#540 in the world · QS 2027

Colorado State University

Colorado's land-grant university in Fort Collins, known for veterinary medicine and atmospheric science.

Fort Collins, Colorado, United States Public land-grant research university Founded 1870 Official website

Acceptance rate: 89%; First-year students entering fall 2025 (Common Data Set FY2026)
Students: 34,126; 26,490 undergraduates
International: 3%; of students
Student–faculty: 17:1; ratio
Tuition: $37,502; 2026-27

About CSU

Colorado State University was founded in 1870 as the Colorado Agricultural College and took its current name in 1957. It is Colorado's land-grant university and the flagship of the CSU System, with a 583-acre main campus in central Fort Collins at the base of the Front Range, plus a Foothills Campus, an agricultural campus and the Pingree Park mountain campus. In fall 2025 it enrolled 34,126 students, including 26,490 undergraduates.

CSU has eight colleges: Agricultural Sciences, Business, Health and Human Sciences, Liberal Arts, Natural Sciences, Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering and the Warner College of Natural Resources. It is best known for veterinary medicine, with the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital, and for atmospheric and environmental science on the Foothills Campus, and it spent $498.1 million on research and development in fiscal 2023.

Admission is broad: CSU admitted 34,004 of 38,365 first-year applicants for fall 2025 (88.6%), and it generally admits students with a 3.0+ GPA and a steady or upward grade trend. SAT and ACT scores are not required and carry little weight. It suits students who want a large, outdoorsy university town 65 miles north of Denver, with serious science and animal-health programs.

Education, Service, Research, Extension

University motto

Why students choose CSU

Veterinary and biomedical sciences anchored by the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital, which houses 28 specialties.

Fort Collins sits 45 minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park, with bike trails and hiking close to campus.

Test-free in practice: scores are not required, are only reviewed on request and are never used to decline an application or award scholarships.

Automatic merit aid: nonresident freshmen with a 3.2+ GPA can receive Green and Gold Scholarships of $4,000-$16,000 a year with no separate application.

Admissions

First-year students entering fall 2025 (Common Data Set FY2026)

34,004 admitted from 38,365 applicants

5,376 first-years enrolled. CSU says students with a 3.0+ GPA and a steady or upward grade trend are generally admitted; the middle 50% of fall 2025 admits had GPAs of 3.3-4.05. Some competitive majors require specific coursework or a higher GPA, and applicants may be admitted to an alternate major or exploratory studies instead.

Testing Not required. Submitted SAT/ACT scores are only reviewed if you email a request, carry little weight, and are never used to deny admission or award scholarships; the CDS reports that scores are not considered.

Grades Middle 50% GPA of admitted fall 2025 freshmen: 3.3-4.05. Average high school GPA of enrolled first-years: 3.7 (CDS FY2026). CSU does not report SAT/ACT ranges because scores are not considered.

Typical entry requirements

US high school	3.0+ GPA with a steady or upward trend generally admitted; at least three years (grades 9-11) of transcript needed for a decision
International freshmen	Secondary transcripts, English proficiency and financial documents showing funding for estimated expenses; AP and IB can meet the math requirement
English language	IELTS 6 · TOEFL iBT 72 Direct admission minimums: TOEFL iBT 72 (before January 2026) or 4.0 on the new scale, IELTS Academic 6.0, Duolingo 110. SAT reading and writing 520, ACT English/Reading 20, IB HL English 5, or IGCSE/A-level English First Language C also count. Otherwise conditional admission through the Intensive English Program. Native English speakers from Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK are exempt.

Deadlines

Early Action (non-binding) Non-binding Next deadline · In 40 days

November 15, 2026

Complete file by this date for full consideration and automatic scholarship review by January 15. Decisions are released on a rolling basis from October 1.
Regular Decision Non-binding In ~3 months

January 15, 2027

Automatic scholarship review by February 28. Also the Green and Gold Scholarship deadline. CSU Scholarship Application due February 1; FAFSA priority March 1.
Final fall deadline (rolling) Non-binding In ~9 months

July 15, 2027

Applications after January 15 are reviewed on a rolling basis; scholarships may not be available. International applicants are considered on a rolling basis until mid-summer.

CSU's freshman guides list these annual dates (the application opens August 1); they are applied here to the fall 2027 cycle. There is no Early Decision.

How to apply

Common App; personal statement (250-650 words, reviewed for admission only); $65 fee (free for Colorado students); official high school transcript; optional academic explanation for a GPA under 3.0, D/F grades or gaps; recommendations and test scores optional and given little weight.

What admissions looks for

Performance: grade trends over time and by subject, with GPA treated as the single most predictive factor.
Rigor: completion of CSU's recommended high school courses and the relative difficulty of your schedule each year.
Involvement: meaningful engagement in school, extracurricular and community activities.
Context: circumstances that affected your courses, grades or involvement, which you can explain in the optional academic explanation.

Tips for applying to CSU

1 Submit a complete file by November 15 to get early consideration and scholarship review by January 15.
2 If your GPA is under 3.0, you have D or F grades or missing recommended units, use the academic explanation prompt to say what happened and what you did about it.
3 Do not spend energy on test prep for admission: scores are optional, only reviewed on request, and ignored for scholarships.
4 Nonresidents should check the Green and Gold GPA bands: a 4.0+ (weighted or unweighted) earns $16,000 a year, and updated credentials count until March 31.

Costs & financial aid

2026-27 · figures in USD

Colorado residents, tuition and fees (Western Undergraduate Exchange: $25,542); differential tuition adds about $1,000-$2,500 from junior year Tuition $14,160

+ on-campus housing ($8,584) and food ($9,888) $18,472 ≈ $32,632 per year

Non-resident tuition and fees; CSU's international estimate is $38,176 including international fees (15 credits per term) Tuition $37,502

+ on-campus housing ($8,584) and food ($9,888) $18,472 ≈ $55,974 per year

Tuition On-campus housing ($8,584) and food ($9,888)

Official cost of attendance $61,026

Financial aid

Merit awards are automatic from the admission application: nonresident Green and Gold Scholarships pay $4,000-$16,000 a year by GPA, with separate Green and Gold awards for residents and the Boettcher Scholarship for top Colorado students. Need-based aid uses the FAFSA (priority March 1) plus the CSU Scholarship Application (due February 1). International students must show outside funding because no institutional scholarship covers the full cost; 295 nonresident undergraduates received institutional aid averaging $15,607 (CDS FY2026).

$37,126
2026-27 cost of attendance on campus, Colorado resident: $61,026
2026-27 cost of attendance on campus, non-resident: $62,186
2026-27 estimated expenses for international undergraduates: 68%
Average share of need met, full-time undergraduates (CDS FY2026)

Academics

Academic calendar: Semesters

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

CSU offers the professional DVM and runs the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital with 28 specialties.

Atmospheric Science

The Department of Atmospheric Science is based on CSU's Foothills Campus alongside research centers such as the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere.

Natural Resources (Warner College)

A dedicated natural resources college with the 1,177-acre Pingree Park mountain campus.

Engineering (Walter Scott, Jr. College)

Home to the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory, whose engine-emissions technology is used in the Philippines.

Agricultural Sciences

CSU's founding mission; the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station dates to 1888.

Research

$498.1 million in research and development spending in fiscal 2023.
The NIH-funded Regional Biocontainment Laboratory develops vaccines and drugs for infectious diseases.
The Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory (EECL) developed technology to cut pollution from small engines.
The Foothills Campus hosts atmospheric sciences, a CDC facility and the B.W. Pickett Equine Center.

Schools & faculties

College of Agricultural Sciences
College of Business
College of Health and Human Sciences
College of Liberal Arts
College of Natural Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering
Warner College of Natural Resources

Graduation rate

68%

First-year students who return

88%

College Scorecard: median earnings of $60,543 ten years after entry (and $49,748 six years after entry) for federally aided students.

Student life

First-year students are required to live on campus in one of 13 residence halls, which house more than 5,000 students and include living-learning communities in areas such as Honors, engineering, natural sciences and equine sciences. Campus life centres on the Oval, a 1909 green lined with 65 American elms, and the Lory Student Center plaza. There are more than 450 student organisations, about 60% of undergraduates play intramural sports, and 30 sport clubs compete outside the NCAA. The Colorado State Rams play football at on-campus Canvas Stadium.

Colorado State Rams: 17 NCAA Division I sports, in the Pac-12 Conference.
The Oval, a 1909 landmark lined with 65 American elm trees.
More than 450 student organizations and 30 sport clubs.
The Rocky Mountain Collegian, a student-run newspaper founded in 1891.

Housing. First-year students are required to live in one of 13 on-campus residence halls; upper-level and graduate students can live in university-owned Aggie Village.

Location

Fort Collins is a mid-sized city of about 170,000 at the base of the Front Range, 65 miles north of Denver. It is a bike-friendly college town with trails and hiking close by, about 45 minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park and roughly two hours from major ski resorts. The 583-acre main campus sits in central Fort Collins, with the Foothills Campus on the city's northwest edge.

Nearest airport: Denver International Airport (DEN)

Notable alumni

AV
Amy Van Dyken

Swimmer, six-time Olympic gold medalist
YK
Yusef Komunyakaa

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet (MA 1981)
KR
Kent Rominger

NASA astronaut and space shuttle commander
KN
Kjell N. Lindgren

NASA astronaut
BR
Bill Ritter

Governor of Colorado
BS
Brian Schweitzer

23rd Governor of Montana
BR
Bonnie Ross

Founder of 343 Industries, the studio behind the Halo series
WS
Walter Scott, Jr.

Former CEO of Peter Kiewit Sons'

Frequently asked questions

What is Colorado State University's acceptance rate?

CSU admitted 34,004 of 38,365 first-year applicants for fall 2025, an acceptance rate of about 89%.

What GPA do you need for Colorado State?

CSU says students with a 3.0+ GPA and a steady or upward trend are generally admitted. The middle 50% of fall 2025 admits had GPAs of 3.3-4.05.

Does Colorado State require the SAT or ACT?

No. Scores are optional, only reviewed if you ask, carry little weight and are never used to deny admission or award scholarships.

When is the Early Action deadline at CSU?

Submit a complete application by November 15 for non-binding Early Action and scholarship review by January 15. The regular decision date is January 15, and the last day to apply for fall is July 15.

How much does Colorado State cost for out-of-state students?

For 2026-27, non-resident tuition and fees are $37,502 and the on-campus cost of attendance is $61,026. Automatic Green and Gold Scholarships of up to $16,000 a year are available to nonresidents with a 3.2+ GPA.

Sources & methodology

Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.