Colorado Mesa University

Overview

Rankings

• #9 Best Master's Programs in Colorado
• #9 Best Online Colleges in Colorado
• #17 Most Affordable Colleges in Colorado

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Colorado Mesa University? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

As a public institution in Grand Junction, Colorado, Colorado Mesa University admits most of the students who apply; the acceptance rate is roughly 82%. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,055. The graduation rate is roughly 41%.

Acceptance Rate

82%

Retention Rate

79%

SAT Average

1055

ACT Midpoint

23

SAT Range

930–1160

ACT Range

18–24

Full-Time Faculty

60%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$7,747

Student–Faculty Ratio

18:1

Diversity Index

0.56

First-Gen Students

39%

Applicants

9,810

Admitted

8,021

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2024-25

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Colorado Mesa University is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds. 16% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school most admitted students ultimately pass on.

Yield Rate

16%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

28%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

7%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Colorado Mesa University? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Colorado Mesa University is $25,124, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $15,103. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $10,792 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $22,000 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$9,927

Out-of-State

$25,124

Avg Net Price

$15,103

Median Debt

$22,000

Pell Grant Rate

28%

Federal Loan Rate

31%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Colorado Mesa University — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Colorado Mesa University Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Colorado Mesa University earn a median of $45,823, roughly in line with the national average for college graduates.

6 Years After Entry

$39,223

8 Years

$42,409

10 Years

$45,823

Debt-to-Earnings

0.48x

Earning > $25K

59%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Colorado Mesa University Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Colorado Mesa University is a genuine engine of upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 2.01%, among the highest in the country. About 8.8% of students come from families in the bottom income quintile. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 22.8% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $75,800, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

2.01%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

22.8%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

8.8%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$102,986

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Colorado Mesa University? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Colorado Mesa University. Its economic connectedness score is 1.39, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (0.02), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 6% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.39

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

0.02

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

6.0%

Support Ratio

0.99

Community support

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Federal Grants

$2,662,738

Investment Income

$-7,404,848

Top Programs

The fields Colorado Mesa University awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Health Professions 20% $72,178 early-career
• Business & Marketing 14% $54,760 early-career
• Precision Production 7% $40,390 early-career
• Mechanic & Repair Tech 6% $37,670 early-career
• Criminal Justice 6% $44,327 early-career
• Humanities 4% $26,368 early-career
• Culinary & Personal Services 3% $30,487 early-career
• Psychology 3% $38,698 early-career

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.