Colorado State
University-Fort Collins
Public Research University in Fort Collins, CO. Six-year graduation rate 67%. Median 10-year earnings $60,543.
Ten-year median earnings of $60,543 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. The six-year graduation rate of 67% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Graduates carry a median of $20,000 in debt — in line with the national norm.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.33 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 89%, Colorado State University-Fort Collins takes nearly everyone who applies. 38,465 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Only 16% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Colorado State University-Fort Collins →Academics
A 67% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. Retention is strong at 86%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Transfer-out runs to 16% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Retention drops to 54% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 25,148 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $21,011 annually once grants are applied. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $13,259 at the $0–30k band to $29,763 at $110k+. About 58% get grants averaging $11,675, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. About 32% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 5,224 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 | $13,259 |
| $30–48k | $14,460 |
| $48–75k | $15,905 |
| $75–110k | $21,927 |
| $110k+ | $29,763 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 8,152 of these 25,148 students, totalling $50,269,696 — an average of $6,167 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Larimer 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)