Acceptance Rate
61%
Avg. SAT
1480
75th percentile
“Nestled in Colorado's foothills, Mines turns dirt-under-the-nails miners into tomorrow's energy and materials innovators.”
Golden, CO
Location
Large Suburb
Campus Setting
Colorado School of Mines traces its roots to 1874, when Colorado's territorial legislature founded it to fuel the post-gold rush mining boom—making it the oldest engineering college west of the Mississippi and America's sole land-grant institution dedicated purely to earth sciences and engineering from day one. You'll thrive here if you're a hands-on problem-solver who geeks out over rocks, fuels, or gadgets, but expect a laser-focused STEM world with scant room for artsy pursuits; humanities courses exist as electives, but the vibe screams 'drill baby drill' over debate club. Golden, your 20,000-person suburb playground, hugs Table Mountain's base with craft breweries (hello, Coors mothership), hiking trails, and a quick light-rail hop to Denver's buzz—yet winters dump snow that can strand you, and the small-town feel means weekend escapes to the Rockies for skiing are non-negotiable if city lights beckon.
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Admissions
Acceptance Rate
Test Policy
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Average GPA
Application Fee
Academics
Student-Faculty Ratio
Programs Offered
Full-Time Faculty
Women Faculty
Research Spending
Degree Levels Offered
Diving into Mines' classrooms, you tackle project-heavy courses where professors—many fresh from industry—push you to design seismic sensors or optimize battery alloys, backed by a 17:1 student-faculty ratio that feels personal amid 5,800 undergrads. Petroleum engineering reigns supreme (often top-ranked nationally), alongside mining engineering, geophysics, and metallurgy, with undergrads jumping into research via paid gigs at labs like the Center for Advanced Non-Ferrous Metallic Materials; co-ops and internships are the norm, not the exception, landing you six-figure offers early. Tradeoffs hit hard: the workload devours weekends, class sizes swell in intro STEM, and if pure theory or social sciences spark you, look elsewhere—this is applied science boot camp.
Student Body
Total Enrollment
6,195 undergrad • 1,849 grad
Undergraduate
Graduate
International
White
65%
Black / African American
1%
Hispanic / Latino
12%
Asian
6%
Other / Multi-racial
16%
Campus Life
Campus Setting
Golden, CO
Varsity Athletics
NCAA Athletics
A typical week at Mines blends 50-hour study grinds with trail runs and lab binges, punctuated by Friday ping-pong tournaments in your dorm lounge; 80% of freshmen live on campus in themed halls like the international or honors houses, fostering bonds over shared caffeine crashes and group hikes. Traditions like E-Days—a weeklong student-led bash with parades, robot wars, and fireworks—ignite school spirit, while the social scene skews low-key geeky (think hackathons over frat ragers) with 200+ clubs from Outing (for backcountry epics) to Society of Petroleum Engineers mixers. Challenges? The male-heavy skew (75% guys) and relentless academics can isolate introverts or party hunters, plus Golden's chill buries nightlife under snowy isolation until Denver calls.
Housing
On-Campus Housing
Housing Capacity
Meal Plan Available
Average Room & Board
Athletics
Athletic Association
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
ROTC & Veteran Support
Army
Yes
Navy
No
Air Force
Yes
Veteran’s Programs Available
Credit for military training
Yes
Dedicated point of contact for veteran support services
Yes
Recognized student veteran organization
Yes
Member of DoD Voluntary Educational Partnership MOU
Yes
Cost & Aid
In-State Tuition
Out-of-State Tuition
Room & Board
Estimated Cost
Financial Aid
Students Receiving Aid
Receiving Pell Grants
Average Grant
Average Federal Loan
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Outcomes & Earnings
Retention Rate
93%
4 Years Graduation Rate
69%
6 Years Graduation Rate
85%
Median 10-Year Earnings
$97,335
93% of first-time, full-time students complete their freshman year at Colorado School of Mines and return in the fall. 69% of first-time, full-time students graduate in 4 years, and 85% graduate within 6 years.
Graduation Rate
4-year grads
69%
4-6 years
16%
Non-grad
15%
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Key Statistics
Type
Public
Tuition
$17,520
Acceptance
61%
Undergrads
6,195
4-Year Grad Rate
69%
Endowment
$352M
Golden, CO 80401
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