Colorado College is expanding the Colorado Pledge program.

In 2019, CC launched the Colorado Pledge, a historic program to address affordability concerns in higher education. This financial aid initiative is designed to ensure Colorado College is as affordable for Colorado students from low- and middle-income families as the state’s flagship public university.

Now, under the leadership of new president L. Song Richardson, CC is expanding the qualifications for the Colorado Pledge to include Colorado families with adjusted gross incomes up to $250,000. Previously, the program supported Colorado families with adjusted gross incomes below $200,000.

“When we remove financial barriers to an outstanding college education, we change lives,” says Richardson. “By increasing access to the excellent academic and co-curricular experiences offered at CC, we will attract the brightest and most talented students in Colorado — and our classrooms and campus will benefit as well.”

Vice President for Enrollment Mark Hatch said he is thrilled to engage with more Colorado families about the extraordinary opportunities at CC.

“We know that the cost of a private college education can seem very daunting and we hope the expansion of Colorado Pledge will provide additional access to outstanding students in our home state,” Hatch says.

Colorado College already meets the full demonstrated financial need of every admitted student. The Colorado Pledge goes one step further, making a private education at CC as affordable, or more affordable for Colorado families, than many public universities.

Details of the Colorado Pledge:

• For students from Colorado families with an adjusted gross income of less than $60,000, there will be no parental contribution for tuition, room, and board at CC.
• For students from Colorado families with an adjusted gross income between $60,000 and $125,000, there will be no parental contribution for tuition at CC; they will only pay for room and board.
• For students from Colorado families with an adjusted gross income between $125,000 and $250,000, the parental contribution for a Colorado College education will be the same or less than the cost of attendance at the flagship state university in Colorado.

CC’s strategic plan calls for an additional $20 million in fundraising, which will allow the college to endow the program for future students, thus opening the doors more widely to a Colorado College education for the best and brightest students in the state. The college already has received nearly $7.3 million in outright gifts, pledges, and estate commitments for the Colorado Pledge, fueled by a challenge completed last fall that matched gifts of $50,000 and higher to the Colorado Pledge. Another challenge currently underway is matching gifts of $50,000 and higher to all newly created and enhanced scholarship funds with $50,000.

Currently about 19 percent of CC students are from Colorado. The pledge comes as Colorado College seeks to cultivate a more diverse student body across the socio-economic spectrum.

Read more about the specifics of the Colorado Pledge.