Quad

Head-to-head

U. Delaware
U. Colorado Boulder

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    U. Delaware's grants cover 25% of its full price on average, vs. 12% at U. Colorado Boulder

    Aid generosity
  2. 2

    U. Delaware costs about $6.5K less per year on average than U. Colorado Boulder ($37,216 vs. $43,699, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  3. 3

    U. Colorado Boulder has 1.7× as many undergrads as U. Delaware

    Undergrads
  4. 4

    U. Delaware graduates 7 pts more of its students than U. Colorado Boulder (81% vs. 74%)

    Graduation rate
  5. 5

    U. Colorado Boulder's SAT midpoint is 55 points higher than U. Delaware's

    SAT midpoint
  6. 6

    U. Colorado Boulder has 3 pts more first-gen students than U. Delaware (20% vs. 17%)

    First-generation students

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

U. Delaware admits 71%, U. Colorado Boulder 78%; U. Delaware's yield is higher, at 16%.

Acceptance rate
U. Delaware71%
U. Colorado Boulder78%
Quad's selectivity
  • U. DelawareSelective
  • U. Colorado BoulderSelective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1100–1600
U. Delaware
1190–1370
U. Colorado Boulder
1240–1430
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • U. DelawareRigor and GPA very important70%
  • U. Colorado BoulderGPA, school record, and prep program required

Who's on each campus

U. Colorado Boulder has 1.7× as many undergrads as U. Delaware; U. Delaware has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
U. Delaware19.1K
U. Colorado Boulder31.9K
Pell Grant share
U. Delaware16%
U. Colorado Boulder14%

Majors and faculty

Finance leads at U. Delaware, and Business Administration and Management at U. Colorado Boulder.

Students per faculty member
U. Delaware16 to 1
U. Colorado Boulder19 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • U. DelawareFinance, General7%
  • U. Colorado BoulderBusiness Administration and Management, General18%

What each costs

U. Delaware costs about $6.5K less a year than U. Colorado Boulder on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
U. Delaware$37.2K
U. Colorado Boulder$43.7K
Aid generosity
U. Delaware25%
U. Colorado Boulder12%

What each pays off

U. Delaware's former students earn more, a median $73K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 70% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
U. Delaware$73K
U. Colorado Boulder$69.7K
Graduation rate
U. Delaware81%
U. Colorado Boulder74%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; U. Colorado Boulder got more selective while U. Delaware held steady.

Applications, 10-year change
  • U. DelawareGrowing+59%
  • U. Colorado BoulderGrowing+133%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;University of Delaware Common Data Set 2022–23, Fall 2022;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why