USC is a better school to go to than Stanford. I would not agree with the argument, but it has some merit.
 
whoever says U of U has a good social/party scence mustve never had a social life to begin with...U of U hands down has the best, most convenient skiing...i dont think its even debateable. however, academics suck, mormons suck, and the parties suck.
i went to U of U transferred back to the east and now im in CO and love it.colorado states a cheaper alternative to boulder. the drive is only 30 minutes difference and i have yet to spend more than 2 1/2 hours in the car. the social life, parties, people, college town, and legal buds just make co so much better for college.
utah works for a lot of people who go out there, but i think the place sucks for anything but skiing and i think that should be a pretty big factor when you chose a school. i chose utah because i just wanted to ski and really didnt take anything else into consideration, but after a few months there i was pretty miserable.

 
Im gonna be a senior at CU majoring in Finance.

Also know a shit ton of people who go to Sierra Nevada College (You can honestly ski to class no joke)

if you got any questions just ask
 
mormons, academics and parties DEFINITELY suck. do not come here my life is miserable! i dont think ive ever even heard of a party once, i cannot go outside without some polygamist asking me to marry him and every single program at the U is the worst in the nation.
 
if you think the u of u parties you clearly need to come to CSU lol...the U parties..just...not really.
dont take my words and twist em up. i was speaking off experience.
the only thing the U has going for it as far as parties/social life goes are the football games and thats being generous cause the crowd sucks dick. CSU gets rowdier at girls volleyball games.
not hating on the U cause i did have some good times there and met some pretty fuckin cool people.
my opinion still stands- if you wanna ski go to the U, if you want a college town/college life, go elsewhere.
 
You're experience is? I've been in utah for 4 years now. I've been to other schools parties and such, the U rages just as hard. If you came here and didn't have fun at a party, then maybe its not your scene, maybe you shouldve pledged a frat or something. Also, when you turn 21 in utah, a HUGE scene opens up, there are alot of sick bars/clubs/shows to go to every night. Saying you can't have a good, social, college experience in utah is straight ignorant. Just because you spend your freshman year sitting around your dorm and not meeting anyone and not going out doesn't mean other people don't take advantage of meeting new people. The mormons don't effect me, the liquor laws dont effect me and i probably have alot more fun than you do at CSU.
 
Also, the U is a top 100 college in the USA. The business school is top 30, the engineering is top rated (cant remember exactly) the med school is top 5 and its the 2nd best research school behind MIT.
 
but.... that's because your friends are PROS.

Seriously though, I feel like you can have fun at any college. You get out of college what you put into it.
 
Exactly, if you expect to go to college and have fun handed to you, youre going to be upset. You dont just end up at a sick party, you don't just get friends and have fun.
 
i would choose the fun way, man. a degree from boulder will do you fine while having a blast. some people in here are way too self righteous about "quality" schooling. your education is what you make it, not the fucking reputation that the the school has
 
Pull ass from head and cock from mouth for a second.
never said you CANT have a good, social, college experience...its different for everyonedidnt sit in my dorm room, frats could lick between my balls and asshole...partied every weekend actually and only a few of the parties were poppin...the block party on U street in 08 after we beat UNLV is a party ill never forget, but parties like that just werent consistent at all. met plenty of chill people, like i said before. dont be so quick to judge someone cause they share a different opinion.
you can cry about all the negative shit i said, but that aint gunna change my opinion.like i said before, the U is the best college in the nation for skiing, but it is lacking what i value in my college experience. all im saying is if i had to do it all over again i would have been in colorado from the beginning. better beer, legal weed, sluts, better weather, college town, still have great skiing although it isnt as close or as good and in addition to that i can ski 1 foot of pow, get back to my house and its 80 degrees and sunny..i dont really think you could argue any of those points.
thats great that you love it there, but i simply didnt...i understand you wanting to defend your school, but your not doing that..your just arguing an opinion, which leads to.....nothing.

 
So your college experience is souly based on raging parties every night?

Also, the weather in slc is amazing, i dont get where you think the weather is better in CO? I dunno how you skied a foot of pow and went to 80 degree weather, thats impossible, its not like denver is warm in the winter. Ive skied sick pow days and went into the valley and it was 60 and sunny, thats pretty common in slc.

The one thing slc lacks is a college neighborhood, which im guessing would produce these in the street ragers you go to every night or the party scene you thrive for. Still dont understand how you didnt enjoy partying in utah if you want out every weekend and partied. Maybe get drunker next time and don't even start on the beer thing because utah beer is the same as the shitty bud light or keystone light or natty light you drink at CSU.

Like ive said to many, if partying super hard as fuck every night is so important to you then go to colorado, youre moving from the best skiing in the country to the mediocre skiing in the country. Sure it snows(3-400 annually) and vail has some bowls but aside from park skiing, CO (minus CB and silverton, etc) is bullshit skiing, its flat and pointless.

If partying is really that more important to you then word go for it, but i party alot in utah and know kids that party way more than you probably do that live here too. If you need a block party every night then by all means, thats more important than skiing.

You can go where ever you want, thats the beauty of freedom right? I just hate kids like you who move to utah, have a shitty time because they cant handle not raging as hard as arizona st or something and move to CO and its the shit. You're putting out a false image of somewhere because you didn't like it, for stupid fucking reasons like not partying as hard as you expect, when in reality, you partied every weekend here but apparently it wasn't partying?

I dunno where im going with this now, just stop trying to taint an image thats already tainted because its "utah omg mormons, no alcohol, no girls, no parties!!?!" already.
 
i think youre trying to troll me right here... i took Stanford over Boulder. by a long shot. i didnt even consider going to boulder. USC probably would have been my next choice out of the schools i got into.

but i guess i do have the advantage that i have free skiing and housing in Tahoe, even though its 4 1/2 hours away from school. either way, in my opinion you would be stupid to pick boulder over stanford but its your life i guess
 
dude i went there, lived there, and didnt like it...i dont see the problem with that? im sharing my opinion just like you are...whats the difference here? you act like i didnt point out some great things about the U, which i did multiple times.
can you not comprehend what im saying? or just picking and choosing what to comprehend?
are you seriously going to TRY to argue that utah has a comparable social scene to other schools with 30000+attending? come one man lets be cereal, its illegal to have a keg in utah.
everything i said was true to my time there.
im not sitting here saying "this will be your experience if you go to utah". once again, i state multiple times its different for everyone.
your passing judgement on someone you dont know...once again.
also, i remember reading a post by YOU before i decided to go to utah that read: the party scene isnt great, but there is one. watch for girls with rings on their fingers, etc. now your saying the party scene is as good as anywhere else, which anyone with half a brain knows is bullshit cause its UTAH and the bitches are the hottest and ready to slay some dick
you dont see me passing judgement on you...i easily could, but theres no reason for it.

 
sounds like your college priorities are real strait.

if you wana ski EVERYDAY, all while meeting super awesome people, and raging fucking hard if you know the right people. the U of U is probably where you wana be.

if the partying is the priority, obviously a COMMUTER school in a DRY state isnt the ideal place. you dont have 30,000 kids compacted into one hood, alot of kids live all around which is what makes alota good house parties. and so what if the weed and kegs are illegal. we still get cheap cali bud and i have a keg sitting in my houses keggerator.
 
I wasn't trying to say you can't do what you want or have an opinion, you're just giving a place with a bad name already, more shit. I never said partying was as good as say a big school like CU or AU, but we definitely party enough. The laws are a little odd but there are ways around them, you should know that if you lived here.
 
fair enough...
you gotta realize its just one man's opinion though, im not speaking for anyone else, and im not saying my experience defines anyone elses.
the downsides just happened to outweigh the benefits for me. everybodys priorities, personality, and lifestyle wont exactly match up with mine, or yours.
you had the time of your life there apparently...it just didnt work out that way for me and wont work out that way for everybody else.
im sure other people love it just as much as you, judging by everybody hating on me, but theres also going to be people like me, who didnt love it.
i was basically just trying to point out that if your looking for a college town/party school, the U is probably not what your looking for.
i wasnt trying to bash the U if thats what it seemed like...just pointing out some things i would have liked to have known/considered when i chose the U.

 
show me these fun parties please? i never hear about any parties and the majority of the ones i've been to have sucked. People say this is a bar town, but most of the bars are full of bros and I hate going to them. don't get me wrong, FoCo is a fun ass town and has a ton of down to earth people who like to party too but I just haven't experienced that many cool house parties here.

OP, if you want a good business school that's close to skiing, look at DU instead of Penn State.
 
Not trying to thread jack, but I'm looking for a college with a good engineering program (materials engineering more specifically) and is somewhat near skiing. Can anyone help me out? Thinking gonzaga, utah, ubc (if I get in), western washington, or montana state; and I don't know much about any of their engineering schools.
 
I know utah and montana both have good programs, im not sure how they stack up to other schools though.
 
lol...serious? every weekend last semester was rediculous...ii went out to the bars once this year and ended up gettin tear gassed
hit me up when you get back from aspen...
 
I'm in engineering at boulder and love it. the weather is amazing (i come from seattle, so a shit ton of sun is nice) skiing is pretty close and the academics are no joke. Engineering here is definitely the best program, lets be honest most of the arts and sciences is a fucking joke, and a top program in the nation, i think around 35th overall and maybe 20th for public universities (dont know the exact numbers). only thing is im pretty sure there isnt a materials engineering major, you might be able to specialize in another major and get a similar degree though.
 
Gonzaga is an excellent option. Their engineering programs are among their most highly regarded. Western Washington is also a great option, although it is a step down from GU. MSU is again a great choice. All of those have excellent engineering programs. I'd also recommend taking a look at University of Portland. It really comes down to what you want in a school. If you like huge crowds, want more of a research institution, your state schools are going to be best bets. If you want a friendly, supportive community, GU is your best bet there followed closely by UP.
 
I may have been putting words in your mouth on that little rant, but certainly by professional you implied a very large salary. By your definition of professional now I would fit very easily in, most people who go to college would, which is really the whole point that they are there. If thats all you mean by "professional" than any fucking college will work man, plain and simple. if you get a degree than that is something youre good at, and that degree will enable you to have a career in the subject.
and yes, academics are fun, though fun in a different way than skiing. I enjoy learning more than most people could really understand, and it seems like you may be in that same boat. weather, quantum mechanics, theoretical physics, and music are all things that i hold an "obsession" with, all of those have been furthered at school, all while having my head stuck in 700 INCHES OF UTAH POW.
you said it yourself, why limit your happiness? if i am going to u of u, skiing 115 days a season, getting solid grades, and preparing myself for a life after college, what the fuck makes your degree from CC any better? correct me if im wrong, but is CC even that great of a school? i know its a good one, i dont dispute that, but how much better than utah? we are a top 100, med school is top 5 in country, number one school for startups after college, number 2 behind MIT for research, the list goes on. why do you feel that a schools reputation is so important? to me that is shallow, very shallow, its not necessarily the peice of paper that counts man, its the work that went in to it, the personal growth required to achieve it, and the experience you had along the way. experience is learning, and experiencing college that provides academics that are challenging, while also offering the ability to ski 100+ days a year, and rage face sets me up for a balanced life of "professional careeers" and fun. there is no way to dispute that. just as your distance from skiing has taught you something, my intimacy with it has taught me something else. that skiing is not something i ever want to be without, i do not look down on you at all for choosing school over skiing, that is what most normal people in this country would say is the responsible thing to do is. the main issue is i hate most normal people in the U.S., because they are boring materialistic assholes who think that having money is the most important thing, and look down on you when you choose to forego their misguided path.
 
Has anyone heard anything about the grad school at University of Utah? im thinking about goin there after my undergrad here on the east coast. i know its 3rd in the nation for physical therapy, so im guessing that it might be a better grad school than undergrad. As far as the parties go, i feel like by the time im 22 i'll be over most of that shit and just trying to make enough time to kill it in academics and kill it on the slopes
 
Yeah man, the u of u medical division is really good. If you're trying to do PT or MED its legit. There are tons of people still partying at 22 (including me) but we hit bars a lot now. But, you can't be a really good school and really good skiing.
 
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