University of
Colorado Boulder
Public Research University in Boulder, CO. Six-year graduation rate 74%. Median 10-year earnings $69,738.
Students who entered University of Colorado Boulder reach a median of $69,738 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. 74% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $19,500, neither a bargain nor a burden.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.28 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 78% puts University of Colorado Boulder on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. The applicant pool is large — 67,286 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield is low at 14%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 18% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
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 | 630–710 | 1,372 (18%) |
| SAT Math | 610–720 | |
| ACT Composite | 29–33 | 453 (6%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Colorado Boulder →Academics
A 74% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 90% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. Transfer-out runs to 16% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 60% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 31,581 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $26,231 annually once grants are applied. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $14,231 at the $0–30k band to $34,818 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 50% of students at an average of $12,083. About 25% 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 · 7,463 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 | $14,231 |
| $30–48k | $14,381 |
| $48–75k | $18,828 |
| $75–110k | $26,915 |
| $110k+ | $34,818 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,925 of these 31,581 students, totalling $49,159,933 — an average of $6,203 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Boulder 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)