The University of Colorado - Boulder

“I wasn't really active until my senior year ofJul 11 2016Linguistics
I wasn't really active until my senior year of high school. I did get fairly high scores on my ACT, which helped. I got a 32, and CU gave me a $20,000 scholarship (dispersed over four years) - which I found out later was only for people who had a 34+ ACT score, so I guess I did something right. I was president of the National English and National French Honor Societies at my school (for the former, I arranged a book drive for a local elementary school), and I was a participant in the National Honor Society. I was also the president of my school's Writer's Guild, and I participated in National History Day for two years. Basically, I did a lot of leadership stuff and some volunteering.

CU's essay question - which they seem to ask every year - asks about your leadership experiences and what you learned from them, so be prepared to answer that. It also helps to have good grades in high school, but considering that CU admits 84% of applicants, you could probably get by without as long as you write a good essay.

If you happen to apply for scholarships, you'll DEFINITELY need to talk about how you contribute to the campus. In that case, they're looking almost exclusively for volunteer work and on-campus work, and they won't care much about Greek life or social clubs unless you did something to benefit the university. First-year scholarships are extremely competitive, but while there are fewer scholarships for continuing students, they're slightly less competitive.
ACT: 32 SAT: 2050 Female

“Getting in for me was very easyFeb 21 2013English
Getting in for me was very easy. As a colorado resident, HS students who have above a certain GPA are automatically accepted. I didn't even write letters of rec or do an essay. However, for those who don't have a high enough GPA will have to work for it.
ACT: 24 Female

“To get into CU, I would recommend maintaining aboutFeb 12 2013Journalism
To get into CU, I would recommend maintaining about a 3.5 GPA and getting at least 1700 on your SAT.
ACT: 31 Female

“Apply, nothing special to itFeb 05 2013Physics
Apply, nothing special to it. Some might be interested in applying to Presidents Leadership Class if you are enthusiastic about a community of students who share academically oriented ambition. This program got me through the tedium of the first year of less-than-exciting coursework, but then got a little to self-important for me to handle. Just as everything else, it is a balancing act, but one that might be worth pursuing.
ACT: 30 SAT: 1410 Male

“I actually didn't apply until the last minute (likeAug 31 2012Undecided
I actually didn't apply until the last minute (like in January!) because I didn't think I was able to apply because I only had 2 years of foreign language and I was told Boulder required 3 (even collegeboard.com says this)! But it turns out you can apply with 2, but you just have to take your third year of foreign language (or whatever you are lacking) at some point while at the university!

Fast forward a few months, I was accepted at the end of March, visited in April, and committed by May 1st!

I am an out of state student so it was probably easier for me to get in than say an in state student with the same "statistics" as me, because well quite frankly my family is paying $50,000 while theirs is $25,000 or so.

I only had a 3.25 overall for high school - no AP or Honor classes. I did play some sports and had a job after school. I got a 1600/2400 on the SAT and didn't take the ACT. Pretty mellow grades overall - I didn't think i'd get accepted but I was fortunate enough to!
Male