University of Colorado Boulder Top Questions

What should every freshman at University of Colorado Boulder know before they start?

Amber

College is an experience that many people don't get the opportunity to enjoy. I've had the priveledge of attending one semester thus far and am working in my second semester. College has offered me the opportunity to grow and the value that comes with personal growth is immeasurable. The K-12 experience is structured and as long as we do what we're told when we're told to do it we succeed. In college we are all drummers marching to our own beat. We decide if we will succeed. We decide in what area we will excel. Or, we decide to fail. Growth is attained by choosing to succeed and the path that takes us down. I am learning personal responsibility and interpersonal skills that I will continue to improve during my tenure in college. My personal growth while attending college, in addition to the collegiate skills I will acquire, are the foundation for my success after I leave college. Without a foundation no structure can withstand the test of time. College is building my foundation both personally and academically.

Keren

At the age of 33, I find myself out of a job and uninterested in continuing my career in the film industry post-production field. I have decided to pursue my lifelong dream and become a nurse, which will allow me to find purpose in my work and help people in need. In order to achieve this goal, I have to go back to school. I can't wait to start! Unfortunately, I cannot afford to pay for school out of pocket, and so much rely solely on student loans, grants and scholarships. I have always done very well at school, and am committed to giving this 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of my time and effort. I would very much appreciate and value any kind of financial help I can get in order to make my dream a reality.

Tayler

My major, enviromental design, is the right school for me at CU. I have grown so much just over one semester, realizing the importance of sustainablity and new urbanism growth that will be the new developement fad in the next 20 years. I am so excited for my furture to dive into these worldly projects and my efforts here at CU reflect that vision.

Haleh

I was given valuable research opportunities in my field of study, Psychology. I worked in three research labs and completed an honors thesis in the United States and overseas which allowed me to graduate summa cum laude. In addition, I developed a student group on my predominantly white campus which helped Iranian students feel as though they had a community and voice. These experiences helped me understand myself and academic interests better.

Alexandrea

I've spoken to many high school students about college. Most of them say "I'm sick of school. I just want to be done." College for me has been so much more than school. College isn't just about the classes, or the grades, or even the parties. College is about finding yourself, and finding the place where you fit in. I never felt like I fit in when I was in high school, but in college, I've found my niche. College has been so great that I don't want to leave for the summer. Classes are more like real life; if you don't do your work, you don't succeed. You only hurt yourself by not working hard. Being in college has taught me so much- about who I am, what I want, and how easy it is to succeed as long as I believe in myself. This one year I've spent has already been more useful than 4 years of high school. So when you're sick of school, its time to go to college, because college is an experience, not a class.

Lauren

I am a non-typical student in the sense that I have been to four univiersities in four years. I have attended as a full time student at: Ohio University, La Roche College, Chaminade University - Honolulu, and Ohio State University. Besides an education, I've gained many valuable experiences that were the result of each individual institutions motto. Meeting new people and interacting with my professors, and discovering each colleges neighboring communities have been some of the most valuable experiences I've had. I've met so many different people from so many different places and backgrounds that I've learned not only the class room's curriculum, but the things that my peers and professors have brought to the classroom as well have been some of my most valuable and beneficial experiences.

Jordan

At CU I have gotten a lifelong drive to continue pursuing new avenues of thought and understanding in everything I do. Attending college is integral to being a fully developed member of society, and CU clearly fulfills its duty to humanity!

Elizabeth

My first semester of college I went to a tiny private school in Iowa. I was very miserable there. I transferred to CU Boulder in January and it was the best decision that I could have made for myself. I am so much happier here. The program is much better for me and I am able to take all the classes that I want to be in and I am not just taking classes that were available. The people here are amazing and since I grew up in Boulder, I feel right at home here. It has been so valuable to me to be at a school where I feel like people really care if I succeed. Even though it is a big university, I don't feel like I get lost in the crowd. I think that the education that I get here is going to allow to me to go where I want in my life and with it, I can succeed in life.

Kristina

My college experience gave me motivation and revelation. I learned that true motivation must always be internal and not external. College provided me with the desire to continue learning and to always realize that anything is up to me, not others. Internal motivation is the single most important thing anyone can learn and just through realizing this and the true potential I, as an individual and student, have, my experience was valuable. My own personal experience also made me realize that education is self-driven. You do not need to attend an Ivy League school to get a world class education. If you seek out that type of education, you will find it, not just in your classes, but in extracurricular activities, internships, travel, etc. College: the world is what you make it.

Elizabeth

Looking back on my previous college experience, my one regret that I have is really looking into the different programs and areas of interest. There were a lot of different subjects that I was interested in, and thought that I chose the best one, but once I finished my degree I discovered that while the subject was very interesting to me it didn't represent something that I could feasibly do for a career. Based on this discovery I thought back to some of the steps that I could've taken in my degree that would've helped me figure this out before I had finished a full Bachelor's program. One of those steps was being more involved in the clubs, research projects, and internships that were offered through the school. I discovered that to get into a good internship the process started much earlier with first participating in research projects, and if I had looked into those much earlier I would've been in a much better situation. Now I am getting back into school for a second Bachelor's degree in a field that is what I should've been studing in the first place.