Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
Paying for college in Colorado
What the state and its colleges give families, who gets it, and how to apply.
From the state
- Colorado Promise: Colorado students with a household income of $90,000 or less: tuition and fees repaid for up to 65 credits
From the colleges
Merit scholarships set by grades. At this college, a student who meets the terms is sure to get one.
| College | Colorado students | From other states |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado State | See below | $4,000 to $16,000 a year, from a 3.2 GPA |
The other 13 colleges award scholarships on other terms. Each is in the table below.
Across state lines
Students from the other western states pay no more than 150% of resident tuition at Adams State, CSU, Fort Lewis, MSU Denver, UCCS, CU Denver, UNC and Western. A Colorado student can do the same in those states. The Western Undergraduate Exchange ↓
What would each college cost your family?
See all 14 Colorado colleges priced for your income, and the aid your student could get.
See costs at your income →Already have a list? Put your schools side by side →
Get reminders for the dates that matter
We'll email you on the dates that matter: when the FAFSA opens, when award letters arrive, and before you choose a college and pay the first bill. If college is two or more years away, we'll also email you when the tax year that counts begins and when it has a month left.
From the state
Colorado's programs. Most come through the FAFSA or the state's own aid application; a few have their own.
College Opportunity Fund stipend
A stipend the state pays a Colorado public college for each credit an in-state student takes, which lowers the tuition bill. The student has to create a College Opportunity Fund account and authorize it at the college. It lasts for 145 credit hours.
Source: Colorado Department of Higher Education
“The College Opportunity Fund program provides a stipend for in-state students going to college in Colorado. To receive this funding, a student must create a COF account and must also authorize the use of the stipend at their respective institution.”
“If the student does not create a COF account or authorize the college to invoice COF on their behalf, the student will be responsible for the full amount of tuition, which equals the student’s share of tuition plus the stipend amount.”
“Have not exceeded their lifetime credit-hour limitation (145 credit hours) or obtained a baccalaureate degree while receiving COF”
Colorado Promise
For Colorado students with a household income of $90,000 or less who enroll within two years of high school. It repays tuition and fees for up to 65 credits through a state tax credit. A student keeps a 2.5 GPA and files a Colorado tax return.
Source: Colorado Department of Higher Education
“Introducing Colorado Promise – an income-qualified program that pays you back for up to 65 college credits.”
“1: Qualify Enroll at a Colorado public college or university within two years of completing high school Annually complete a FAFSA or CASFA Household income of $90,000 or less”
“2: Perform Begin a term with <66 credit hours Complete at least six credit hours in each term Earn a GPA of 2.5 or higher”
“File a Colorado tax return the next year, even if you don’t normally pay taxes”
From the colleges
What each college gives for grades, what it promises on aid, and its full price.
| College | Merit scholarships | Promise on aid | Full price a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adams State University public |
| — | $25,170 |
| Colorado Christian University private | None published | — | $63,342 |
| Colorado College private | None published | — | $98,623 |
| Colorado School of Mines public | None published | — | $44,708 |
| Colorado State University public |
| — | $34,847 |
| Fort Lewis College public |
| — | $27,118 |
| Metropolitan State University of Denver public |
| — | $32,373 |
| Regis University private | None published | — | $68,337 |
| University of Colorado Boulder public | None published | — | $35,871 |
| University of Colorado Denver public |
| — | $34,164 |
| University of Colorado, Colorado Springs public |
| — | $30,795 |
| University of Denver private | None published | — | $88,524 |
| University of Northern Colorado public |
| — | $30,024 |
| Western Colorado University public |
| — | $25,150 |
* The finder and our college comparison show this scholarship when you enter your student's GPA.
Each college's page has a promise's conditions, in the college's own words. “Worth asking about” marks a program the college describes in words that stop short of a promise.
Full price: tuition and fees, housing and food, and books; in state at a public university. What your family would pay after grants depends on your income: the finder shows it.
6 more Colorado colleges have no page here. For 1 of them, the federal data has no cost or no price by income. The rest mainly teach graduate students or run online programs. Show them
- Colorado State University Pueblo
- Naropa University
- United States Air Force Academy
- Denver Seminary
- Iliff School of Theology
- Institute of Taoist Education and Acupuncture
Across state lines
The Western Undergraduate Exchange, run by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
Coming to Colorado from another western state
Students from the other western states pay no more than 150% of resident tuition at the public colleges that take part. Each college sets its own rules: a minimum GPA, majors it leaves out, early deadlines, or a limit on how many students get the rate.
In Colorado, Adams State, CSU, Fort Lewis, MSU Denver, UCCS, CU Denver, UNC and Western take part, and the table shows what each gives. Colorado's community colleges, Colorado Mesa University, Colorado State University-Pueblo and the Anschutz Medical Campus are on the list too. This page covers the colleges with a page here.
Going from Colorado to another western state
A Colorado student can use it the other way, at public colleges in the other western states. The group that runs the exchange has a savings finder that lists each college and what the exchange saves there.
Source: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)
“pay no more than 150% of the institution’s resident tuition rate”
“Residents of the following states and territories are eligible to apply for WUE: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai’i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, as well as American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.”
“Each school administers WUE differently: Institutions may require a minimum GPA, exclude selected majors, have early application deadlines, and/or limit the number of students awarded the WUE rate.”
Paying the rest
Our $99 plan works out which money pays each bill, semester by semester: your savings, your 529 and your loans, in the order that costs least.
Build your plan →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get a reminder when it does.
How we worked these out
Costs: each college's own published price where it has one, otherwise the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, carried forward to fall 2027. Grants: each program’s own page. Scholarships: each college's own page, read by us and checked against it. SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any institution named here.