Студенты из Университета Колорадо запустили частную службу экскурсий для абитуриентов

A team of University of Colorado Boulder students has started a tour company to show potential future Buffs what an official campus tour doesn’t cover — what student life looks like on and off campus. Tour The Hill Boulder, founded by three CU Boulder students, offers prospective and admitted students and their families a private, one-on-one look at what life is like as a Buff, covering off-campus housing, the social scene and activities in Boulder. The company was started by three friends who felt the official campus tour told only part of the story. “We’ve realized Boulder has so much to offer, and it’s the best school in the world, in our opinion,” co-founder and 2026 CU Boulder graduate Ben Chwalek said. “There’s so much to do and so much to take advantage of, but you need to know what it has to offer going in, because it can be overwhelming at times. We think the best way to do that is by connecting with current students who know the school better than anyone else.” For $150, a family can book a private hour to an hour and a half walking tour, or they can book a half-hour video call for $50. All the tour guides are current CU Boulder students. The prospective student provides a list of their interests and major beforehand, so the student can be matched with the best tour guide based on their interests. The tour guides can answer questions about Greek life, tips on where to live, advice on landlords, places to eat and the best places near campus to hike, ski or snowboard. Tour the Hill also offers a $2,000 VIP experience, which includes a fully tailored all-day tour ranging from exclusive Greek life visits to local hikes, dining and housing tours.“People have told us it’s helped them make a decision if they’re going to come to CU or not, and said they wished it were an offering at every school they’re touring,” co-founder Liam Zirkle said. People also sign up for Tour the Hill if the timing for a campus tour doesn’t work out, or if the campus tours are full. Tours focus on the University Hill neighborhood, while often including parts of campus as well. Official campus tours focus solely on showing prospective students the CU campus. “No two tours look the same,” co-founder Parker Henrichon said. “We take different routes and show them what they want to see and what they should see based on what they’re interested in.” Chwalek, Zirkle and Henrichon started the tour company as CU Boulder seniors last August. They’ve since graduated from CU Boulder in May and have hired several current students to continue the tours. Since they founded the company, they’ve given tours to more than 125 prospective students and families and are also working with CU departments on custom group tours. They hope to continue to expand, Zirkle said, and possibly even expand to other universities. “We’re passionate about it, and now that we’re graduating, we want to keep it going due to the success,” Zirkle said. For more information, visit tourthehillboulder.com. Subscribe to our new newsletter to get CU Boulder’s latest news sent straight to your inbox.