Denver: the complete school report for parents

What does Denver actually weigh in admissions?

Denver rates 2 of the 18 factors "Very Important": course rigor, GPA. It does not consider 2 of them at all. Every college reports these weights in section C7 of its Common Data Set; below is Denver's 2025-2026 answer, read from the grid in its own file.

What GPA do admitted students actually have?

56% of enrolled students had a 3.75 GPA or above. The average was 3.68 on a 4 scale, reported for 99.4% of the entering class. This is the school’s own distribution, not an estimate from its admit rate.

What is the Denver waitlist really like?

Denver offered a place on its waiting list to 22 applicants and 4 accepted one. None of them were admitted. A waitlist place here should be treated as a decline, not as a live option to hold out for.

Is transferring in easier than applying as a freshman?

Denver admitted 81.1% of 460 transfer applicants, against 85.4% of first-year applicants. The two routes are similarly competitive here.

When do we apply, and does timing change the odds?

Denver reports its early rounds below.

What will Denver actually cost us?

Families pay an average of $36,131 a year at Denver after grants and scholarships, against a published in-state tuition of $63,720. The published price is not what most families pay. The university reports meeting 88.1% of demonstrated need on average. It also gave 559 merit awards averaging $28,815 to first-years with no demonstrated need.

41% of Denver graduates borrow, leaving with an average of $30,116 in debt, which the federal data puts at about $232 a month in repayment. Denver’s net price calculator gives your own figure.

Does a degree from Denver pay off?

Graduates earn a median $71,155 ten years after entering, and $57,118 at six years. 83% out-earn a typical high school graduate within six years. 73% are actively paying down their loans three years in.

$103,111 to $40,863, depending on the major. Median earnings five years out at Denver:

College Scorecard, by field of study; highest and lowest shown.

Will my child actually graduate?

89% of first-years return for a second year. 65% graduate within four years and 74% within six (2019 cohort). The rate holds up across income: 66.0% of Pell-grant recipients graduate within six years against 76.0% of everyone else, a gap of 10.0 points.

How big are the classes?

55% of class sections have fewer than 20 students, while 0% have 100 or more. The student-faculty ratio is 9:1, and 53% of faculty are full-time. Accredited by Higher Learning Commission.

What is life at Denver like?

5,766 undergraduates, 64% of first-years from out of state. 89% of freshmen live in university housing, falling to 45% across all undergraduates. Greek life is small: 24% of men join a fraternity and 21% of women a sorority. 19% of students are the first in their family to attend college, and the median family income is $78,120.

What this means for your student

• Course rigor is rated Very Important here, so the senior-year schedule should hold its AP, IB or honors depth rather than lighten.
• 56% of enrolled students are at a 3.75 GPA or above, averaging 3.68. Below that line the rest of the application has to carry real weight.
• Treat a waitlist place here as a decline: 4 students waited and none were admitted.
• Its highest-earning major returns $103,111 five years out against $40,863 at the other end, a gap wider than the one between most schools.
• See where your student actually stands: calculate their GPA and compare it against the distribution above.

Common questions about Denver

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