College In Colorado

Plan

Higher Education Opportunities and Admission Requirements

Students in Colorado have many choices for education beyond high school. While some high school graduates go directly to a four-year college or university, many choose to begin by attending a two-year community college or enroll in a technical certification program. There are different opportunities and requirements to gain admission for these various programs.

How Do I Obtain a Certificate or College Degree?
Program Alternatives
Earning College Credits while Still in High School
Prepare Financially

How Do I Obtain a Certificate or College Degree?

Just as you must satisfactorily complete a certain number of credits to earn a high school diploma or GED, technical certificates and college degrees are achieved by earning credits. Each course you pass will add credits to your total — when you reach the required level, you will receive the certificate or degree you have earned.

Colorado's public colleges and universities offer several different types of certificates and degrees. Each requires completion of a certain number of credit hours as shown in the chart below. The listed time to complete is an estimate. Many students - particularly those who are employed while going to college - take longer, and those who go to school during the summer may take less time. Generally speaking, taking 15 credit hours each semester (about five courses), without attending summer session, is considered a "full load." (This is not to be confused with what is considered full-time enrollment for financial aid purposes. For financial aid, "full-time" is taking at least 12 credit hours per semester. Use the financial aid estimator to view the estimated costs and aid that may be available to you to attend a public college in Colorado for 12 credit hours of enrollment.)

Each school and degree program will require you to successfully complete, as part of the total credits earned, a number of "general education" courses that meet core requirements. General education courses provide knowledge in essential subjects - English, mathematics, science, social studies - that every student must master in order to receive a degree.

In some cases, depending on what classes you took in high school and/or placement test scores, you may be required to take certain classes before enrolling in college-level courses. These classes will generally not count toward the total credits required for a degree. Taking rigorous classes in high school will minimize the likelihood that you will be asked to take these remedial classes in college.

Be sure to double check both what is required to gain admission to different colleges and how many courses in total you will need to complete during college to achieve your degree or certificate.

Program Alternatives

Four-Year Colleges and Universities
Four-year colleges and universities generally offer programs leading to a bachelor's, master's and/or doctoral degree. In order to gain admission, you must complete, while in high school, the courses required by the Higher Education Admission Requirements
( Requisitos De Ingreso a la Educación Superior). You should also confirm the minimum grade point average and ACT or SAT scores required for admission for each college to which you will apply. They may also require other courses to be completed during high school, in addition to those specified by the Higher Education Admission Requirements.

Four-year colleges and universities may also use an Admissions Eligibility Index to help evaluate which students to admit to the school. If you have questions regarding how the index relates to a specific institution, please contact that college or ask your high school guidance counselor for an explanation.

Colleges and universities that are not publically funded are private schools. Private colleges and universities set their own admission standards. Contact those institutions directly for information regarding their specific enrollment policies.

Finally, if you are an athlete, you may also be interested in reviewing the information and requirements for students who wish to participate in varsity sports at a
National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I or II college or university.

Community Colleges (two-year schools)
Community colleges, or two-year public colleges, generally offer programs leading to an associate's degree, and many offer certificate programs as well. These schools have open enrollment policies, which mean that students applying to these schools do not need to meet the Higher Education Admission Requirements.

Students who find they need additional coursework to gain better understanding of basic academic subject matter, those who know their career choice does not require a four-year degree, or those who wish to move into the workforce more rapidly, may find community college programs great alternatives.

Occupation and Technical Schools, Apprenticeship Programs
Occupational and technical schools provide coursework and training for specific careers and trades — everything from acupuncture to veterinary technologists. These programs usually require one to two years of training beyond high school (for example; non-college level business school, non-college level nursing school and all branches of the military).

On-the-job training
Some careers and trades require short-term to medium-term training (less than one year), or long-term training (more than one year of coursework and training) while you are working at that trade or that must be accomplished on your own time, that is, you may need to attend night school while employed full time during the day.

Distance Learning Opportunities
Many colleges and universities offer courses online. As you review college choices, note the availability of courses you could take from home to meet variable scheduling needs.

Earning College Credits while Still in High School

Many high schools offer dual credit programs to their students. These programs allow students who take college-level courses while in high school to receive credits toward both high school graduation and a college degree. Dual credit programs are known by many names including Post Secondary Educational Options, Fast Tracks, Extended Studies and CU Succeed. Some advanced placement and international baccalaureate classes also qualify. Dual credit can help you graduate more quickly from college because you gain college credit while still in high school, saving both time and money.

Some high schools formalize earning early college credits by challenging students to secure a technical certificate or associates degree as part of their high school studies by offering an "early" or "middle" college program.

Prepare Financially

In addition to knowing all about requirements for admission to school, you should research how much various schools cost to attend. Be sure to visit the financial aid portion of this Website to gain in-depth knowledge about how you can afford further education beyond high school.