Colorado Mesa University
Public College in Grand Junction, CO. Six-year graduation rate 49%. Median 10-year earnings $45,823.
Ten years after entry, the median Colorado Mesa University student earns $45,823 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 49% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates carry a median of $22,000 in debt — in line with the national norm. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.0% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Colorado Mesa University accepts 82% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 12,465 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. 23% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. Read the score bands below as the middle 50% of submitted scores, not a threshold to clear.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 480–590 | 1,238 (53%) |
| SAT Math | 450–570 | |
| ACT Composite | 18–24 | 192 (8%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Colorado Mesa University →Academics
Completion is middling: 49% finish inside six years. 79% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in five are gone before sophomore year. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. A 28% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 39% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,604 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $15,590 annually once grants are applied. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $10,792 while those at $110k+ pay $20,606. 76% of students receive grant aid, averaging $9,174 — common but not automatic. 35% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,656 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $10,792 |
| $30–48k | $11,920 |
| $48–75k | $14,692 |
| $75–110k | $16,945 |
| $110k+ | $20,606 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,688 of these 7,604 students, totalling $17,132,390 — an average of $6,374 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Mesa County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)