Colorado State University · Colorado
Colorado land-grant flagship whose Green & Gold Scholarship is a fully automatic, GPA-banded grid awarded off the admission application, far more generous for non-residents ($4k–$16k/year) than for Colorado residents ($2.5k–$4k/year).
The short answer
Colorado State is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 7 published awards, and 7 are based on those numbers.
Free Merit Check
These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.
Non-resident. Automatically considered from the admission application; no separate scholarship application.
Maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA and Satisfactory Academic Progress; up to 8 semesters or degree completion, whichever comes first.
Non-resident, GPA 3.80–3.99. Automatic from admission application.
3.0 cumulative GPA and SAP; up to 8 semesters.
Non-resident, GPA 3.60–3.79. Automatic from admission application.
3.0 cumulative GPA and SAP; up to 8 semesters.
Non-resident, GPA 3.40–3.59. Automatic from admission application.
3.0 cumulative GPA and SAP; up to 8 semesters.
Non-resident, GPA 3.30–3.39. Automatic from admission application.
3.0 cumulative GPA and SAP; up to 8 semesters.
Non-resident, GPA 3.20–3.29 (the non-resident floor). Automatic from admission application.
3.0 cumulative GPA and SAP; up to 8 semesters.
Colorado resident with a 3.8+ GPA on a 4.0 scale. Automatically considered from the admission application; no separate application.
Maintain a 3.0 GPA and Satisfactory Academic Progress; up to 8 semesters or degree completion.
The Green & Gold ladder is far more generous for non-residents ($4,000–$16,000/year) than for residents ($2,500–$4,000/year), and residents need a 3.8+ GPA to qualify at all versus a 3.2 non-resident floor. The program is designed to offset the higher non-resident tuition.
Green & Gold is considered from the admission application; the fall-start deadline is January 15. Already-admitted students who want to raise their tier with updated credentials (e.g., a higher final GPA) must submit them by March 1.
The non-resident grid is a hard published ladder — a 3.79 GPA gets $10,000/year, but a 3.80 gets $12,000/year. A few hundredths of a point can be worth $2,000/year. It is worth confirming exactly which GPA CSU is using.
The Green & Gold Scholarship is Colorado State's automatic merit ladder. For non-residents it runs in six published bands: $16,000/year at a 4.0+, $12,000 at 3.80–3.99, $10,000 at 3.60–3.79, $8,000 at 3.40–3.59, $6,000 at 3.30–3.39, and $4,000 at 3.20–3.29 (the floor). CSU states students do not need a separate application — awards are automatically considered from the admission application. At the top, $16,000 covers about 44% of non-resident tuition and fees. Renewal requires a 3.0 cumulative GPA and Satisfactory Academic Progress, for up to eight semesters. Colorado residents have a separate, smaller ladder ($2,500–$4,000/year, 3.8+ GPA required).
Out-of-state students with a 3.2+ GPA who want a guaranteed, no-application merit number — the non-resident ladder tops out at $16,000/year for a 4.0+. Colorado residents need a 3.8+ to qualify and receive a smaller award, so the program is most compelling for non-residents.
Undergraduate living on-campus. Transportation differs by residency.
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Colorado State, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
| Family income | Average net price paid |
|---|---|
| $0–$30,000 | $13,259 |
| $30,001–$48,000 | $14,460 |
| $48,001–$75,000 | $15,905 |
| $75,001–$110,000 | $21,927 |
| $110,001+ | $29,763 |
| All income levels (average) | $21,279 |
That works out to roughly a 33% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $31,642 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
Colorado State is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.
Total aid (scholarships, grants, work-study, loans) may not exceed CSU's one-year cost of attendance. When a scholarship causes an over-award, CSU reduces loans first where possible, but may also reduce work-study, non-Pell grants, and/or scholarships if needed.
Per CSU's scholarship FAQ, receiving a scholarship may reduce other financial aid; loans are reduced first if possible, then work-study, grants (excluding Federal Pell), and/or scholarships in accordance with federal and institutional rules. Families banking an outside award on top of a Green & Gold tier should confirm whether it pushes them over the COA cap.
From the Colorado State Common Data Set 2024-2025:
At Colorado State, roughly 1 in 4 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $7,517 — about 13% of total cost.
As filed in Colorado State's CDS Section H2A: of 4,790 first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen, 1,343 had no financial need and received institutional merit (non-need) scholarship or grant aid, averaging $7,517. Across all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates: 4,796 of 24,174, averaging $5,887. Athletic awards are excluded per the CDS definition.
Yes. CSU states students 'do not need to complete a separate application for these scholarships, as they are automatically considered based upon the information provided in their application for admission.' The award is determined by your GPA band.
Non-residents are awarded on a six-band grid: $16,000/year at a 4.0+, down through $12,000 (3.80–3.99), $10,000 (3.60–3.79), $8,000 (3.40–3.59), $6,000 (3.30–3.39), and $4,000 (3.20–3.29). At the top it covers roughly 44% of tuition and fees.
Colorado residents with a 3.8+ GPA receive $2,500 to $4,000 per year ($10,000 to $16,000 over four years) — a separate and smaller ladder than the non-resident grid, because resident tuition is already much lower.
You must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA and Satisfactory Academic Progress. The award is available for up to eight semesters, or until your degree is complete, whichever comes first.
Colorado State is in a recognizable cluster (145 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
Colorado State is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.
Every claim is checked against Colorado State’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
