College seems to play a big role in the lives of Coloradans. In fact, we’re the state with the second highest percentage of people with bachelor’s degrees in the country.

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Colleges even play big employment roles for the towns they’re located in.

Take Colorado State University, for example, who not only is the largest employer in Fort Collins, but is consistently ranked as one of the best large employers in the entire country. 

However, not all college experiences are created equal.

For example, Colorado Technical University actually has the 4th lowest graduation rate in the US. The national average graduation rate sits at 66%, whereas CTU does all the way down at 24.2%.

Each year, U.S. News comes up with a list of the top universities in the country. As it would turn out, Colorado is home to a rather elite college.

Colorado School of Mines is the 76th Ranked University in the United States

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Colorado School of Mines comes in as the lone representative for Colorado in the Top 100 best colleges in the United States.

It ended up tying for the 76th spot, but in terms of public universities, it also wound up in a tie for 36th.

Mines has almost always been the most elite school in Colorado, but it interestingly is not the hardest to get into.

That would belong to Colorado College, who sports a 15% admissions rate. On the other hand, Mines admits 53.1% of applicants. 

Some other statistics U.S. News found that Colorado School of Mines alumni earned a median starting salary of $72,973, which is rather impressive for people coming straight out of college.

Where Did the Other Colorado Schools Rank?

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As stated before, Mines was the only school to make it into the Top 100 Best Colleges.

Taking second in the state is University of Colorado Boulder, who just missed out on the illustrious Top 100 honor at 105th.

Then, University of Denver takes the third spot, coming in at 124th. Colorado State University comes in fourth at 151st. 

After CSU, there’s University of Colorado Denver at 236th, then Regis University at 260th. 

Finally, University of Northern Colorado rounds out the list at 352nd.

Both Colorado Technical College and University of Colorado Colorado Springs went into the #395-435 categories.

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Gallery Credit: Wesley Adams

Colleges & Universities in Colorado, Ranked From Most to Least Expensive

Colorado is full of excellent colleges and universities, but it can be hard to decide which one to attend. Looking at tuition costs can help. Read on to see Colorado's colleges and universities ranked from most to least expensive, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Gallery Credit: Emily Mashak