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University of Colorado Boulder

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University of Colorado Boulder Overview

Located in Boulder, Colorado, University of Colorado Boulder is a public institution. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life.

What Is University of Colorado Boulder Known For?

7,318 Undergraduate Awards
$45,764 Avg Cost After Aid
84% Acceptance Rate
  • The student loan default rate at CU - Boulder is 3%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
  • The highest award offered at CU - Boulder is the doctor's degree.
  • For the 2017-2018 academic year, 74% of the faculty were full-time.
  • After graduation, CU - Boulder bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $50,800 a year. That's about 25% more than their peers at other schools.

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University of Colorado Boulder Rankings

CU - Boulder landed the #395 spot in our 2022 ranking of best colleges. We analyzed 2,587 colleges and universities across the nation to determine this ranking. Out of the 39 colleges in Colorado, it is ranked at #5.

Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at CU - Boulder.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#8 Most Popular Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#10 Best General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#15 Most Popular Biological & Biomedical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#26 Best Radio, TV & Digital Communication Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#30 Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#94 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#96 Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#112 Best Business Administration & Management Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#146 Best Business, Management & Marketing Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#150 Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards CU - Boulder has earned from around the web.

Rank Ranking Name Source
#1 Best Applied Engineering Schools College Factual
#55 Best General Psychology Schools College Factual
#82 Best Business Administration & Management Schools College Factual
#85 Best Psychology Schools College Factual
#142 Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools College Factual
#233 Best Business Schools Business Degree Central

Where Is University of Colorado Boulder?

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Contact details for CU - Boulder are given below.

Contact Details
Address: Regent Drive At Broadway, Boulder, CO 80309-0017
Phone: 303-492-1411
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cuboulder
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cuboulder

How Do I Get Into CU - Boulder?

You can apply to CU - Boulder online at: www.colorado.edu/admissions/undergraduate/apply

Admission Requirements for CU - Boulder

Submission Required?
High School GPA required
High School Rank recommended
High School Transcript required
College Prep Program required
Recommendations recommended
SAT or ACT Scores considered but not required
TOEFL required

How Hard Is It To Get Into CU - Boulder?

84% Acceptance Rate
51% Of Accepted Are Women
73% Submit SAT Scores
With an acceptance rate of 84%, CU - Boulder may not be as selective as some schools, but you should not take admittance for granted. Be sure to submit the best application you can.

Approximately 49% of accepted students are men and 51% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 83%, and the acceptance rate for women is 86%.

Average Test Scores

About 73% of students accepted to CU - Boulder submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 570 and 670. Math scores were between 560 and 680.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for University of Colorado Boulder  ( 570 to 670 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for University of Colorado Boulder  ( 560 to 680 )
200
800
CU - Boulder received ACT scores from 45% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 24 and 32. Math scores were between 23 and 29. Composite scores were between 25 and 31.

ACT English Scores for University of Colorado Boulder  ( 24 to 32 )
1
36
ACT Math Scores for University of Colorado Boulder  ( 23 to 29 )
1
36
ACT Composite Scores for University of Colorado Boulder  ( 25 to 31 )
1
36

Can I Afford University of Colorado Boulder?

$45,764 Net Price
31% Take Out Loans
3.0% Loan Default Rate
The overall average net price of CU - Boulder is $45,764. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At CU - Boulder, approximately 31% of students took out student loans averaging $9,744 a year. That adds up to $38,976 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at CU - Boulder is 3.0%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

University of Colorado Boulder Undergraduate Student Diversity

27,703 Full-Time Undergraduates
46% Women
28% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
There are 30,307 undergraduate students at CU - Boulder, with 27,703 being full-time and 2,604 being part-time.

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There are also 7,130 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 27,703 full-time undergraduates at CU - Boulder, 54% are male and 46% are female.

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Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of University of Colorado Boulder students is as follows.

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 1,674
Black or African American 475
Hispanic or Latino 3,661
White 18,663
International Students 1,201
Other Races/Ethnicities 2,029

Geographic Diversity

Colorado students aren't the only ones who study at University of Colorado Boulder. At this time, all 50 states and the District of Columbia are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 113 countries are represented at CU - Boulder. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and Saudi Arabia.

Online Learning at University of Colorado Boulder

11,072 Took All Classes Online
34,248 Took At Least One Class Online
206.5% Avg Growth Over 4 Years
In 2019-2020, 34,248 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at CU - Boulder has changed over the last few years.

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This school is the 17th most popular in Colorado for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.

Online Affordability Rankings of CU - Boulder

The following table shows how CU - Boulder is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.

Major Tuition for In-State Students Tuition for Out-of-State Students
Natural Resources & Conservation #34 #49
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering #37 #52
Computer Science #43 #73
General Engineering #48 #57
Civil Engineering #58 #73
Engineering #70 #94

Online Growth Rankings of CU - Boulder

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at University of Colorado Boulder was 206.5%. This is the #273 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at CU - Boulder regardless of major.

The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of CU - Boulder majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.

Major 1-Year Growth Rate
Business Administration & Management 10%
Business, Management & Marketing 9%
Engineering 11%
General Engineering 13%

The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at CU - Boulder ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at CU - Boulder.

Major Growth Rate Rank
General Engineering #1
Engineering #13
Business Administration & Management #116
Business, Management & Marketing #151

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

University of Colorado Boulder Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major Bachelor’s Master’s Doctor’s TOTAL
Business Administration & Management 1,080 253 7 1,340
Computer Science 446 95 15 556
General Psychology 485 17 13 515
Mechanical Engineering 292 94 17 403
Public Relations & Advertising 368 9 0 377
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 220 134 19 373
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 348 18 3 369
Economics 307 12 4 323
Natural Resources Conservation 185 71 2 258
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 219 6 6 231
Political Science & Government 219 5 5 229
Electrical Engineering 45 152 17 214
Sociology 189 5 6 200
Communication & Media Studies 180 8 11 199
Law 0 0 174 174
General English Literature 146 13 4 163
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 152 0 8 160
International Studies 159 0 0 159
Mathematics 122 8 14 144
Environmental Design 141 0 0 141
Physics 72 28 38 138
Civil Engineering 67 49 14 130
Music 49 46 32 127
Communication Sciences 72 34 12 118
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 103 0 8 111
Chemical Engineering 79 13 18 110
General Engineering 37 68 0 105
History 97 3 2 102
Anthropology 87 4 5 96
Applied Mathematics 69 17 7 93
Fine & Studio Arts 75 17 1 93
Astronomy & Astrophysics 64 14 11 89
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 78 0 8 86
Electrical and Computer Engineering. 85 0 0 85
General Engineering Technology 84 0 0 84
Multilingual Education 0 82 0 82
Geography & Cartography 60 10 12 82
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 73 0 0 73
Biochemical Engineering 72 0 0 72
Romance Languages 50 11 10 71
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 0 70 0 70
Journalism 62 8 0 70
Environmental Engineering 49 16 4 69
Geological & Earth Sciences 51 5 9 65
Ethnic Studies 61 0 2 63
Philosophy 56 1 5 62
Chemistry 37 5 19 61
Linguistics & Comparative Literature 28 19 7 54
Architectural Engineering 37 8 6 51
Accounting 0 49 0 49
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 48 0 0 48
Drama & Theater Arts 27 7 3 37
East Asian Languages 30 6 0 36
Curriculum & Instruction 0 32 2 34
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 15 6 10 31
Engineering Physics 27 0 0 27
Liberal Arts General Studies 26 0 0 26
Information Science 21 2 1 24
Area Studies 21 3 0 24
Legal Research 0 23 0 23
Finance & Financial Management 0 22 0 22
Classical Languages & Literature 11 9 2 22
Teacher Education Subject Specific 8 13 0 21
Science, Technology & Society 0 19 2 21
Religious Studies 9 8 0 17
Dance 9 7 0 16
Taxation 0 15 0 15
Real Estate 0 13 0 13
Materials Engineering 0 9 4 13
Germanic Languages 7 3 3 13
Writing Studies 0 12 0 12
Education Philosophy 0 8 3 11
Museum Studies 0 10 0 10
Computer Information Systems 0 5 0 5
Cognitive Science 0 0 4 4
Educational Administration 0 3 0 3
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 0 1 2 3
Statistics 1 0 0 1
Community Organization & Advocacy 1 0 0 1
Communication & Journalism (Other) 0 0 0 0
Educational Assessment 0 0 0 0
Teacher Education Grade Specific 0 0 0 0
Computer Engineering 0 0 0 0
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 0 0 0 0
Other Visual Art 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 7,318 1,713 591 9,622

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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