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 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.
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.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Colorado School of Mines, and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.