by our College Data Analytics TeamColorado Mesa University is a public institution in Grand Junction, Colorado enrolling 8,143 undergraduates. It accepts 82% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 41%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,172 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 23%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Colorado Mesa University ranks #1,172 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 23%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Colorado Mesa University was awarded 55 badges in the 2027 rankings.
Colorado Mesa is ranked #1,172 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list.
Colorado Mesa also holds the #16 spot on the Best Colleges in Colorado ranking.
See all of the rankings for Colorado Mesa University.
The acceptance rate at Colorado Mesa University is 82%. That’s higher than the rate at many schools, but still low enough to be considered somewhat selective. If you want to get in, you’ll need good grades and to be able to show that Colorado Mesa is a good fit for you.
About 53% of students accepted to Colorado Mesa submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 480 and 590. Math scores were between 450 and 570.
Colorado Mesa received ACT scores from 8% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 18 and 24.
Learn more about Colorado Mesa University admissions.
With a student to faculty ratio of 18 to 1, Colorado Mesa University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Colorado Mesa University is 60%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Colorado Mesa University has a freshmen retention rate of 79%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Colorado Mesa for first-time, full-time students is 41%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Colorado Mesa University.
The current enrollment includes 8,143 undergraduates at Colorado Mesa.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Colorado Mesa University.
The average net price of Colorado Mesa is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,792 | $11,920 | $14,692 | $16,945 | $20,606 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Colorado Mesa, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Colorado Mesa, approximately 31% of students took out student loans averaging $6,374 a year. That adds up to $25,496 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 12.0%. This is higher than the national default rate of 10.1% so you should proceed with caution when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Colorado Mesa University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Colorado Mesa University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $45,823 in their early years. This is in the same neighborhood of the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, certain majors may produce higher-paying graduates.
See which majors at Colorado Mesa University make the most money.
Colorado Mesa University is an public institution located in Grand Junction, Colorado. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of Colorado Mesa University.
Contact information for Colorado Mesa University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 1100 North Avenue, Grand Junction, CO 81501-3122 |
| Phone: | 9702481020 |
| Website: | www.coloradomesa.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Mesa_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/pages/Colorado-Mesa-University/165068093548114 |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/ColoradoMesaU |
In the latest year of available data, students from 30 majors graduated from Colorado Mesa University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 3,029 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 258 | $37,940 |
| Child Development & Family Studies | 238 | NA |
| Allied Health Professions | 211 | NA |
| Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 205 | NA |
| Precision Metal Working | 199 | NA |
| Vehicle Maintenance & Repair | 172 | NA |
| Nursing | 157 | $59,101 |
| Health & Physical Education | 149 | $26,695 |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 123 | $33,725 |
3,871 students took at least one online class at Colorado Mesa University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Colorado Mesa University.
Want to see how other colleges compare to Colorado Mesa? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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