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2023 Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in Colorado
With all the trade school programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Trade College Search has created the Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in Colorado to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 16 schools in Colorado to see which ones offered the best basic certificate programs for trade school students.
View our full ranking methodology.
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Top Trade Basic Certificate Schools in Colorado
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Red Rocks Community College the best school in Colorado for trade school students working on their basic certificate. Red Rocks Community College is a public institution located in Lakewood, Colorado. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1,290 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from Colorado pay an average of $4,471 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend Red Rocks Community College. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $16,135.
Red Rocks Community College does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 51% took at least some of their classes online.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Trinidad State Junior College is a great place for trade school students working on their basic certificate. Trinidad State Junior College is located in Trinidad, Colorado and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 339 basic certificates to qualified students.
In-state students pay an average of $5,240 in tuition and fees if they attend Trinidad State Junior College full time. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $8,360.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Trinidad State Junior College. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 15% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
The excellent basic certificate programs at Pikes Peak Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best trade school schools in Colorado. This fairly large public school is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and it awarded 1,253 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Students from Colorado who attend PPCC full time pay an average of $4,065 in tuition and fees. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $15,714.
One thing to take note of is that PPCC does offer online classes in some areas. In fact, around 51% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Out of the 16 schools in Colorado that were part of this year’s ranking, Front Range Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. This fairly large public school is located in Westminster, Colorado, and it awarded 3,473 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $4,126 in tuition and fees if they attend FRCC full time. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $15,776.
Online courses are available at FRCC, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 33% took at least some of their classes online.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado Mountain College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in Colorado list. Colorado Mountain College is a medium-sized public school situated in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It awarded 647 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $4,980 in tuition and fees if they attend Colorado Mountain College full time. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $11,820.
One thing to take note of is that Colorado Mountain College does offer online classes in some areas. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 27% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #6, Colorado Mesa University did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working on their basic certificate. Colorado Mesa University is a medium-sized public school located in Grand Junction, Colorado that handed out 383 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at Colorado Mesa is $9,297. Out-of-state students pay an average of $23,019.
Colorado Mesa does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 43% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #7, Otero Junior College did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working on their basic certificate. La Junta, Colorado is the setting for this very small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out basic certificates to 94 students in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from Colorado pay an average of $4,226 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend Otero JC. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $6,730.
One thing to take note of is that Otero JC does offer online classes in some areas. During the 2020-2021 year, about 32% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #8, Morgan Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working on their basic certificate. Located in Fort Morgan, Colorado, the small public school handed out 69 basic certificate awards in 2021-2022.
Students from Colorado who attend Morgan Community College full time pay an average of $3,930 in tuition and fees. Out-of-state students pay an average of $15,579.
Online courses are available at Morgan Community College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2020-2021 year, about 51% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Community College of Aurora came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in Colorado ranking. Community College of Aurora is a medium-sized public school located in Aurora, Colorado that handed out 298 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from Colorado pay an average of $4,030 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend CCA. Out-of-state students pay an average of $15,832.
CCA does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 22% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Intellitec College - Grand Junction landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate trade school programs. Intellitec College - Grand Junction is a small private for-profit school located in Grand Junction, Colorado that handed out 180 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Northeastern Junior College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate trade school programs. This small public school is located in Sterling, Colorado, and it awarded 273 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at NJC is $5,345. Out-of-state students pay an average of $7,691.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since NJC does offer online classes for certain majors. In fact, around 30% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Aims Community College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in Colorado list. Located in Greeley, Colorado, the medium-sized public school handed out 819 basic certificate awards in 2021-2022.
Students from Colorado who attend Aims Community College full time pay an average of $2,954 in tuition and fees. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $10,850.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Aims Community College. In fact, around 44% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Pueblo Community College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate trade school programs. Located in Pueblo, Colorado, the medium-sized public school awarded 1,815 diplomas to qualifed basic certificate students in 2021-2022.
Students from Colorado who attend Pueblo Community College full time pay an average of $4,626 in tuition and fees. Out-of-state students pay an average of $16,275.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Pueblo Community College. During the 2020-2021 year, about 33% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #14, Lamar Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working on their basic certificate. This very small public school is located in Lamar, Colorado, and it awarded 79 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from Colorado pay an average of $4,216 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend LCC. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $6,720.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at LCC. In fact, around 19% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #15, Community College of Denver did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working on their basic certificate. CCD is a medium-sized public school situated in Denver, Colorado. It awarded 408 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from Colorado pay an average of $4,586 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend CCD. Out-of-state students pay an average of $16,235.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at CCD. In 2020-2021 about 59% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #16, Metropolitan State University of Denver did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working on their basic certificate. Located in Denver, Colorado, the fairly large public school awarded 114 diplomas to qualifed basic certificate students in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from Colorado pay an average of $10,260 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend MSU Denver. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $28,092.
MSU Denver does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In 2020-2021 about 68% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 16 schools only.
References
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.