Colorado School of Mines: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Colorado Springs, Colorado · Private nonprofit · Highly selective · CDS 2024-2025
Colorado School of Mines is a private nonprofit university in Colorado Springs, Colorado that admits about 20% of applicants, making it a highly selective school. The average family pays about $31,678 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Economics, Political Science and Government and Natural Resources Conservation and Research, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. About 88% of students graduate within six years. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 13.9 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Colorado School of Mines is a private institution located in Colorado Springs, Colorado and one of the highly selective schools in the country. For the most recent reporting cycle, Colorado School of Mines admits roughly one in four applicants, with an overall admission rate of 20%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT around 1445. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $31,678 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Colorado School of Mines is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Colorado School of Mines?
Most admitted students at Colorado School of Mines present unweighted GPAs in the 3.85–4.0 range with five or more AP or honors courses across high school. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
What does Colorado School of Mines weight in admissions?
Colorado School of Mines reports the following factor importance in its Common Data Set (2024-2025). These are the criteria the admissions committee weighs when reviewing applications.
- • Rigor of secondary school record
- • Academic GPA
- • Application essay
- • Recommendations
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Class rank
- • Standardized test scores
- • Interview
- • Talent/ability
- • Character/personal qualities
- • First generation status
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Geographical residence
- • State residency
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
- • Volunteer work
- • Work experience
- • Level of applicant's interest
SAT and ACT scores Colorado School of Mines typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 675–760, with an EBRW midpoint near —. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 31–34. A score at or above this school's 75th percentile materially improves your child's odds, particularly when paired with a rigorous course load.
| 25th percentile | 1240 |
| 50th percentile | 1340 |
| 75th percentile | 1440 |
| % submitting SAT | 29% |
| 25th percentile | 29 |
| 50th percentile | 31 |
| 75th percentile | 33 |
| % submitting ACT | 16% |
- • Test-optional: Standardized test scores are not required, but may be submitted and considered.
- • Policy detail: Considered if submitted
Where admitted students ranked in their high school class
Class rank distribution gives parents a clear sense of how academically dominant a typical admitted student was within their own high school cohort — often a more meaningful signal than absolute GPA.
| Top 10% of class | 58% |
| Top 25% of class | 86% |
| Top 50% of class | 96% |
| % submitting class rank | 25% |
How much does Colorado School of Mines actually cost?
Published tuition is $67,932 for in-state students and $67,932 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $15,228 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $31,678 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 14% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $73,038 |
| Room and board | $16,664 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $31,678 |
| Application fee | $0 |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Colorado School of Mines
| Regular deadline | 1/15 |
| Notification date | 3/13 |
| Reply deadline | 5/1 |
| Offers Early Decision | Yes |
| ED deadline | 11/1 |
| ED acceptance rate | 32% |
| Offers Early Action | Yes |
| EA deadline | 11/1 |
| EA acceptance rate | 21% |
Will my child graduate from Colorado School of Mines?
Retention and graduation rates are the most overlooked numbers in college planning, but they predict actual outcomes far better than acceptance rate. They tell you whether admitted students stay and finish on time.
Most popular majors at Colorado School of Mines
The most popular undergraduate programs at Colorado School of Mines, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Economics, Political Science and Government and Natural Resources Conservation and Research. Across all programs, Colorado School of Mines confers roughly 294 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Economics program report a median income of about $84,600 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Economics | 60 | $84,600 |
| Political Science and Government | 51 | — |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 43 | — |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | 33 | — |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | 31 | — |
| Psychology, General | 28 | — |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences | 24 | — |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences | 24 | — |
Is Colorado School of Mines safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Colorado School of Mines disclosed 28 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 13.9 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 7 violent offenses and 10 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
What is campus life like at Colorado School of Mines?
About 71% of undergraduates at Colorado School of Mines live in campus housing, making it a largely residential campus. Residential rate and Greek participation shape day-to-day social life and are worth weighing alongside academics and cost.
Other colleges in Colorado parents ask about
- University of Colorado Boulder83% acceptance
- Colorado State University-Fort Collins90% acceptance
- University of Denver71% acceptance
- University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus78% acceptance
- University of Colorado Colorado Springs99% acceptance
- Colorado College97% acceptance
- Community College of Denver93% acceptance
- Arapahoe Community College
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Colorado School of Mines
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Colorado School of Mines recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Colorado School of Mines
What GPA do I need for Colorado School of Mines?
Most admitted students at Colorado School of Mines present unweighted GPAs in the 3.85–4.0 range with five or more AP or honors courses across high school.
What SAT or ACT score does Colorado School of Mines typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 675–760, with an EBRW midpoint near —. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 31–34.
How much does Colorado School of Mines actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Colorado School of Mines after grants and scholarships is $31,678 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Colorado School of Mines realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Colorado School of Mines is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at Colorado School of Mines?
Colorado School of Mines accepts about 20% of applicants out of roughly 8,511 who apply each year. That makes it a highly selective school.
Is Colorado School of Mines test-optional?
Yes. Colorado School of Mines is test-optional, so SAT and ACT scores are not required, but strong scores can still be submitted and will be considered.
What is the graduation rate at Colorado School of Mines?
About 88% of students at Colorado School of Mines graduate within six years, and 71% finish in four years. 94% of freshmen return for sophomore year. Graduation rate predicts real outcomes better than acceptance rate.
Does applying Early Decision improve my chances at Colorado School of Mines?
Colorado School of Mines's Early Decision acceptance rate is about 32%, compared with its overall rate of 20%. Applying ED can meaningfully improve admission odds, but it is a binding commitment to enroll if accepted.
Is Colorado School of Mines a public or private school, and where is it located?
Colorado School of Mines is a private nonprofit institution located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
What are the most popular majors at Colorado School of Mines?
The largest undergraduate majors at Colorado School of Mines by annual graduates are Economics, Political Science and Government and Natural Resources Conservation and Research. The school awards about 294 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Colorado School of Mines safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Colorado School of Mines reported 28 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 13.9 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
What is campus life like at Colorado School of Mines?
At Colorado School of Mines, 71% of undergraduates live on campus, according to its most recent Common Data Set.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Colorado School of Mines, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.