The Most Selective Colleges in Colorado
Every eligible Colorado four-year that reports an admission rate, ranked hardest to get into first and easiest last — not a prestige Top 25. Selectivity here is the published rate, not a magazine composite.
Ranked by acceptance rate · 16 of 39 Colorado institutions in this universe qualify for this ranking · Compiled 2026-09-01
- 1United States Air Force AcademyUSAF Academy, CO · Public13.9%Compare nearby
- 2Colorado CollegeColorado Springs, CO · Private20.0%Compare nearby
- 3Colorado School of MinesGolden, CO · Public59.7%Compare nearby
- 4University of DenverDenver, CO · Private71.2%Compare nearby
- 5University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical CampusDenver, CO · Public77.8%Compare nearby
- 6Colorado Mesa UniversityGrand Junction, CO · Public81.4%Compare nearby
- 7University of Colorado BoulderBoulder, CO · Public83.3%Compare nearby
- 8University of Northern ColoradoGreeley, CO · Public86.4%Compare nearby
- 9Regis UniversityDenver, CO · Private87.3%Compare nearby
- 10Colorado State University-Fort CollinsFort Collins, CO · Public89.6%Compare nearby
- 11Colorado State University GlobalAurora, CO · Public92.9%Compare nearby
- 12Fort Lewis CollegeDurango, CO · Public93.2%Compare nearby
- 13University of Colorado Colorado SpringsColorado Springs, CO · Public96.6%Compare nearby
- 14Western Colorado UniversityGunnison, CO · Public97.5%Compare nearby
- 15Metropolitan State University of DenverDenver, CO · Public99.1%Compare nearby
- 16Colorado State University PuebloPueblo, CO · Public99.8%Compare nearby
How this list was built
- Measure
- Acceptance rate — sorted lowest to highest
- Source variable
ADM_RATE- Dataset
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Institution (05-19-2025 release)
- Colorado institutions in this universe (39 schools).
- Colorado four-year main campuses only. Rank order is published admission rate; on an exact tie, higher SAT average ranks above, and missing SAT does not drop a school. SAT is not shown because it is not the ranked measure. Schools without a published ADM_RATE are omitted rather than estimated.
- Institutions enrolling fewer than 500 undergraduates are excluded — the same size floor as the national selectivity list — even when they report an admission rate. That cut is not a median-stability adjustment.
- 16 of 39 Colorado institutions in this universe qualify for this ranking (report the measure and pass any enrollment floor); the rest are omitted rather than estimated.
A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.
Keep exploring
- Re-rank with your weightsRe-score with your weights, pre-filtered to CO
- Showdown: United States Air Force Academy vs Colorado CollegeHigher-or-lower on Scorecard metrics — round 1 is these two
- Live leaderboardReshuffle Top 10–50 on one Scorecard measure
- Explore games & mapsShowdown, Name That College, sports, and more lists
- Sports at United States Air Force AcademyEADA programs for the #1 school on this list
Keep going
The Most Selective Colleges in America
Lowest share of applicants admitted. Selectivity measures demand and class size, not teaching quality.
Colleges with the Highest SAT Averages
Average SAT score of enrolled students. Reported by fewer than half of institutions as test-optional admissions has spread.
Colleges That Admit Nearly Everyone
Open and near-open admission four-year institutions, ranked by the share of applicants accepted.