Public · School

Colorado School of Mines

Golden, Colorado · Large suburb

#1 for grad earnings in Colorado#3 most selective in Colorado#3 graduation rate in Colorado
60.7%
Admit rate
$28,690
Avg net price
82%
Graduation rate
$97,335
Median earnings

Colorado School of Mines is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Golden, Colorado (large suburb setting), enrolling 6,155 undergraduates.

PublicMidsize · 6,155 undergradsLarge suburbAccessible · 61% admitNCAA Division II with football · Rocky Mountain Athletic ConferenceCold wintersSnowy

Will you get in?

See where your numbers land against Colorado School of Mines's admitted students.

Admit rate
60.7%
SAT (mid 50%)
1320–1480
Avg GPA
3.85

Enter a test score to see where you land against Colorado School of Mines's admitted students.

A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Colorado School of Mines's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.

About Golden, Colorado

Golden is a home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Established during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, Golden City quickly became a leading economic and political center of the region. Its geographic location made it a center of trade between the gold fields to the west and settlements to the east. Golden is home to numerous museums, including the Golden History Museum & Park, Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, Colorado Railroad Museum, Mines Museum of Earth Science, and the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum. There is also the Mother Cabrini Shrine. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large suburb
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
12 miles to Denver, CO
To the ocean
737 miles
Nearest airport
12 miles to Rocky Mountain Metropolitan (BJC)

How Colorado School of Mines compares

Selectivity60.7%

More selective than 75% · #3 most selective of 17 in Colorado

SAT average1412

Higher than 90%

Graduation rate82%

Higher than 90% · #3 of 19 in Colorado

First-year retention93%

Higher than 90%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$97,335

Higher than 97% · #1 of 22 in Colorado

Average net price$28,690

Cheaper than 19% · #14 cheapest of 20 in Colorado

Median debt at graduation$23,000

Lower than 53%

Student–faculty ratio18 : 1

Lower than 18%

Undergraduate enrollment6,155

Larger than 81%

Percentiles compare Colorado School of Mines with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Colorado.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

8,004students
  • Undergraduate6,15577%
  • Graduate1,84923%

Undergraduates by gender

6,155undergrads
  • Women1,74628%
  • Men4,40972%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White68%
  • Black1.5%
  • Hispanic14%
  • Asian6.4%
  • Other or multiracial10%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
6,155
Graduate enrollment
1,849
Student–faculty ratio
18 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
14%
First-generation students
15%
Students over 25
3%
Median family income
$95,766
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$126,000
Endowment
$386,363,861

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 1,445 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Colorado49%
  • Other U.S. states51%

A regional draw: about 49% of first-years come from Colorado, the rest from elsewhere.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
60.7%
Test scores
Considered but not required
SAT range (25th–75th %)
1320–1480
SAT average
1412
SAT reading
650–730
SAT math
670–750
ACT composite
29–33
Average GPA
3.85

Cost

In-state tuition
$21,914
Out-of-state tuition
$45,824
Room & board
$17,531
Books & supplies
$1,500
Total cost of attendance
$40,560
Average net price
$28,690

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
82%
Graduated on time (4 years)
67%
First-year retention
93%
Transferred to another college
13%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$82,950
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$97,335
Median debt at graduation
$23,000
Students with federal loans
32%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
88%

About 15% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
67%
Low-income (Pell)
75%
First-generation
70%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
2,280
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
37%
Housing charge (year)
$9,994
Meal plan (year)
$7,126
Application fee
$50
Athletics
NCAA Division II with football
Football conference
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Varsity athletes
682 (471 men · 211 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (12)

Football143
Track and Field (Indoor)104
Track and Field (Outdoor)102
Soccer67
Cross Country51
Baseball49
Swimming42
Wrestling35
Basketball32
Softball25
Volleyball23
Golf9

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
1.6 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
10
Property offenses (2022–2024)
28

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (8,044 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

13reported offenses a year
3.3 violent a year9.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
6.0
Motor vehicle theft
3.0
Rape
1.7
Fondling
1.3
Aggravated assault
0.3
Arson
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$16,849
$30–48k
$18,162
$48–75k
$22,192
$75–110k
$28,183
$110k+
$35,112

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$94,749

$22,192/year × about 4.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

93%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$10,081
average award, among those who get one

A meaningful share of freshmen — 93% — get grant money from Colorado School of Mines itself, averaging $10,081, which softens the sticker price.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 1,512 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$97,335
Typical debt at graduation
$23,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
24%
Out-earn a HS grad
90%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.4 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Strong value

Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$90,730
Men
$99,424

Men out-earn women by $8,694 (10%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
87°F
Winter low
22°F
Annual rain
18.7″
Annual snow
62.5″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.53.0JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Ralston Rsvr, CO US station (5.4 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Colorado School of Mines

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Colorado School of Mines side by side →

Colleges near Colorado School of Mines

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.