How to get into Colorado College
How to get into Colorado College: the Block Plan is the whole pitch
18.5%
Acceptance rate
$70,734
In-state cost
What makes Colorado College admissions different
Colorado College has one of the most unusual academic calendars in higher ed: the Block Plan. Students take one course at a time, 3.5 weeks per block, eight blocks per year. Field trips, immersive labs, and travel are baked into the model. Admit rate ~18%. Your application has to show you'd actually thrive in this format.
What an actually competitive application looks like
- 1.
Write supplements that engage with the Block Plan specifically — what it would let you do, why one-course-at-a-time fits how you learn.
- 2.
Apply ED I (Nov 1) or ED II (Jan 15) if CC is your top choice.
- 3.
Show evidence of intellectual focus — CC rewards students who can dive deep on one thing at a time, not multitaskers.
- 4.
Embrace the Colorado outdoor culture in your essays if it's genuine — skiing, climbing, mountain biking are part of CC life.
- 5.
Demonstrated interest matters; visit if possible.
Common mistakes that hurt applicants here
- ✕
Generic 'small liberal arts' essays that ignore the Block Plan. Readers can tell.
- ✕
Treating CC as a 'safety for top LACs'. The admit rate makes that math wrong.
- ✕
Ignoring the outdoorsy campus culture in your essays.
The specifics for Colorado College
Application deadlines
- Early Decision INovember 1
- Early ActionNovember 1
- Early Decision IIJanuary 15
- Regular DecisionJanuary 15
What makes this admissions process distinctive
The Block Plan
Students take one course at a time for 3.5 weeks per block, eight blocks per year
What graduates actually do
Colorado College graduates pursue environmental science, outdoor industries, education, nonprofit work, and increasingly tech and consulting. The college's distinctive Block Plan (one course at a time) is a recruiting talking point that resonates with field-research employers. Median early-career earnings run around $48-55k per Scorecard. CC has a strong pipeline to graduate programs in environmental studies, geology, and biology, and a notable concentration of alumni in Denver and Boulder tech.
Notable alumni
- Lynne Cheney — author, former Second Lady
- Marc Webb — filmmaker (500 Days of Summer, Amazing Spider-Man)
- James Heckman — Nobel laureate in economics
- Dave Mason — musician (Traffic)
- Lis Smith — political strategist
- Ken Salazar — former U.S. Senator, Interior Secretary
Transfer pathway
Colorado College admits transfers for fall and spring entry. Applicants must have completed at least one semester of college coursework. The Block Plan's distinctive structure makes course articulation idiosyncratic; CC strongly encourages prospective transfers to visit and attend a block before applying.
Specifics verified 2026-05-18 from the school's own admissions page + Common App. Always confirm current-year details directly on the school site before applying.
If you're on the bubble
Students who genuinely love the Block Plan concept have a real shot via ED. The format self-selects, and admissions wants students who'll stick with it.
Next steps
Last updated: November 2025. Acceptance rate and cost data refreshed nightly from college reporting.