For those interested in studying in Colorado, we have a very useful list. We selected the best Colorado institutions for prospective students. Please know that rankings are based on academic research, alumni reviews, graduation rates, as well as assessment from peer colleges. On the page, you will find major admissions stats such as acceptance rate, tuition fees, average SAT scores for each ranked college or university.
| Rankings | Schools |
| 1 | Colorado School of Mines (Golden, CO) Tuition: in-state: $15,654, out-of-state: $30,684 Total enrollment: 5,346 Fall 2011 acceptance rate: 44.6% Average freshman retention rate: 88% 6-year graduation rate: 70% Classes with under 20 students: 35.8% SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile: 27-31 |
| 2 | University of Denver (Denver, CO) Tuition: $39,177 Total enrollment: 11,797 Fall 2011 acceptance rate: 68.2% Average freshman retention rate: 88% 6-year graduation rate: 79% Classes with under 20 students: 59.9% SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile: 25-30 |
| 3 | University of Colorado at Boulder (Boulder, CO) Tuition: in-state: $9,482, out-of-state: $31,378 Total enrollment: 32,252 Fall 2011 acceptance rate: 86.9% Average freshman retention rate: 84% 6-year graduation rate: 68% Classes with under 20 students: 39.2% SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile: 24-28 |
| 4 | Colorado State University (Fort Collins, CO) Tuition: in-state: $8,608, out-of-state: $24,400 Total enrollment: 30,450 Fall 2011 acceptance rate: 75.9% Average freshman retention rate: 83% 6-year graduation rate: 64% Classes with under 20 students: 33.2% SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile: 22-27 |
| 5 | University of Colorado at Denver (Denver, CO) Tuition: N/A Total enrollment: 22,495 Fall 2011 acceptance rate: 74.6% Average freshman retention rate: 73% 6-year graduation rate: 40% Classes with under 20 students: 31.5% SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile: 20-26 |
| 6 | University of Northern Colorado (Greeley, CO) Tuition: in-state: $6,514, out-of-state: $17,788 Total enrollment: 12,599 Fall 2011 acceptance rate: 72.8% Average freshman retention rate: 70% 6-year graduation rate: 46% Classes with under 20 students: 20.7% SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile: 19-25 |
| 7 | Colorado Technical University (Colorado Springs, CO) Tuition: N/A Total enrollment: N/A Fall 2011 acceptance rate: N/A Average freshman retention rate: N/A 6-year graduation rate: N/A Classes with under 20 students: N/A SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile: N/A |
Denver, Colorado History
In 1870, Denver was connected by railroads to the transcontinental railroad running north in Wyoming, as well as to Kansas. Since then, the city has become an important transport hub, which largely determined its development.
When the state of Colorado was formed in 1876, Denver claimed the right to be its capital. Denver was already then the largest city of the new state, in fact, it was here that legislators gathered and the government of Colorado worked. Nevertheless, given that there were several applicants for the right to be the “main city”, the status of the capital was finally assigned to Denver only after a referendum held in the state in 1881.
By 1890, the population of Denver exceeded one hundred thousand people. The “gold rush” in Colorado was replaced in the eighties of the XIX century by the “silver boom”, the state and its capital developed rapidly. Luxurious hotels, mansions of millionaires were built in the city, an opera house appeared. At the same time, in the past two decades, Denver has become infamous for its high level of corruption and crime.
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Denver was the fifth most populous (more than one hundred and thirty thousand people) US city west of the Mississippi River and the second (after San Francisco) in the US West.
In 1908, the National Convention (Convention) of the Democratic Party was held in Denver. It was the first political event of its kind in the western states, and was a clear recognition of Denver as one of the important centers of public life in the United States.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the economy of Denver, like the state of Colorado as a whole, was based on the extraction of minerals and the processing of agricultural products (primarily livestock). In 1928, a railway tunnel was completed near the city through the Rocky Mountains, which significantly shortened the path to the Pacific coast and further increased the importance of Denver as an important transport hub. In 1929, the first airport was opened in the city.