University of
Colorado Colorado Springs
Public Research University in Colorado Springs, CO. Six-year graduation rate 47%. Median 10-year earnings $54,659.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $54,659 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 47% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $20,000, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
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
With an acceptance rate of 97%, University of Colorado Colorado Springs takes nearly everyone who applies. 13,147 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Only 13% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. 34% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
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 | 510–620 | 553 (34%) |
| SAT Math | 500–600 | |
| ACT Composite | 20–26 | 98 (6%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Colorado Colorado Springs →Academics
Completion is middling: 47% finish inside six years. First-year retention is 68% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The 30% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. The part-time picture is harder: 38% return, against 68% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 8,870 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $16,942 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $12,065 while those at $110k+ pay $22,142. 61% of students receive grant aid, averaging $8,327 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing reaches 36% of students.
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 · 1,644 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 | $12,065 |
| $30–48k | $11,642 |
| $48–75k | $12,104 |
| $75–110k | $18,388 |
| $110k+ | $22,142 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,165 of these 8,870 students, totalling $21,232,537 — an average of $6,709 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (El Paso 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)