Getting around
Buff Bus
Free campus shuttle system moving thousands of students daily around and through campus. Real-time tracking available via the Transit app.
CU Boulder at a glance
31,939
undergrads
78%
of applicants admitted
90%
come back for year 2
74%
graduate
19 : 1
students per teacher
$77,574
typical pay 10 years in
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard.
What a year really costs
After grants and scholarships, by family income. Average: $23,708.
Under $30k $13,403
$30k–$48k $13,558
$48k–$75k $16,684
$75k–$110k $21,719
Over $110k $34,026
Tuition, in state
$17,513
Tuition, out of state
$47,142
Typical debt at graduation
$18,500
17% of students get a Pell Grant
Free stuff most students miss
Eat
Dining halls, quick bites and coffee on campus.
Center for Community (C4C) Dining Center
Dining hall CU Boulder's award-winning, all-you-care-to-eat dining center featuring eight micro-restaurants, a build-your-own salad bar, and a dessert station…
2249 Willard Loop Dr
Sewall Dining Center
Dining hall All-you-care-to-eat dining center on the north side of campus with order-ahead service, multicultural cuisine, traditional comfort food, and grill…
1720 University Ave
Village Center Dining
Dining hall All-you-care-to-eat dining in Williams Village featuring a breakfast station, freshly prepared curry, aeroponic greenhouse towers, and a…
3300 Baseline Rd
Libby Dining
Dining hall Certified Free From peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, and gluten.
2370 Libby Dr
CU on the Run
Grab & go Grab-and-go location inside the C4C building with hot and cold options, made-to-order sandwiches, and quick meals for students on the move.
2249 Willard Loop Dr
Alferd Packer Grill
Restaurant Located in the UMC, serving freshly made breakfast, lunch, and dinner options for dine-in or grab-and-go.
1669 Euclid Ave
WeatherTech Cafe & Bakery
Cafe Specialty coffee, made-to-order pizzas, sandwiches, snacks, and fresh-baked goods on the first floor of the C4C building.
2249 Willard Loop Dr
Village Market
Market Campus market in Williams Village offering produce, pre-made sandwiches, snacks, beverages, Starbucks coffee, student essentials, and CU apparel.
3300 Baseline Rd
Sewall Market
Market Convenience store in Sewall Hall offering bottled beverages, hot coffee, snacks, sandwiches, salads, ice cream, and other student essentials.
1720 University Ave
Kittredge Market
Market Full-service espresso and tea bar in Kittredge Central's north wing with on-the-go breakfast and lunch options for the Kittredge residential…
2480 Kittredge Loop Dr
UMC Market
Market Centrally located market in the University Memorial Center with hot and cold grab-and-go sandwiches, snacks, and beverages for students between…
1669 Euclid Ave
Roaming Ralphie
Food truck CU Boulder's mobile food truck serving grill-style meals and rotating daily specials from the University Club parking lot.
University Club Parking Lot 201Where to live
Residence halls, apartments and help finding a place.
Sewall Hall
Residence hall Traditional-style residence hall on north campus housing first-year students in the Sewall Residential Academic Program.
1720 University Ave
Cheyenne Arapaho Hall
Residence hall Suite-style residence hall on central campus for first-year students.
960 Green Mountain St
Kittredge Complex
Residence hall Suite-style residential neighborhood on the south side of campus with Kittredge Central, Kittredge West, and a central commons building with dining…
2480 Kittredge Loop Dr
Williams Village (WillVill)
Residence hall CU Boulder's largest residential neighborhood featuring traditional halls (Darley North/South), suite-style options (Stearns East/West), and the…
3300 Baseline Rd
Bear Creek Apartments
Apartment Apartment-style on-campus housing for upperclass students in the Williams Village neighborhood.
3275 Apache RdGet around
Shuttles, parking and accessible rides.
Buff Bus
Transit Free campus shuttle system moving thousands of students daily around and through campus. Real-time tracking available via the Transit app.
CU Boulder Campus
Boulder BCycle
Biking Electric bike-share program with free annual passes for CU students. Over 45 stations across Boulder with 12 stations on or around campus.
CU Boulder Campus
CU Bike Station
Biking Free bike registration (mandatory at CU), basic repairs, and bike safety resources located just east of the UMC.
1669 Euclid Ave
RTD Eco Pass
Transit All CU Boulder students and benefit-eligible employees get unlimited RTD bus and light rail rides across all fare zones with their Buff OneCard…
CU Boulder Campus
Parking and Transportation Services
Parking Manages campus parking permits, visitor parking, and real-time lot availability via mPark.io.
1600 Pleasant StMajors that pay most at CU Boulder
Typical pay 4 years after graduating. Top 6 of 37 bachelor's majors with published pay.
Computer Science $121,952
Aerospace $116,350
Electrical Engineering $100,631
Chemical Engineering $95,780
Civil Engineering $94,960
Mechanical Engineering $93,073
Source: College Scorecard, field-of-study data.
Your CU Boulder checklist
5 things worth doing early
When you need help
5 things CU Boulder freshmen figure out too late
Watch the video1 In-state? Authorize COF or pay more
"The College Opportunity Fund (COF), created by the Colorado Legislature, provides a stipend that pays a portion of total in-state tuition for eligible undergraduate students." It takes two steps: apply on the state COF site, then authorize CU to apply the stipend to your bill in Buff Portal. The Registrar: "If you don't authorize COF by the posted deadline, you'll be responsible for paying total in-state tuition for that semester." For Fall 2026 the last day to apply or fix an application is December 4 and the last day to authorize is December 11. Eligibility is capped at 145 credit hours by the law that created it.
2 Drop by week 3 or pay for the class anyway
A drop before the equivalent three-week deadline leaves "no record of class enrollment on transcript" and no tuition for that class. After that, through the equivalent 10-week self-service deadline, "W notations are assigned and no tuition is refunded." After week 10 you must petition for a late class withdrawal, the circumstances have to be extenuating, and you "will only have one opportunity to petition for an individual class." If a class is going wrong, decide in the first three weeks.
3 A pass/fail F still hits your GPA
Under CU Boulder's pass/fail option, grades of D+, D or D- convert to P and grades of C- and above convert to P+; both are excluded from the GPA. But the University Catalog is explicit: "All standard letter grades (A-F) are included in the GPA, including grades of F earned for courses graded on a pass/fail basis." Pass/fail protects you from a C. It does not protect you from an F. Check your college's limits on pass/fail credits in your degree audit before you use it.
4 An Incomplete turns into an F in a year
The Catalog: "Grades of I that are not completed within one year are converted to F grades and calculated in the GPA at the end of the one-year grace period." An Incomplete is a way to finish a class after a real disruption, not an extension with no end. Agree on a finish date with your instructor when you take it, and do not re-enroll in the course to clear it — work with the instructor to complete the missing work instead.
5 Record the lecture — Gus makes the notes, flashcards and quiz
Gus is an AI college companion built around your actual classes. Record a lecture and it writes the notes, pulls out the key topics, builds a flashcard deck, and makes a practice quiz from what was actually said. The flashcards come back on a spaced-review schedule, so the thing you missed shows up again right before you would have forgotten it. It is free to try.
Gus is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the University of Colorado Boulder. Tips checked against CU Boulder's own pages in September 2026. Campus info last updated April 2026. Stats from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Something out of date? hello@meetgus.app · All campus guides