CU Boulder CU Boulder Financial Aid

Path to Financial Aid Videos

VIDEO: Cost of Attendance

Join CU Boulder's Office of Financial Aid, in this quick 1.5 minute video introduction and overview of understanding direct and indirect costs within cost of attendance.

VIDEO: Steps to Apply for Financial Aid

This 5 minute video covers the steps students must take to apply for financial aid at CU Boulder, including filling out the FAFSA (which will result in the ability to receive grants, work-study, and federal loans).

If you are unable to view or hear the 'video-within-this-video' please check out the full-length video on applying for Federal Financial Aid here.

VIDEO: CU Boulder Scholarships

This 3 minute video covers automatic scholarships available through the CU Boulder Office of Financial Aid, including the Transfer Excellence Scholarship, as well as scholarships through the CU Boulder Scholarship Application. This is in addition to the CU Boulder Engineering Scholarships.

VIDEO: Financial Aid Award Offer & Next Steps

This 3 minute video covers the process of receiving your award offer, paying your bill, payment plans, and recaps our discussion of your path to financial aid.

Keep in mind that you WILL receive two different bills if you are taking both Western and CU Boulder courses and you are responsible for utilizing CU Boulder financial for all of your educational costs.

Current Tuition & Fees

A breakdown of CU Boulder tuition and fees specific to the partnership with Western Colorado University can be found on the Bursar's website.

Student Financial Aid & Billing Examples

For two student examples of what a financial aid situation could be like with a Western/CU Boulder partnership student, download this power point. NOTE - these tuition and fee numbers are based on previous semesters and are close, but may not be accurate for the fall 2022-spring 2023 costs. They are intended only for the purposes of showing an example and include:

In-state student living on campus
Out-of-state student living off campus
WUE student living off campus

CU Boulder Financial Details

The Bursar's Office at CU Boulder handles all billing and payment questions (this is similar to the Cashier's Office at Western)
The Financial Aid Office at CU Boulder handles questions related to need-based and merit-based aid
Westerns FAFSA code is 001372
CU Boulder's FAFSA code is 001370
For more information on scholarships, including tips on applying for private scholarships, visit colorado.edu/scholarships
Check out requirements for automatic consideration scholarships
DACA/ASSET students should fill out the Colorado Application for State Financial Aid (CASFA)
Students are highly encouraged to set up Direct Deposit with the Bursar's Office in order to receive any refunds from financial aid that can be used to pay your bill
Access your bill and bill-related tasks in Buff PortalLinks to an external site..
Bills will be online. They are never mailed.
Give parents/family members or others access to your bill. (This is called "authorizing payersLinks to an external site.").
A donor form can be used if you are currently receiving (or will receive) a private scholarship in which the check now needs sent to CU Boulder (not Western any longer). You can fill this out on the CU Boulder Scholarship website.
- Details on the process of sending private scholarships to CU Boulder, along with deadlines can be on the CU Boulder Scholarship Website as well.

Contact Information

Ryan McWeeney

Financial Aid Advisor II

University of Colorado Boulder

303-492-5091

Ryan.McWeeney@colorado.edu