Affordable Private Colleges in Colorado
Private nonprofit four-year colleges, ranked by net price after aid. Their sticker prices are the highest and their discounts are the deepest, so the published tuition tells you very little.
5 private colleges in Colorado are listed here, 5 of them reporting a net price. They run from $18,397 a year at Regis University to $36,131 at University of Denver, with a middle of about $29,500.
The cheapest are Regis University, Naropa University and Colorado Christian University. A low average is not a low bill for everyone — aid depends on your family's income — but it is where to start.
Private colleges in Colorado, cheapest first · 5
Average net price per year after grants and scholarships, with the share of students on federal Pell grants where reported. Schools publishing no net price are listed last.
Questions families ask
- What is the most affordable private college in Colorado?
- By average net price — what students actually pay per year after grants and scholarships — it is Regis University at about $18,397 a year. That is an average across all students there; your own cost depends on your family's income, so check the school's net price calculator.
- What is the difference between sticker price and net price?
- Sticker price is the published tuition before any aid. Net price is what students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted — not loans, which you pay back. Net price is usually far lower, and at expensive private colleges the gap can be tens of thousands a year, which is why every figure on this page is net price rather than tuition.
- How much do private colleges in Colorado cost on average?
- Across the 5 private colleges in Colorado that report a figure, the middle of the range is about $29,500 a year after aid, running from $18,397 to $36,131.
- What does the Pell grant percentage mean?
- It is the share of undergraduates at that school receiving a federal Pell grant — need-based aid that does not have to be repaid. A higher share usually means the school enrols more students from lower-income families. Across the private colleges listed here it runs from 14% to 51%, with a middle of about 32%. It is the only aid figure the Department of Education publishes per school, so it is the only one shown.
Which of these actually fits you?
A list is a starting point, not an answer. Two minutes of questions gives you a shortlist ranked on cost, academics, size and location — with the reaches labelled honestly.
Find your match — free