University of Colorado Boulder
What University of Colorado Boulder's own numbers say, from its Common Data Set 2024-25.
See your odds at University of Colorado Boulder →All 4 insights at University of Colorado Boulder PRO
WaitlistUniversity of Colorado Boulder
University of Colorado Boulder's waitlist works: 87% got in.
1,007 of 1,158 students who stayed on the list were admitted. Stay on it.
Admitted off the list87%
Not admitted13%
Source: University of Colorado Boulder's Common Data Set 2024-25
Who says yesUniversity of Colorado Boulder
86% of students admitted to University of Colorado Boulder go elsewhere.
Only 14% of admits enroll, so University of Colorado Boulder admits far more students than it has seats.
Enroll14%
Go elsewhere86%
Source: University of Colorado Boulder's Common Data Set 2024-25
ApplicationsUniversity of Colorado Boulder
Applications to University of Colorado Boulder are up 84%.
From 36,604 in 2018-19 to 67,286 in 2024-25. (2024-25: federal IPEDS figure, as the college's own total differed.)
2018-1936,604
2024-2567,286
Source: University of Colorado Boulder's Common Data Set 2024-25
Test scoresUniversity of Colorado Boulder
At most 32% of University of Colorado Boulder's first-years sent an SAT or ACT.
25% sent an SAT and 7% an ACT (some sent both), so most enrolled without a score. SAT middle 50% among those who sent: 1180–1390.
Sent an SAT25%
Sent an ACT7%
Source: University of Colorado Boulder's Common Data Set 2024-25
4 more things the data says PRO
- 1,158 students stayed on the waitlist and 1,007 were admitted from it (87.0%).
- Applications rose 84% from 2018-19 to 2024-25 (36,604 to 67,286), faster than 90% of colleges here.
- Only 25% of enrolled first-years sent an SAT score, so its SAT range describes a minority of the class.
- Men were admitted at a lower rate: 83.4% for women against 72.7% for men.
What students say PRO
From students' own posts on Reddit and admissions forums: self-reported, unverified, never used in your odds.
- Most admits who named a round applied Early Action (about 23 of 31), with the rest Regular Decision.
- Admits aiming at engineering and aerospace usually had hands-on technical work: robotics (often as captain), rocketry, drones, CAD, pilot training or competition wins.
- Many STEM admits had research or internships, such as university labs, company engineering roles, summer research programs or a published or presented project.
- Admits' GPAs were mostly high, around 3.7-4.0, but several were admitted with 3.3-3.6, so grades alone did not decide.
- Many admits held captain or founder roles in sports, clubs or science teams, plus steady volunteering of 100 to 785+ hours.
- Students report engineering and aerospace direct admission is tough: strong applicants are often deferred or placed in Exploratory Studies, with a GPA near 2.7 said to allow a transfer in.
- Students report out-of-state admits often get a Chancellor's or Presidential merit award, though some got little or none.
- Students report weighted GPA is what counts, and for science majors admitted students have a clearly higher GPA than denied ones.
- Students report CU publishes public dashboards of admit data by major and residency, useful for comparing past cohorts.
- Students report decision release has moved to January in recent years, with in-state Early Action in batches before out-of-state results.
Every number, year by year: University of Colorado Boulder on Open College Data. Something wrong? Suggest a correction.