University of Colorado Boulder

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for University of Colorado Boulder

University of Colorado Boulder operates as a public institution located in Boulder, Colorado (city: midsize), with a total reported enrollment of 31,939 students of which 35,164 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. University of Colorado Boulder is categorized as “15” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 78.1%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,357 and an ACT midpoint of 28. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $25,346, with published in-state tuition of $15,666 and a Pell grant recipient share of 14.5%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $19,500, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 74.6%, and the first-year retention rate is 90.1%. Graduates earn a median of $69,738 ten years after enrolling, compared with $54,939 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 691700.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 68.8% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.