Public · School
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, Colorado · Large suburb
- 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.
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
More selective than 75% · #3 most selective of 17 in Colorado
Higher than 90%
Higher than 90% · #3 of 19 in Colorado
Higher than 90%
Higher than 97% · #1 of 22 in Colorado
Cheaper than 19% · #14 cheapest of 20 in Colorado
Lower than 53%
Lower than 18%
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
- Undergraduate6,15577%
- Graduate1,84923%
Undergraduates by gender
- 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)
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)
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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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.
$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.
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.
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.
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
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Ralston Rsvr, CO US station (5.4 mi from campus).
What Colorado School of Mines graduates study — and earn
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 →
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Newark, New Jersey · Large city · 9 mi to New York
- Students
- 9,019
- Admission
- 65%
- Net price
- $17k
- SAT
- 1337
- GPA
- 3.7
- Earnings
- $84k
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, Virginia · Small city · 27 mi to Roanoke
- Students
- 30,923
- Admission
- 55%
- Net price
- $25k
- SAT
- 1364
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $82k
Binghamton University
Vestal, New York · Midsize suburb · 49 mi to Scranton
- Students
- 14,655
- Admission
- 39%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- 1415
- GPA
- 3.9
- Earnings
- $81k
University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut · Fringe town · 22 mi to Hartford
- Students
- 19,835
- Admission
- 52%
- Net price
- $25k
- SAT
- 1348
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $74k
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Rolla, Missouri · Remote town · 75 mi to Columbia
- Students
- 5,521
- Admission
- 73%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1317
- GPA
- 3.7
- Earnings
- $83k
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York · Large suburb · 29 mi to New Haven
- Students
- 18,101
- Admission
- 49%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1419
- GPA
- 3.9
- Earnings
- $75k
Colleges near Colorado School of Mines
Red Rocks Community College
Lakewood, CO · Public · Certificate · 4,889 students
Colorado School of Trades
Lakewood, CO · Private for-profit · Associate · 85 students
Colorado Christian University
Lakewood, CO · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 5,549 students
Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design
Lakewood, CO · Private for-profit · Bachelor's · 2,050 students
Paul Mitchell the School-Denver
Lakewood, CO · Private for-profit · Certificate · 213 students
Colorado School of Healing Arts
Lakewood, CO · Private for-profit · Certificate · 52 students
Regis University
Denver, CO · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 2,627 students
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Denver, CO · Public · Bachelor's · 15,002 students
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.














