College profile
University of Colorado Boulder
CO · Public · Mid-size city · 56,069 applicants 2023
A parent's read
- Top feeder high schools: New Trier Township High School Winnetka (25), Mira Costa High School (18), LASA High School (10), Colorado Academy (8), Greenwich High School (8). Graduates per class year, from each high school's own published list. 195 high schools' lists name University of Colorado Boulder; every one is ranked below.
- The major moves the money more than the admit letter. Computer Science grads from here earn about $121,952 four years out; music grads about $38,701 — a 3.2× spread on the same diploma. Have the major conversation before you deposit, not after.
- Built for the AI economy. About 1 in 12 degrees here is already in AI, computer science, or data fields; it offers a dedicated AI major; its AI research output ranks #44 among US universities. This campus is leaning into the shift, not waiting for it.
- The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 5× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$37,684/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$69,738/yr) still runs about 5× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
- 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.
Feeder high schools
Which high schools send graduates to University of Colorado Boulder?
The high schools sending the most graduates per class year to University of Colorado Boulder, from each school's own published list: New Trier Township High School Winnetka (25), Mira Costa High School (18), LASA High School (10), Colorado Academy (8), Greenwich High School (8). 195 high schools' lists name University of Colorado Boulder.
Enrolled — from the schools' matriculation lists
All 195 schools, with the class years each list covers
Published, but not ranked — these schools name University of Colorado Boulder on a list of where their graduates enrolled whose class years we cannot read ("Since 2023", or no class year printed), so their totals are shown rather than divided: Yorba Linda High School (3, not stated); Garrison Forest School (1, Three-Year Survey); The Lovett School (1, List as of 5/1/2026 (no class year printed on the list itself; page 2 header reads "College Acceptance and Matriculation" and links this file as the "Class of 2026 matriculation list")).
How this is counted
195 high schools publish a numbered matriculation list — where their graduates actually enrolled, counted, in the school's own School Profile — and name University of Colorado Boulder on it. Between them they printed 828 enrolled graduates. Ranked by graduates per class year enrolling at University of Colorado Boulder, from each school's own published list: the number that school printed, divided by the class years its list covers. The published total and the school's own years label are shown beside every school, so a one-year list and a five-year list can sit on the same page. A list whose class years we cannot read is not divided by a guess — it is listed below with its total instead.
Is my high school on this list?
Admitted — from the schools' acceptance lists
All 22 schools, with the class years each list covers
Published, but not ranked — these schools name University of Colorado Boulder on a list of the colleges that admitted their graduates whose class years we cannot read ("Since 2023", or no class year printed), so their totals are shown rather than divided: Seven Lakes High School (4, not stated).
How this is counted
22 high schools publish a numbered list of college acceptances — where their graduates were admitted, not where they enrolled — and name University of Colorado Boulder on it. Between them they printed 466 admissions. Ranked by admissions per class year to University of Colorado Boulder, from each school's own published acceptances list: the number that school printed, divided by the class years its list covers. Admits are counted at each college a student was admitted to, the same way the UC Reach Score counts a student admitted to three UC campuses three times — so this is a count of admissions, not of students. The published total and the school's own years label are shown beside every school, and a list whose class years we cannot read is listed below with its total rather than divided by a guess.
All 211 feeder schools, ranked →
Counted from each school's own published document, linked on that school's page. A high school that is not here does not publish a numbered list we could read — that is all absence means, and it says nothing about its graduates. Where a school publishes both, the two lists are shown separately: an acceptances list is not a list of enrollments, and the two are never added together.
Parent/student verdict
AccessibleAccessible for most applicants.
Best for
- Strong academic profiles — students here cluster in the top test and GPA tiers (bands above)
- Research-oriented students (R1 — top tier of federal research funding)
- Students who thrive in a large, programmatic environment
The reality
- You'd be near the bottom of their admitted class if: SAT below 1230, or ACT below 28, or unweighted GPA below 3.57 (test bands are the school's own; the 3.57 line is our estimate, not a published figure)
- Out-of-state tuition is 2.9× the in-state rate
Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price with aid and at full price, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.
What are your child's odds here?
Enter their numbers once — this and every college page shows their verdict, and the UC campus cards on California school pages light up with it too. Free, no email.
Weighted is the higher GPA, with honors/AP credit in it — pick whichever your school reports. PSAT scores work in the SAT box.
Institutional snapshot
What kind of college is this?
20% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 8% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.
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.
High-school GPA
3.77 avg unweightedGPA on the plain 4.0 scale, no honors/AP bonus. When a college publishes an "average admitted GPA of 3.9," it's often this scale — don't compare it to a weighted 4.3. GPA, enrolled first-years
unweighted 4.0 scale. Common Data Set 2025-2026 ↗
As published by the college in its Common Data Set / admissions data (2025-26) — independently verified 2026-07-23 (source linked above). GPA basis (weighted vs. unweighted vs. 4.0-scale) varies by college and is labeled above.
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).
The real cost
What University of Colorado Boulder actually costs
Which side your family lands on isn't set by any national income line — it's set by University of Colorado Boulder's own aid decision: the gap between its price and your family's finances.
University of Colorado Boulder's own published aid policy · as published when we checked, August 2026
Who qualifies: CO residents; covers tuition + fees, not housing.
The CU Promise is a combination of grants that cover tuition and fees for students with significant financial need. Families who are eligible typically have an adjusted gross income of $65,000 or less
Income thresholds assume typical assets. Policy independently verified against the college's financial-aid pages ↗.
Your odds + estimated cost across your whole college list, side by side.
The payoffTen years of typical graduate pay minus four years of cost — how many dollars ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten. Check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you; median pay reflects who a college admits and what they study as much as the college itself., both ways
+$547K ahead at full price +$596K with aidSource: College Scorecard (average net price among Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates who received aid) and each college's published cost of attendance. We don't show the federal net-price-by-income brackets: their categories were fixed in 2008 and never adjusted, and none of the averages is your family's own number — the full story. Payoff = (10-yr median earnings × 10) − (4 years of cost), in dollars — how far ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten; medians travel with the students a college admits and the majors they choose as much as with the college itself. 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 University of Colorado Boulder
Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what University of Colorado Boulder actually graduates — not just what it markets.
What those majors earn here
Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — University of Colorado Boulder's own graduates, not national averages.
| Major (CIP) | 4-yr earnings |
|---|---|
| Computer Science. | $121,952 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | $116,350 |
| Computer Engineering. | $115,181 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | $100,631 |
| Chemical Engineering. | $95,780 |
| Civil Engineering. | $94,960 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | $93,073 |
| Mathematics. | $90,635 |
| Architectural Engineering. | $89,797 |
| Biochemical Engineering. | $89,262 |
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 →
Alternatives to University of Colorado Boulder
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Related reading
College admissions · October 2026
College applications · October 2026
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At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantUniversity of Colorado Boulder is a public four-year college in CO. It admitted 83% of applicants (56,069 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.
Middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted that test: SAT 1230–1420, ACT 28–33. 20% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 8% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class. Average enrolled GPA 3.77 (unweighted, 2025-26, as published by the college).
Cost: about $25,346 a year on average with aid, $37,684 a year at full price for in-state students.
Median earnings ten years after entry: $69,738 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $595,996 ahead with aid, $546,644 ahead at full price.
Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Computer Science ($121,952); Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering ($116,350); Computer Engineering ($115,181).
Aid pledge published by the college: families earning under $65,000 pay no tuition (CO residents; covers tuition + fees, not housing).
High schools that publish a numbered matriculation list and name University of Colorado Boulder: 195, 828 enrolled students between them — ranked by graduates per class year, most often New Trier Township High School Winnetka (25.0 per class year, 25 over 1 class year, Class of 2025); Mira Costa High School (18.0 per class year, 18 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); LASA High School (10.0 per class year, 10 over 1 class year, Class of 2025). Each figure is the number that school printed divided by the class years its own list covers; the totals and years are shown. These are the schools that publish such a list, not every school that sends students; full list: https://highschoolreach.com/leaderboards/feeder-schools/university-of-colorado-boulder.
High schools that publish a numbered list of college acceptances naming University of Colorado Boulder: 22, 466 admissions between them — ranked by admissions per class year, most often Mira Costa High School (151.0 per class year, 151 over 1 class year, 2022-2026 College Admission Data, counted column "The first column represents the number of students admitted from the Class of 2026"); Archbishop Mitty High School (57.0 per class year, 57 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); Chaminade College Preparatory (48.0 per class year, 48 over 1 class year, Class of 2026). Admits are counted at each college, so this counts admissions, not students. These are a different set of documents from the matriculation lists above and the two are never added together; full list: https://highschoolreach.com/leaderboards/feeder-schools/university-of-colorado-boulder.
Machine-readable version of this page: https://highschoolreach.com/colleges/university-of-colorado-boulder.json
Questions families ask
What is University of Colorado Boulder's acceptance rate? University of Colorado Boulder is a public four-year college in CO. It admitted 83% of applicants (56,069 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.
Does University of Colorado Boulder require the SAT or ACT? University of Colorado Boulder is a public four-year college in CO. It admitted 83% of applicants (56,069 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.
What SAT or ACT scores do University of Colorado Boulder students have? Middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted that test: SAT 1230–1420, ACT 28–33. 20% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 8% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class. Average enrolled GPA 3.77 (unweighted, 2025-26, as published by the college).
How much does University of Colorado Boulder cost? Cost: about $25,346 a year on average with aid, $37,684 a year at full price for in-state students.
What do University of Colorado Boulder graduates earn? Median earnings ten years after entry: $69,738 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $595,996 ahead with aid, $546,644 ahead at full price.
Which majors at University of Colorado Boulder pay the most? Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Computer Science ($121,952); Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering ($116,350); Computer Engineering ($115,181).
Does University of Colorado Boulder offer free tuition or meet full need? Aid pledge published by the college: families earning under $65,000 pay no tuition (CO residents; covers tuition + fees, not housing).
Which high schools send the most graduates to University of Colorado Boulder? The high schools sending the most graduates per class year to University of Colorado Boulder, from each school's own published list: New Trier Township High School Winnetka (25), Mira Costa High School (18), LASA High School (10), Colorado Academy (8), Greenwich High School (8). 195 high schools' lists name University of Colorado Boulder.
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Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.