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🎓 College profile

Colorado School of Mines

CO · Public · Large suburb · 9,821 applicants 2023

R1 Research
60% admit rate SAT 1320–1470 $35,112/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 6× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$40,560/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$97,335/yr) still runs about 6× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
  • Built for the AI economy. About 1 in 6 degrees here is already in AI, computer science, or data fields. This campus is leaning into the shift, not waiting for it.
  • The campus itself adds earnings power. Opportunity Insights tracks it: only about 4% of students arrive from the bottom income fifth, but those who do reach the top fifth by their 30s at a 64% rate — a strong sign the outcomes here are the campus, not just the intake.
  • Ask the submit question deliberately. This college is test-optional — but at many such colleges, applicants who submit strong scores are admitted at meaningfully higher rates. “Optional” is a strategy decision, not a pass.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

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🎯 Parent/student verdict

Match

Solid match for academically prepared students.

✅ Best for

  • Strong academic profiles — admitted students cluster in the top test and GPA tiers (bands above)
  • Students focused on Engineering (the school's signature program)
  • Research-oriented students (R1 — top tier of federal research funding)
  • A long-term payoff that holds even at full price — median 10-yr earnings of $97,335 return ~6.0× the ~$40,560/yr sticker over a decade (aid recipients average ~$28,690/yr)

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1320, or ACT below 29, or unweighted GPA below ~3.80 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
R1: Doctoral - Very High Research Activity
Total enrollment
6,155
5,000 - 9,999
In-state tuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid — common above ~$110K income — pay this, minus any merit scholarships.
$21,914
sticker, before aid
Out-of-state tuition
$45,824
+$23,910 vs in-state
Admit rateThe share of applicants a college accepts. Useful context, but your student's odds depend on their own grades and scores, not the average.
59.7%
Moderately selective
SAT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
1320–1470
EBRW + Math composite
ACT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
29–33
composite
Test policyApplicants choose whether to send SAT/ACT scores. At many such colleges, students who submit strong scores are still admitted at higher rates.
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earningsMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$97,335
median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$82,950
Earnings, 10 yrs after entryMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$97,335
4-year completionThe share of students who finish a bachelor's in four years. Nationally barely half do — and a fifth year quietly adds a full extra year of cost to the real price.
82%
Median debt (completers)The federal-loan balance of the typical graduating borrower. Families who pay cash aren't counted, so read it as "among those who borrowed."
$23,000

💰 The real cost

What families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $35,112/yr at Colorado School of Mines; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$40,560/yr. Lower brackets pay less — the full ladder is below. One caveat, once: every bracket figure here averages only the families in that bracket who received aid — it says nothing about whether your family will qualify.

🔎 Earning over $110K? You're above the top federal bracket — the median family headed by a 45-to-54-year-old (the prime college-parent years) earned about $134K in 2024, and the federal data lumps everyone from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Whether you'll get need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats. at this income is entirely college-specific: a few heavily-endowed schools meet full need well past $150K, while many others give little above the brackets shown — there, merit scholarships, where offered, become the realistic lever.

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Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$35,112/yr
Family income $75-110k
$28,183/yr
Family income $48-75k
$22,192/yr
Family income $30-48k
$18,162/yr
Family income $0-30k
$16,849/yr

📈 The payoffTen years of typical earnings divided by four years of cost. A 3× means a decade of median pay covers the cost three times over — check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you., both ways

6.0× at full price 8.5× with aid
Full price, no aidThe all-in yearly price — tuition, housing, food, books, fees — before any aid. This is the real "full price," not just the tuition line. (4 yrs, in-state)
$162,240
~$40,560/yr all-in (out-of-state runs higher)
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$114,760
$28,690/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$973,350
$97,335/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
1.7 yrs
at full price (1.2 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41–NPT45; Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates; suppressed brackets = small cohorts; the $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — the brackets haven't been refreshed since the early 2010s). Payoff multiple = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (4-yr cost); full price is the published cost of attendance, largely in-state for publics; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Colorado School of Mines

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Colorado School of Mines actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Engineering
917 degrees · 76.0%
Engineering majors land high-paying technical roles. Top-earning sub-disciplines: petroleum, chemical, computer engineering.
2. Computer & Information Sciences
222 degrees · 18.4%
High-paying tech roles dominate. Median software roles cluster in the $90k-$130k range.
3. Mathematics & Statistics
32 degrees · 2.7%
Quant-heavy paths — actuarial, data, finance, research. High starting wages.
4. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
20 degrees · 1.7%
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.
5. Physical Sciences
15 degrees · 1.2%
Chemistry, physics, geology — strong wages especially in industry roles.

💼 What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Colorado School of Mines's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Computer Science. Bachelor's Degree 202 $86,268 $127,217
Petroleum Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 86 $77,400 $116,691
Mining and Mineral Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 20 $83,309 $109,695
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 93 $80,815 $106,012
Applied Mathematics. Bachelor's Degree 40 $50,398 $98,190
Engineering Physics. Bachelor's Degree 40 $72,858 $97,497
Mechanical Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 304 $74,145 $97,087
Biomedical/Medical Engineering. Bachelor's Degree — $56,529 $95,142
Metallurgical Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 44 $78,984 $94,902
Chemical Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 155 $68,318 $94,598

Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →

📈 Student body & economic mobility

Who attends here — and what the campus adds.

Opportunity Insights data. Why it matters even if you're full-pay: a high mobility rate means the campus itself confers earnings power — the outcomes aren't just selection effects.

Top-1% access
1.5%
from top-1% households
Mobility rateThe share of ALL students who arrived from the bottom 20% of family incomes AND reached the top 20% themselves by their early 30s — access and lift in one number, and a sign the campus itself adds earnings power.
2.5%
bottom 20% → top 20% by age 32
Upward rate
64.0%
of lower-income students who reach the top 20%
Pell recipientsStudents receiving federal Pell grants, which go to lower- and middle-income families — the standard shorthand for a college's economic mix.
14%
on federal need grants — context for these numbers

Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →

Alternatives to Colorado School of Mines

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options
These similar-selectivity schools publish merit scholarships your family can plan around — your kid’s stats could unlock real scholarship dollars.
University of Alabama in Huntsville
AL · Public
39 stats-based merit scholarships
The University of Alabama
AL · Public
21 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
Mississippi State University
MS · Public
18 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
💰 Lower full price
Similar selectivity, but a meaningfully lower full sticker price — the comparison that matters most for families who won't qualify for much need-based aid.
United States Merchant Marine Academy
NY · Public
$9,168/yr full price (in-state) · $31,392 less before aid
CUNY Hunter College
NY · Public
$13,905/yr full price (in-state) · $26,655 less before aid
CUNY Brooklyn College
NY · Public
$14,151/yr full price (in-state) · $26,409 less before aid
🛡️ Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
University of Colorado Boulder
CO · Public
83% admit rate (vs 60% here)
🚀 Stronger campus value-add
Per Opportunity Insights, these campuses add more earnings power to the students they enroll than Colorado School of Mines does — a quality signal, not a cost play.
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
NY · Public
12.9% mobility rate (vs 2.5% here)
CUNY City College
NY · Public
11.7% mobility rate (vs 2.5% here)
Pace University
NY · Private nonprofit
8.4% mobility rate (vs 2.5% here)

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

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