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University of Colorado Boulder Data & Information Overview

449 awards Ranking Badges
Great Price Value for Your Money
80% Acceptance Rate
If you want to know more about University of Colorado Boulder, such as what majors does it offer, how diverse it is, how well it ranks, and more, this is your one-stop resource.
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How Well Is University of Colorado Boulder Ranked?

#115 Best Colleges in Nation
#2 Best Colleges in CO
Business Administration & Management Highest Ranked Major
Quality Badge

2024 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 449 badges in the 2024 rankings. The highest ranked major at the school is business administration & management.

Explore Best Ranked Schools for You

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Overall Quality

College Factual ranked CU - Boulder as #115 out of 2,217 colleges and universities in the country on its 2024 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.

Out of the 33 colleges in Colorado, CU - Boulder is ranked at #2.

See all of the rankings for University of Colorado Boulder.

Is It Hard to Get Into CU - Boulder?

80% Acceptance Rate
55% Of Accepted Are Women
32% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

The acceptance rate at University of Colorado Boulder is 80%. 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 CU - Boulder is a good fit for you.

Average Test Scores

About 32% of students accepted to CU - Boulder submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 590 and 690. Math scores were between 580 and 700.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for University of Colorado Boulder  ( 590 to 690 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for University of Colorado Boulder  ( 580 to 700 )
200
800
CU - Boulder received ACT scores from 16% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 25 and 31.

ACT Composite Scores for University of Colorado Boulder  ( 25 to 31 )
1
36

Learn more about University of Colorado Boulder admissions.

University of Colorado Boulder Faculty

18 to 1 Student to Faculty
74% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at University of Colorado Boulder is about average at 18 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.

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 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

Retention and Graduation Rates at University of Colorado Boulder

87% Freshmen Retention
46% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

University of Colorado Boulder has a freshmen retention rate of 87%. 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  87 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor's degree is typically four years. This rate at CU - Boulder for first-time, full-time students is 46%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  46 out of 100
0
100

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

University of Colorado Boulder Undergraduate Student Diversity

27,703 Full-Time Undergraduates
27.7% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
46.4% Percent Women

During the 2017-2018 academic year, there were 30,307 undergraduates at CU - Boulder with 27,703 being full-time and 2,604 being part-time.

How Much Does University of Colorado Boulder Cost?

$20,967 Net Price
29% Take Out Loans
$38,632 Total Student Loans
The overall average net price of CU - Boulder is $20,967. 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 CU - Boulder

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$13,141 $13,901 $18,204 $25,326 $28,622

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 for a school. For more information on the sticker price of CU - Boulder, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

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 CU - Boulder, approximately 29% of students took out student loans averaging $9,658 a year. That adds up to $38,632 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at CU - Boulder is 2.4%. 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.

How Much Money Do CU - Boulder Graduates Make?

$60,740 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor's degree from CU - Boulder make about $60,740 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future CU - Boulder graduates since it is 43% more than the average college graduate's salary of $42,485 per year.

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

Location of University of Colorado Boulder

Colorado State
27,703 Full-Time Undergraduates
Midsize City Campus Setting
Located in Boulder, Colorado, University of Colorado Boulder is a public institution. 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.

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Contact details for CU - Boulder are given below.

Contact Details
Address: Regent Drive At Broadway, Boulder, CO 80309-0017
Phone: 303-492-1411
Website: www.colorado.edu/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cuboulder
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cuboulder

University of Colorado Boulder Majors

85 Majors With Completions
7,459 Undergraduate Degrees
2,255 Graduate Degrees
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 85 majors graduated from University of Colorado Boulder. Of these students, 7,459 received undergraduate degrees and 2,255 graduated with a master's or doctor's degree. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Bachelor’s Degrees Average Salary of Graduates
Business Administration & Management 1,105 $49,673
General Psychology 512 $34,383
Computer Science 475 $69,804
Public Relations & Advertising 385 $42,963
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 356 $30,428
Economics 322 $44,089
Mechanical Engineering 240 $62,457
Political Science & Government 239 $34,035
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 227 $30,230
Sociology 195 $34,274

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

Online Learning at CU - Boulder

73% Take At Least One Class Online
11% Take All Classes Online

Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.

In 2020-2021, 28,479 students took at least one online class at University of Colorado Boulder. This is a decrease from the 34,248 students who took online classes the previous year.

Year Took at Least One Online Class Took All Classes Online
2020-2021 28,479 4,180
2019-2020 34,248 11,072
2018-2019 4,200 1,319
2017-2018 3,287 1,053
2016-2017 2,672 696

Learn more about online learning at University of Colorado Boulder.

If you’re considering University of Colorado Boulder, here are some more schools you may be interested in knowing more about.

Curious on how these schools stack up against CU - Boulder? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare college on the features that matter most to you!

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

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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