Auraria

Auraria campus is the largest campus in the state of Colorado. It's home to the Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State College, and the University of Colorado @ Denver. At any given time there are over 35,000 students on campus studying a variety of subjects leading them to certificates, associate degrees, bachelor degrees, masters degrees, and even PhDs. The average age of the student on this campus is 27, due to the commuter status and the fact that it is located downtown.

In the past few years there has been student housing added to help students who don't want to commute or are coming to one of the schools from out of town. The Regency Student Housing Community was remodeled from an old hotel just off of I-25 for students with location and price in mind. With apartments starting at $450 a month, there is no better deal downtown. The Regency has a swimming pool, fitness center with a weight room, bowling alley, dance studio, and even an amphitheater. It offers free on-site parking, bike racks, and even a shuttle to take the students back and forth to school.

Being located in this part of downtown is just a bonus. There are numerous restaurants, outdoor shopping malls, bars & nightclubs. Within walking distance are the Pepsi center which is home to many professional teams and Elitche's, a fun amusement park. On campus itself located in The Tivoli are the student center, many restaurants, the campus bookstore, and a movie theater. From various locations in the buildings there is a great view of downtown or the Rocky Mountains, depending on where you're at.

The campus also has it's own rec center where the Metro State athletes play and workout. The rec center is available to all students and staff and includes a pool, weight room, large gymnasium, and aerobic training equipment. Outside the rec center is a track and field where you can find students relaxing and enjoying the weather in summer months. While walking around the campus, it's easy to forget you're downtown as the scenery is pleasant with green lawns and mature trees all around.

While Auraria isn't your typical college campus, it has tons to offer right in the heart of the city.

The entire city of Denver came very close to being named Auraria, a name that means “Golden Valley.” Established in 1858 by settlers from Georgia who named it after a successful gold mining settlement in their own state, Auraria lost the name battle to Denver City, which was established three weeks later on the opposite, northern bank of Cherry Creek.

Today, Auraria – which is technically considered a Denver neighborhood, although it has few actual residents in its boundaries - is primarily known for the Auraria Campus, which takes up most of its space. This is downtown Denver’s educational mecca, with Metro State College, the Community College of Denver, and the University of Colorado at Denver all sharing its tightly-packed acres.

Collegians expecting dreaming spires will be disappointed: the buildings of Auraria campus are, for the most part, in the utilitarian brick-box style, connected by a series of paved plazas. Some nice plantings and grassy areas do break up the city concrete. Notable features on campus include the gothic St. Elizabeth of Hungary church and the Tivoli, which was formerly one of Denver’s oldest breweries and is now the student union.

Off campus, Auraria also encompasses the Pepsi Center, which is one of the city’s largest concert venues and home to the Denver Nuggets (basketball) and Avalanche (hockey). Six Flags Elitch Gardens skirts Auraria’s western edge, down by the Platte River. Although there’s no dining or nightlife options in Auraria itself, students attending one of the three colleges have no lack of choice, since downtown, Larimer Square, and LoDo nightlife are all within walking distance.

There are a few rental units available in Auraria itself, and little housing, with the exception of a few ultra-exclusive lofts and condos along Speer. Many students live in Capitol Hill or one of the surrounding neighborhoods, or commute from the suburbs. Auraria may not have ivy-covered dorms or stately quads, but it offers a panoramic – and very close – view of the city skyline. Students seeking the thrill of an urban experience could do much worse.

First of all, this is not a residential area, so don't look for an apartment here! Lots of the surrounding areas have great apartments, but Auraria proper has no housing. That said, I'll talk about what they do have.
Most of Auraria is taken up by Auraria Campus. This is a huge campus that actually has three schools: University of Colorado at Denver, Metropolitan State College (Metro to locals), and Communitiy College of Denver. I went to UCD, and later worked there as a researcher, so one way or the other I spent about nine years on Auraria Campus. They have done some major building projects since I was working there. I'm glad to see that they completed a new science building, because that needed some updating.
I recommend this area if you're thinking about going to school here. The campus is nice, with grassy areas to study in warm weather, and indoor places to lounge in cold weather. The Tivoli building was a brewery about 100 years ago and is now a student center, administrative offices, food court, bar, and movie theater. Auraria is right across Speer from downtown Denver, so there are lots of options for eating/shopping/socializing in your off-hours.
This is not a typical college campus, becuase it's not a self-contained unit with school buildings, student housing, cafeteria, etc. It is a "commuter college" area, meaning that there is no on-campus housing, and students are from all over the city. There have been some student housing buildings that have opened farther south on Speer in recent years, but it's still not a typical "dorm student" college atmosphere. There are lots of non-traditional students, and influences from both Denver and around the world, which is a great way to experience higher education.
The burritos at the little stand by the library are old favorites of just about everyone. They are cheap, tasty, and huge, so they are great starving-student fare.
Parking has always been kind of a pain. Everyone's commuting which means that parking can be hard to come by. The light rail and bus lines go right by the campus, though.
As for the rest of the neighborhood, there's the Pepsi center and the football stadium. The Nuggets play at the Pepsi center, the Broncos at the stadium, and there are major music shows at both.
There is also Six Flags Elitch Gardens (a big amusement park). The views of downtown and the mountains are wonderful from there and from the campus. Finally there's Downtown Aquarium. This is a really fun place, with a restaurant and bar. Each has one wall that is actually the wall of the biggest aquarium tank. It's fun, but expensive, so only go if you're in the mood to splurge. If you go in the late afternoon (after 3:30 or 4:00, I think), you can get a discounted entry because they will be closing soon, and then you can hang out for happy hour at the bar which stays open.
It's hard to use any of the website's ranking for this neighborhood, because most of the rankings are for residential areas. There are no residential options here, so most of them don't apply. But overall, I would recommend the campus for anyone considering going to school here. For families, Six Flags, sports games, and the aquarium are good for a day or evening out.