University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, Colorado · Public · 31,939 undergraduates · colorado.edu
Test policy (fall 2027)
Test optional
Sending scores is your choice
Admit rate
71%
of 73,180 applicants
SAT (middle 50%)
1130 to 1370
of enrolled freshmen
Annual cost (2027-28)
$39,660Est.Estimate
$71,830 out of state
Your chances and merit aid at University of Colorado Boulder
See where you stand for admission, how much merit aid you could get, and what you'd pay after it.
We started you at a typical enrolled freshman here. Move the sliders to match you.
Your admission chances
71% of applicants admitted
Target
Your SAT is inside the range where the middle half of enrolled freshmen scored, and your GPA is in the middle half of freshmen's.
Estimated merit aid
a year
Your cost after merit aid
$71,830
a year in 2027-28, from a $71,830 sticker price (out of state)
What to do with your 1260
Send your score
About 68% of freshmen here didn't send a score. We estimate their typical SAT at about 1110, and yours is above it.
Reach, target and likely are a rough guide from your test score and how selective the college is. Admissions also weigh your courses, grades, essays and activities. Merit aid figures are estimates, before any need-based aid.
Admissions
Test policy for fall 2027
Test optional
You choose whether to send an SAT or ACT score. If you send one, it's considered.
- You can type your scores into the application; official reports come later.
Source: First-Year - Plan | University of Colorado Boulder · Checked October 16, 2026
Application deadlines
- Nov15Early Action · November 15, 2026Apply early and hear early. Not binding.
- Jan15Regular Decision · January 15, 2027The standard deadline.
Who gets in
71%
of applicants were admitted: 51,716 of 73,180 for fall 2025.
Early Action
Not binding. Apply by November 15, hear by February 1.
Wait list
6,367 students were offered a spot; 92 were later admitted.
Test scores of enrolled freshmen (fall 2025)
The shaded part shows the middle half of enrolled freshmen who sent scores: a quarter scored below it and a quarter above. 27% of them sent SAT scores and 6% sent ACT scores.
SAT total 1130 to 1370
Reading and Writing 570 to 700
Math 560 to 690
ACT composite 27 to 32
How enrolled freshmen scored on the SAT
- 1400 to 160020%
- 1200 to 139945%
- 1000 to 119926%
- 800 to 9998%
- 600 to 7990.5%
- 400 to 5990%
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
High school GPA of enrolled freshmen
Average GPA: 3.77
- 4.044%
- 3.75 to 3.9921%
- 3.50 to 3.7417%
- 3.25 to 3.4912%
- 3.00 to 3.245.4%
- 2.50 to 2.991.6%
- Below 2.500%
Cost and financial aid
The sticker price is what a year costs before any aid. Most students pay less after grants and scholarships.
Sticker price for 2027-28Estimate
$39,660
a year, in state
$71,830
a year, out of state (tuition $46,550)
- Tuition (in state)$14,380
- Fees$1,070
- Food and housing$19,800
- Books and supplies$1,230
- Transportation and other$3,180
University of Colorado Boulder published $38,552 in state for 2026-27. Its 2027-28 prices aren't out yet.
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
What families actually pay
What a year cost on average after grants and scholarships, for freshmen who got federal aid in 2023-24 (in-state students), by family income.
- $0 to $30,000$13,403
- $30,001 to $48,000$13,558
- $48,001 to $75,000$16,684
- $75,001 to $110,000$21,719
- Over $110,000$34,026
Financial aid
72%
of a student's financial need is covered, on average
$17,729
average need-based grant to freshmen, money you don't repay
46%
of freshmen got merit aid without financial need, $10,166 on average
- FAFSA
- Required for need-based aid. It's the free federal aid form.
- CSS Profile
- Not required. Only the FAFSA is needed.
- Aid priority date: 1-Mar
- Send your aid forms by this date to be first in line for the college's grant money.
- Also asks for
- Tax return required
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
AP credit
AP exams that earn credit can replace college courses, so you pay for fewer of them and may graduate sooner.
AP exams that earn credit
41 of 41
Earn credit with a score of 3
31 exams
A 3-credit course is worth
about $1,440Est.Estimate
at 2027-28 tuition for in-state students
Credit for each AP exam
| Exam | Score needed | Credits | Counts as |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-D Art and Design | 4 | 3 | 3 lower-division ARTS elective credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Arts and Humanities requirement and the CMCI Core Humanities and the Arts requirement |
| 3-D Art and Design | 4 | 3 | 3 lower-division ARTS elective credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Arts and Humanities requirement and the CMCI Core Humanities and the Arts requirement |
| African American Studies | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Sciences credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Arts and Humanities or Social Sciences credit requirement |
| African American Studies | 4 | 3 | 3 lower-division Ethnic Studies (ETHN) credits that count toward Gen. Ed. Arts and Humanities or Social Sciences requirement. |
| Art History | 4 | 3 | 3 lower-division ARTH credits that count toward ARTH and ARTS majors and the A&S Gen. Ed. Arts and Humanities requirement and the CMDI Core Humanities and the Arts requirement |
| Biology | 3 | 4 | 4 lower-division Arts & Science credits that fulfill the lab portion of and count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Natural Science requirement and the CMCI Core Natural World requirement |
| Biology | 4 | 8 | EBIO 1210, EBIO 1220, EBIO 1230 and EBIO 1240 |
| Calculus AB | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Quantitative Reasoning & Mathematical Skills requirements and the CMCI Core Quantitative Thinking requirement |
| Calculus AB | 4 | 5 | MATH 1300 |
| Calculus BC | 3 | 5 | BC score of 3 and AB Subscore minimum score of 4. Credit awarded MATH 1300 |
| Calculus BC | 4 | 10 | MATH 1300 and MATH 2300 |
| Calculus BC: AB Subscore | 1 | 3 | BC score of 3 and AB subscore 1,2,3 required for 3 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Quantitative Reasoning & Mathematical Skills requirements and the CMCI Core Quantitative Thinking requirement |
| Chemistry | 3 | 4 | 4 lower-division Arts & Science credits that fulfill the lab portion of and count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Natural Science requirement and the CMCI Core Natural World requirement |
| Chemistry | 4 | 4 | CHEM 1021 |
| Chemistry | 5 | 5 | CHEM 1113 and CHEM 1114 |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 3 | 5 | CHIN 1020 |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 4 | 10 | CHIN 1020 and CHIN 2110 |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 5 | 15 | CHIN 1020, CHIN 2110 and CHIN 2120 |
| Comparative Government and Politics | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Social Science requirement and the CMCI Core People and Society requirement |
| Comparative Government and Politics | 4 | 3 | PSCI 2012 |
| Computer Science A | 5 | 4 | CSCI 1300 |
| Computer Science Principles | 5 | 4 | CSCI 1300 |
| Drawing | 4 | 3 | 3 lower-division ARTS elective credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Arts and Humanities requirement and the CMCI Core Humanities and the Arts requirement |
| English Language and Composition | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. and the CMCI Core lower-division writing requirements |
| English Language and Composition | 4 | 3 | WRTG1150 |
| English Literature and Composition | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Arts and Humanities requirement and the CMCI Core Humanities and the Arts requirement |
| English Literature and Composition | 4 | 3 | ENGL 1500 |
| Environmental Science | 3 | 4 | 4 lower-division Arts & Science credits that fulfill the lab portion of and count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Natural Science requirement and the CMCI Core Natural World requirement |
| Environmental Science | 4 | 4 | ENVS 1000 and 1 lower-division ENVS credit that fulfill the lab portion of and count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Natural Science requirement |
| European History | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Sciences credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Arts & Humanities requirement and the CMCI Core Humanities & the Arts and Historical Perspectives requirements |
| European History | 4 | 3 | HIST 1012 |
| French Language and Culture | 3 | 3 | FREN 2110 |
| French Language and Culture | 4 | 6 | FREN 2110 and FREN 2120 |
| French Language and Culture | 5 | 9 | FREN 2110, FREN 2120 and FREN 3050 |
| German Language and Culture | 3 | 4 | GRMN 2010 |
| German Language and Culture | 4 | 8 | GRMN 2010 and GRMN 2020 |
| German Language and Culture | 5 | 7 | GRMN 2020 and GRMN 3010 |
| Human Geography | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Social Science requirement and the CMCI Core People and Society requirement |
| Human Geography | 4 | 3 | GEOG 1992 |
| Italian Language and Culture | 3 | 5 | ITAL 1020 |
| Italian Language and Culture | 4 | 8 | ITAL 1020 and ITAL 2110 |
| Italian Language and Culture | 5 | 11 | ITAL 1020, ITAL 2110 and ITAL 2120 |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 3 | 5 | JPNS 1020 |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 4 | 10 | JPNS 1020 and JPNS 2110 |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 5 | 15 | JPNS 1020, JPNS 2110 and JPNS 2120 |
| Latin | 3 | 4 | LATN 1024 |
| Latin | 4 | 8 | LATN 1024 AND LATN 2114 |
| Latin | 5 | 12 | LATN 1024, LATN 2114 AND LATN 2124 |
| Macroeconomics | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Social Science Requirement and the CMCI Core People and Society requirement |
| Macroeconomics | 4 | 4 | ECON 2020 |
| Microeconomics | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Social Science Requirement and the CMCI Core People and Society requirement |
| Microeconomics | 4 | 4 | ECON 2010 |
| Music Theory | 3 | 3 | MUSC 1081 |
| Music Theory | 4 | 3 | MUSC 1101 and MUSC 1121 |
| Music Theory | 5 | 6 | MUSC 1101, MUSC 1111, MUSC 1121 and MUSC 1131 |
| Physics 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 lower-division Arts & Science credits that fulfill the lab portion of and count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Natural Science requirement and the CMCI Core Natural World requirement |
| Physics 1 | 4 | 5 | PHYS 2010 |
| Physics 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 lower-division Arts & Science credits that fulfill the lab portion of and count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Natural Science requirement and the CMCI Core Natural World requirement |
| Physics 2 | 4 | 5 | PHYS 2020 |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 3 | 4 | 4 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Natural Science requirement and the CMCI Core Natural World requirement |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 5 | 4 | PHYS 1120 |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 3 | 4 | 4 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Natural Science requirement and the CMCI Core Natural World requirement |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 5 | 4 | PHYS 1110 |
| Pre-Calculus | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Math credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Quantitative Reasoning & Mathematical Skills requirements |
| Pre-Calculus | 4 | 4 | MATH 1150 |
| Psychology | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Social Science requirement and the CMCI Core People and Society requirement |
| Psychology | 4 | 3 | PSYC 1001 |
| Research | 4 | 3 | WRTG1250 |
| Seminar | 4 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Science credits |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 3 | 3 | SPAN 2110 |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 4 | 6 | SPAN 2110 and SPAN 2120 |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 5 | 11 | SPAN 2110, SPAN 2120 and SPAN 3000 |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | 4 | 3 | SPAN 1000 |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | 5 | 6 | SPAN 1000 and SPAN 3002 |
| Statistics | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Quantitative Reasoning & Mathematical Skills requirements and the CMCI Core Quantitative Thinking requirement |
| Statistics | 4 | 3 | MATH 2510 |
| United States Government and Politics | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Science credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Social Science requirement and the CMCI Core People and Society requirement |
| United States Government and Politics | 4 | 3 | PSCI 1101 |
| United States History | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Sciences credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Arts & Humanities requirement and the CMCI Core Humanities & the Arts and Historical Perspectives requirements |
| United States History | 4 | 3 | HIST 1025 |
| World History: Modern | 3 | 3 | 3 lower-division Arts & Sciences credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Arts & Humanities requirement and the CMCI Core Humanities & the Arts and Historical Perspectives requirements |
| World History: Modern | 4 | 3 | 3 lower-division History credits that count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Arts & Humanities requirement and the CMCI Core Humanities & the Arts and Historical Perspectives requirements |
Source: AP credit policy
After college
Graduate within 6 years
74%
Come back for a second year
90%
Typical earnings
$77,574
a year, 10 years after starting here
- University of Colorado Boulder$93,489
- All colleges$71,390
Median yearly earnings of graduates five years after finishing a bachelor's in this major. 43 majors here have earnings data.
Keep exploring
Figures marked Estimate are our estimates, not numbers the college published. Check each college's own site before you apply. SAT is a trademark of College Board, and ACT is a trademark of ACT, Inc. Sharp is not affiliated with either, or with University of Colorado Boulder. The University of Colorado Boulder logo is a trademark of the college.