Greeting
from Boulder. For a quick overview of CU-Boulder and the
city of Boulder, please see CU-Boulder
at a Glance and Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau's
webpage.
Here
are some information about applying
to CU-Boulder, or its International
English Center (IEC).
If
you have already been accepted, you may want to read the General
Info for Incoming Grad Students compiled by United
Government of Graduate Students (UGGS). The International Student
and Scholar Services has some Info
for Current Intl Students. Ralphie's
Guide to Student Life has answers to many questions
frequently asked by CU students. The Course
Catalogs has the listing of courses.
Introduction
CU-Boulder currently has around 50 regular students from Thailand.
There are several more Thais in Boulder studying at the International
English Center, Naropa University, and working in the area.
TSA holds parties and activities about 6-7 times a year, and
smaller groups of friends meet up more often.
Boulder is an outdoor, sport-oriented town. It has been voted
the "Fittest Cities in America", "Thinnest City in America",
and more.
Sports currently popular among TSA members include badminton,
basketball, hiking, biking, and golf. Despite this, many TSA
members gain weight because we tend to have more good cooks
than good bikers!
Getting Here
The
most convenient airport to fly into is Denver International
Airport (DIA). RTD
buses route AB start at the Airport, run pass the university,
and end at downtown Boulder. One-way fare is about $10 and can
be bought from the RTD sales counter at the airport or from
the bus driver. It's also likely that we can find a volunteer
to pick you up at the airport. Please contact the TSA committee.
What
to Bring
=== yeah, hmm, what to bring. Someone please write this section.
===
Housing
If you live on campus, most rooms come with utilities (water,
heat, electricity), phone, internet access, and cable TV already
included in the rent. The Housing
Departments offers two main categories of rooms.
In residence
halls, you have to move out of your room about twice
a year, so this is not popular among TSA members. The second
category is family
housing, in which about a dozen TSA members are living.
Despite the name "family", it has several single-occupancy rooms.
However, its waitlist is 6-12 months long so you normally can't
live there until the second or third semester here.
There
are many apartments that are within 5-15 minutes walk from campus.
The Off-Campus
Housing Office maintains an online list of off campus
apartments and houses. There are $12-20 service charge for non-students.
This is yet another reason to contact
us. We can do the search for you and even find a
good and cheap room before you arrive.
Banking
There
are several banks in Boulder area. The most convenient one is
probably Elevations Credit Union, since it has a branch
on campus, runs several ATM's near campus, and tend to have
lower fees than commercial banks.
Don't bring a lot of cash with you from Thailand. It is much
safer to bring traveler checks or bank drafts. You can also
transfer money in after you already get here.
=== Get somebody who knows better to write about fee/costs ===
Transportation
Denver's Regional
Transportation District (RTD) runs an extensive network
of buses in the Denver metro area, which include Boulder. The
city of Boulder also runs several
more buses. The student fee already include a bus
pass, which let you ride all these RTD and Boulder buses for
free.
Boulder is a biker's heaven. The city maintains lots of bike
trails inside, around, and stretching out far from Boulder.
Thousands of CU students bike to school, and the campus is full
of bike racks.
About a third of TSA members own a car. You probably should
wait until you arrive Boulder before you decide to buy a car.
Weather
& Clothes
It's cold in the winter and hot in the summer, we guess you
already know that :-). Boulder weather fluctuates quickly. We
sometimes see a freezingly cold weather, and a T-shirt-and-sunshine
day in the same week. But worry not; you will spend most of
your time in buildings. A good winter jacket, two or three sweaters,
a pair of gloves, and maybe a winter hat, should be enough to
get you comfortably through the winter weather.
Hanging
Out
Boulder is famous as an outdoor sport town. The city maintains
an extensive network of biking/running trails. You can also
hike in the mountain that is right by campus. Colorado is America's
ski mecca and there are several ski resorts within 2 hours drive
from Boulder.
The Recreation
Center is popular among Thai students. Aside from
providing the facility, it organizes intramural sports, instruction
programs, and the ski bus. Even if you just want to watch, CU
has several sport teams to
cheer for.
On the art and culture side, the university's various art and
music departments run many shows, concerts, and galleries year-round.
They are listed in CU-Boulder
Events Calendar. The International
Film Series runs 3-4 movies a week, both classic
and recent, at about half of commercial theater prices. Off
campus, Boulder offers many
activities year-round.
Denver
is one of U.S.'s largest metro areas. Downtown Denver is only
half an hour drive away. Many TSA members like to go there to
eat, watch plays, tour museums, and, of course, shopping. It
has a Six
Flags (a well-known theme park franchise) and a very
big water park name Water World.
Denver is also the home of many professional sport teams, including
the Broncos (football) the Nuggets (basketball), the Avalances
(hockey), and the Rockies (baseball).
Contact
Us
We highly encourage incoming students to contact the TSA committee
and ask them questions, solicit help, or just to let us know
that you are coming. Meanwhile, get excited for coming here
:-).
