コロラド鉱山大学（Colorado School of Mines）

アメリカの大学のアドミッション担当者にインタビューを行い、各大学の特色や学生生活、出願などに関するお話を伺います。
今回は、コロラド州にある工学・応用科学に特化した州立大学、コロラド鉱山大学 を取り上げました。すべて英語で掲載していますので、最後まで頑張って読んでいきましょう！

Fast Facts

Name	Location
Colorado School of Mines	Golden, Colorado, USA

US News Rank	Times Higher Education Rank
#76 National Universities	401–500th

Number of undergraduate students	Percentage of International Students	Student-to-faculty Ratio
6,156	10% Ranked #1 among 4-year colleges in CO with the highest ratio of International Students to Student Body Size	18:1

Average SAT® Score	Required TOEFL iBT® Score	Average H.S. GPA
1205–1465	Minimum: 79 / 120 Reading: 20 Listening: 21 Writing: 17 Speaking: 21	3.8

Interview

I. Academics

1. What are your most popular majors or areas of study?

By far our most popular program by enrollment is Mechanical Engineering. It’s seen as widely applicable in many different fields and, therefore, is especially attractive. We also have very strong programs in Computer Science, Robotics and Intelligent Systems, as well as Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering.

1. Do you emphasize theoretical or practical learning? Are classes mostly lectures, discussions, or labs?

At Mines, we emphasize hands-on learning and applied learning. Pretty much every course is going to ask you to apply your knowledge to a real-world problem! Even classes or assignments that would typically be pen and paper ask students to apply knowledge tangibly. In fact, about 73% of our students graduate with technical work experience.

II. Admission

1. What does your ideal Japanese applicant look like?

First and foremost, we prioritize academic rigor. We have minimum math and science requirements for all admitted students, such as completion of Precalculus or Trigonometry and Chemistry or Physics. If a high school doesn’t clearly label a class as “Calculus,” I may ask for a copy of the syllabus to make sure that the student in question has the foundational skills needed to succeed at Mines. I advise students to push themselves to succeed in mathematics and sciences to dramatically increase their chances of admission. Of course, we also look at other, more holistic factors.

1. What other parts of an application (e.g., the personal statement, letters of recommendation, etc.) do you place particular importance on?

Our admissions team uses a holistic review. We try to learn as much as we can about our applicants. We look into areas like extracurricular activities, leadership and teamwork, and even employment and volunteerism.
One of the most important parts of an application is demonstrated interest. We get so many amazing applications that demonstrated interest is often the deciding factor in who is admitted. We have to ask ourselves who has expressed the most interest in joining Mines.
Basically, if you’re an excellent student and have demonstrated academic rigor, we start to weigh other parts of your application to get a sense of who you are as a person. We have a very small campus, so we want everyone who is here to truly want to join our community.

1. Some of YGC’s students have expressed a fear that their limited volunteer experience will harm their chances of admission. Is that the case at Mines?

I’m glad you brought that up, as international students are different from domestic students in a lot of ways! We do consider that volunteering may not be built into some students’ curriculum. It doesn’t ruin their chances of joining us at Mines.

1. Do you use the Common Application? Do you require supplemental essays?

Yes, we use the Common Application. We also have our own application, but I encourage everyone to use the Common App unless they are truly only applying to Mines.

We have two supplemental essays:

Prompt #1: What element on the periodic table best represents you and why?

Prompt #2: Why do you want to be an Oredigger? You can share what you want to study, your future involvement and activities, or anything else about the Mines experience that excites you.

We also hope that applicants will demonstrate how they would contribute to a diverse, inclusive team.

III. Financial Aid

1. Do you have aid for international students?

We do have some aid for international students. The main form of aid we offer for international first-year undergraduate students is a merit award of $8,000 a year for four consecutive years, which is renewable.
The second way for international students to find financial aid is the General Scholarship Application. Students are required to give a little more information, and then our department of financial aid will match them with any other foundation scholarship for which they meet the eligibility criteria.
These forms of aid do not offer nearly as much as I would like, and it is still a tough financial proposition for many international students.

1. Are international students eligible for work study or on-campus jobs?

They are, and there are all kinds of on-campus employment opportunities. The only thing I’d like to caution students is that, due to visa restrictions, if they are on an F-1 visa, they really won’t be able to do more than 20 hours a week during the semester.

1. Are international students also eligible for on-campus or off-campus internships?

Definitely. They just need to make sure that they’re checking in with the International Student Scholar Services Department. There is a really good advisor named Sarah Gould who would help all the students stay in compliance with that.
We also have a strong Applied Math and Statistics Department, so many students would certainly be able to get an internship there if they came to Mines.

IV. Student Life

1. What kinds of support are available to international students in general?

We have some strong campus support available for international students. Students get free therapy and academic and professional counseling. We have an entire department that helps international students stay in visa compliance. There are also some other international-specific organizations and clubs that students can be a part of. So, if there are any people from your country of origin, you can coalesce in those cool organizations.

1. Are first-year international students required to live on campus?

Yes. All first-year students are required to live on campus, and you can move off campus after that. I think that it’s good to live on campus because you can meet a lot of people in the first year, and maybe you can split a house off campus somewhere. I would say that most students end up going off campus after the living requirement ends.

1. How do international students usually spend their longer holidays, like summer break or winter break?

Most of the students I know explore other areas in the US because they’re so busy during the semester. Students have the flexibility to visit other parts of the country during the longer holidays.

1. What are some of your most popular student clubs or organizations?

I think the most popular club for international students is the International Student Council. Broadly, I would say that Formula SAE is the most popular club. You can design, build, and race Formula 1 cars against other schools! Another popular one is the Medieval Weaponry Club, where you can learn to make stuff in a metal shop. They start off by making a knife and then make a full-sized sword by the end of the semester. We have a website called SAIL (Student Activities, Involvement, and Leadership) where you can find a list of all of our organizations and the contact information for the president of each club.

1. How many of your international students would graduate within four years?

I think that the number is around 65%. And then of that same cohort, about 80% graduate in five. So sometimes it can take people a little bit longer than the four years, but it is possible to do it in four years for sure.

V. After Graduation

1. Do you know how many of your students or international students go to graduate school or law school?

Not many go to law school, but if they do, it is usually in patent law or areas related to engineering and technology. We have 95% of graduates reporting positive outcomes, which means that they either got a job or entered a graduate program.
One thing we do have in spades is industry connections. Sometimes, for international students, there’s a little problem, because a lot of our connections are government or military-related, but we also have very high rates of Curricular Practical Training and Optional Practical Training. Overall, if a student wants to find a job, they’re going to have a pretty easy time doing so.

VI. Other Questions

1. How can students in late middle school or early high school prepare to apply to a university or your university?

One thing that I tell everyone is that it’s a really good idea to start tracking what it is that you’re doing. It’s hard to reflect on your whole last four years and try to remember everything that you did, so one piece of advice I’d like to give is to start the habit of activity tracking so that when the time comes to apply, it’s much easier for you, and you can be very detailed!
One of the biggest barriers to international students applying to Mines is something called the Official Credential Evaluation, which is something we require. It’s an external validation that students must use to send their transcripts via a third party. Of course, some styles of curriculum are exempt from this. IB, AP, or Cambridge curricula are internationally standardized, which makes it easier for Mines to review students’ applications and credentials. If possible, those programs are great assets, but they’re not required.

1. Why are you passionate about Mines?

Our location makes me super excited to be here. It’s just an incredible place, where you wake up in the morning feeling proud and grateful to live in such an amazing location, which is truly spectacular. Beyond that, I would say this is a closely-knit community. We have only around 8,000 students, with 5,800 of those being undergraduates. Everyone is in STEM, so it’s a like-minded community, which feels amazing. Professors know me by name even though I’m just an administrative person. I feel like I’ve been welcomed into this community in a significant way.
As an admissions officer, I’m essentially a salesperson for Mines, and I would not be comfortable “selling” Mines if it weren’t a “product” that I really believed in.
I feel like the education at Mines is great and that it does awesome stuff for the world, which provides awesome opportunities for students.

YGC invites you to visit our campus in Yoyogi to meet with our advisers and instructors to learn more about studying abroad. We offer a variety of programs to support students who aspire to attend top boarding schools and universities all over the world!

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