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University of Colorado Boulder Complete Information Guide

242 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
78% Acceptance Rate

This overview covers the essential stats on University of Colorado Boulder, including its rankings, majors, diversity, and more.

Want to dig deeper into a particular stat? Just click on its tile and you’ll be taken to a more in-depth page on the figure. In addition, you can use the links below to quickly jump to any section on this page.

* Rankings

How Well Is University of Colorado Boulder Ranked?

#114 Best Colleges in Nation
#3 Best Colleges in CO
University of Colorado Boulder ranking badge

2026 Rankings

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.

University of Colorado Boulder was awarded 242 badges in the 2026 rankings.

National Standing

According to College Factual’s 2026 analysis, University of Colorado Boulder is ranked #114 out of 3,449 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.

Within the state, University of Colorado Boulder holds the #3 spot on the Best Colleges in Colorado ranking.

See all of the rankings for University of Colorado Boulder.

How Difficult Is Admission to University of Colorado Boulder?

78% Acceptance Rate
83% Of Accepted Are Women
18% Submit SAT Scores

Getting Accepted

University of Colorado Boulder has an acceptance rate of 78%, which makes it somewhat selective. Make sure it’s not the only school you apply to, even if it’s your school of choice. Whether you get in or not will largely depend on how you compare to other applicants.

Average Test Scores

About 18% of students accepted to University of Colorado Boulder submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 630 and 710. Math scores were between 610 and 720.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for University of Colorado Boulder  ( 630 to 710 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for University of Colorado Boulder  ( 610 to 720 )
200
800

University of Colorado Boulder received ACT scores from 6% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 29 and 33.

ACT Composite Scores for University of Colorado Boulder  ( 29 to 33 )
1
36

Learn more about University of Colorado Boulder admissions.

Faculty at University of Colorado Boulder

19 to 1 Student to Faculty
74% Full Time Teachers

Class Sizes

The student to faculty ratio at University of Colorado Boulder is 19 to 1, which is high when compared to the national average of 15 to 1. This may indicate that some of your classes will be larger in size than they would be at other schools. However, upper level classes will probably be smaller.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at University of Colorado Boulder is 74%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  74 out of 100
0
100

Student Success Metrics for University of Colorado Boulder

89% Freshmen Retention
75% On-Time Graduation Rate

First-Year Student Retention

University of Colorado Boulder has a freshmen retention rate of 89%. 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.

Freshmen Retention Rate  89 out of 100
0
100

Time to Degree

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at University of Colorado Boulder for first-time, full-time students is 75%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  75 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at University of Colorado Boulder.

Student Demographics at University of Colorado Boulder

31,578 Undergraduate Students
29.2% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
46.6% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 31,578 undergraduates at University of Colorado Boulder.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at University of Colorado Boulder.

What Does University of Colorado Boulder Cost?

$16,772 Net Price
25% Take Out Loans
$24,832 Total Student Loans

The overall average net price of University of Colorado Boulder is $16,772. 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.### Net Price by Income Group for University of Colorado Boulder

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$11,251 $12,545 $17,204 $26,247 $30,549

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 University of Colorado Boulder, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Debt

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At University of Colorado Boulder, approximately 25% of students took out student loans averaging $6,208 a year. That adds up to $24,832 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 4.6%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for University of Colorado Boulder.

What Do University of Colorado Boulder Alumni Earn?

$69,738 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from University of Colorado Boulder with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $69,738 in their early years. This is good news for future University of Colorado Boulder graduates since it is 42% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.

See which majors at University of Colorado Boulder make the most money.

Location of University of Colorado Boulder

Colorado State
31,578 Undergraduate Students
Midsize City Campus Setting

University of Colorado Boulder is an public institution situated in Boulder, Colorado. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of University of Colorado Boulder.

Location of University of Colorado Boulder

Contact information for University of Colorado Boulder are given below.

Contact Details
Address: Regent Drive at Broadway, Boulder, CO 80309-0017
Phone: 3034921411
Website: www.colorado.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cuboulder
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cuboulder

University of Colorado Boulder Majors

26 Majors With Completions
19,674 Undergraduate Degrees

In the most recent reporting year, students from 26 majors graduated from University of Colorado Boulder. 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 9,837 NA
Business Administration & Management 1,371 $55,688
General Psychology 680 $34,383
Computer Science 601 $77,783
Mechanical Engineering 405 $66,072
Aeronautical Engineering 382 $76,774
Public Relations & Advertising 379 $42,963
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 357 $30,428
Natural Resources Conservation 292 $33,404
Electrical Engineering 252 $93,703

Learn more about the majors offered at University of Colorado Boulder along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Distance Learning at University of Colorado Boulder

44% Take At Least One Class Online
1% Take All Classes Online

Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.

13,910 students took at least one online class at University of Colorado Boulder.

Learn more about online learning at University of Colorado Boulder.

Comparable CollegesInterested in comparing University of Colorado Boulder? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

Notes and References

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.

References

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