Understanding College Acceptance Rates

September 18, 2024 byCharlotte Davies

3 min to read

A student speaking to a school counselor

As your student starts to think about their future, they may begin investigating colleges and figuring out what they need to do to apply. One key thing they should consider is their prospective college acceptance rates, or admission rates.

What is an Admission Rate?

An admission rate is the percentage of students admitted to a college every year and varies from school-to-school. Colleges with higher admissions rates accept more students for each school year, while others may be more selective and only accept a handful of applicants at a time. Colleges with lower admission rates tend to have smaller student populations and may have more rigorous programs.

What Can Impact College Acceptance?

There are several factors that can impact your acceptance to college, and the importance of each may be different depending on where you apply. Checking out the admission requirements for the schools you’re interested in is the best place to start, but as a rule of thumb, college admission boards often review things like:

Standardized test scores

Extracurricular activities or sports

Personal essays

Letters of recommendation

Whether or not you’ve taken Advanced Placement (AP)* classes or have dual enrollment credits on your transcripts may also make an impact. According to the College Board, selective colleges often look for students who have completed AP courses, even if their overall scores are lower than they would have been in a lower-level class. Since AP classes are more challenging, they demonstrate the student’s ability to handle the higher level and quality of work that college classes require.

Dual enrollment classes are not only a cost-effective way to learn but may directly impact your school acceptance rate. A 2022 study showed that dual enrollment students not only had better application outcomes overall but were more likely to be accepted into highly selective schools and were more likely to apply to moderately or highly selective schools than their non-dual enrollment peers.

A high school student speaking with a school counselor about college acceptance rates.

What is the Average College Acceptance Rate?

The average college acceptance rate in the U.S. is approximately 68 percent. The number of spots available at the school and the number of applicants a school gets in a year are just a couple of the things that factor into a university acceptance rate.

Colleges with Low Acceptance Rates

Schools with low acceptance rates typically have fewer openings than the number of applicants and may also come with high name recognition and performance standards. The size of the institution can also play a role.

Some schools with the lowest university acceptance rates include:

California Institute of Technology 3%

Harvard University 3%

Stanford University 4%

Brown University 5%

Dartmouth College 6%

Juilliard School 10%

Tufts University 10%

Carnegie Mellon University 11%

Georgetown University 12%

New York University 12%

Colleges with High Acceptance Rates

Larger schools, such as big state schools, can accommodate more incoming students per year and, as a result, have higher acceptance rates.

Schools with higher college acceptance rates include:

University of Mississippi 97%

University of Wyoming 96%

Kansas State University 95%

University of Kentucky 95%

Michigan Technological University 94%

St. Catherine University 93%

University of Portland 93%

Andrews University 91%

Colorado State University 91%

Iowa State University 90%

Connections Academy Supports College Prep

High school is an exciting time. Find out how Connections Academy can support your child as they start thinking about their future and college planning.

Partnerships with learning platforms like Coursera along with career-focused electives, pathways in healthcare, business, information technology, and skill building courses can help your child feel confident in their direction as they approach graduation.