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Colleges and Universities A-Z Colorado School of Mines
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Chance My Daughter Thanks

GPA: 4.0uw/5.26w
SAT: 1410
ACT: 33
NHS, SNHS, Interact, volunteer work, Band, theatre, TX state qualifier in Science
2 AP Courses (We live in rural TX school only offers 2 AP classes)

She wants to major in Environmental Engineering

I know I am missing some things, but this is the core stuff. Be brutally honest. She applied late.

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   She may very well be admitted, but the real $$ scholarships vs the smoothing auto $ comes in for higher stats kids,  being a girl is in her favor in the school but I suspect not in that major. I think CSMs yield is low IIRC. Be prepared for a yes with a COA of close to $40K a year.
1 Like
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Thanks @Sybylla

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Are decisions rolling or is there a certain date?

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@BigHerms I’m 90% sure they are rolling, I could be wrong tho

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@Rigid123 Thanks

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I’m always hearing how difficult of a school Colorado School of Mines is. Is this an exaggeration meant to keep B and C students away. I guess what I’m asking is are their engineering programs really be that much more difficult than any other schools engineering programs? I like that Mines is academically focused, but I would like to have some free time, and at least a little bit of the “College Experience”. I am a senior in high school and have extensive experience in physics, I am enrolled in a PLTW Pre-Engineering Program, and am currently taking Calc BC. I am planning on majoring in Petroleum Engineering, and have narrowed down my choices to The University of Oklahoma, The University of Kansas, and Mines. Thanks for any input!

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  1. Any good engineering program is difficult, make no mistake about that (emphasis on good).
  2. I don't think Mines is more difficult than UO or KU but the difference might be in the GPA you graduate with.
  3. Mines has highly sought after recruits because they have passed through a rigorous program.
  4. Most B and C high school students will not make it through any state flagships engineering program.
  5. There will always be free time if you manage your time well.
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Hello! Can you tell me more about the Themed Learning Communities? If selected for a TLC, are group activities mandatory? What is the weekly time commitment? Are students in the ROTC program eligible to sign up for a TLC? How frequent are TLC activities and are they optional?

Thank you!

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Hello! I am a first-year Mines student in Applied Mathematics and Statistics. Last year, I had a lot of questions about everyday college life and the academic rigor of Mines. Someone did a similar post to this last year, but I thought I would add my experience too (so that you can have as much info as possible). I am one person, so these things represent my opinion and obviously are not a hard and fast description of everyone’s experience.

A bit about me: I’m a girl. I participated in the Thorson First-Year Honors Program and got accepted into McBride (although I decided not to do it for scheduling reasons). I will be graduating in 2021 with a minor in CS. I am a part of a Bible study group and played IM frisbee. I live in Maple.

The biggest things I learned this year:

  1. Failure is good. That first C hurt, but I realized it didn’t really matter as much as I thought it did. Academic excellence is very important to Mines (as it probably is to you), but it shouldn’t come at the expense of other important parts of your life. Balance is key :slight_smile: The purpose of college isn’t to rack up points, but to prepare you for the workforce and life. Failing now and recognizing unhealthy work habits is worth it.

  2. Stay humble. I came in with quite a few upper-level college classes and thought that would make me successful. I did have to work for my GPA in high school, but not really. I thought my grades and high school accomplishments were special. Turns out a lot of people here are smart too (go figure haha). Pretty much everyone I know was a valedictorian, worked for Lockheed or NASA, took a lot of AP classes, etc. “Being smart” was my thing in high school, but almost everyone here had a similar experience. I realized that I need to rely more on my work ethic and people skills than my resume. It was an amazing realization! Since we are all here for STEM-y things, the parts of each person that shine the most are things I may have ever noticed if I put people in the “nerd” or “jock” box.

  3. Be positive. There are certain classes that everyone complains about (design, NHV, econ). But you’ll get out what you put in. If you decide to have a bad time, you’ll learn nothing. Come in with an attitude of learning and don’t make yourself suffer through a difficulty that isn’t even there.

  4. Don’t feel bad for struggling. While some people have bragging battles about how little sleep they got, others may swing to the other side of the spectrum with mantras like “well it’s hard for everyone so I shouldn’t complain”. While we are all in the same boat, we should each recognize our emotional responses to the school load. Mines is an amazing community with a lot of resources. We have counseling and caring faculty, and the students themselves are so encouraging and supportive during those hard days!

  5. Girls: don’t worry about The Ratio. While girls may be a statistic minority, our excellence should speak louder than our gender. While I cannot speak for everyone here, I personally have never had a guy put me down because I am a female. Also, as a conservative Christian in a more left-leaning school, I have never experienced any hostility towards my beliefs. Everyone is very kind of open-minded.

I hope someone out there will find this helpful :slight_smile:

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I believe some of the activities are highly recommended, but if you have some sort of scheduling conflict it wouldn’t be a problem. I am not in a TLC but I know that most of the activities aren’t official and are just a byproduct of the community. It also depends on which TLC. The ALC is a bit more active than VPA, for example. Not sure about ROTC students, I asked someone and will get back to you.