What Is an Acceptance Rate?

An acceptance rate, also called an admit rate, is the percentage of applicants to whom a college offers admission. It is calculated by dividing the number of students admitted by the number who applied. If a college receives 20,000 applications and offers places to 4,000 students, its acceptance rate is 20 percent.

What it tells you

The rate is a rough indicator of how competitive admission is. A very low rate means that the college rejects most applicants, and a high one means that it admits most. Colleges with open admissions, such as many community colleges, admit nearly everyone who meets basic requirements.

What it does not tell you

• Your personal chances: admission depends on your grades, tests, activities, essays and fit with the institution. Strong applicants may be admitted at much higher odds, and weak ones at lower.
• Quality of education: selectivity is not the same as teaching quality or student outcomes.
• Differences between programs: colleges may be much harder to enter for some majors, such as engineering or nursing.
• Self-selection: applicants often apply because they are already well matched, which can make rates misleading.
• Early versus regular rounds: early decision rates are often higher than regular rounds, but the pool differs.

How rates can change

Application numbers rise when colleges adopt easy applications, waive fees or become test-optional, so acceptance rates can fall without a change in how selective the college is in practice. Some institutions also encourage more applications to appear more selective.

Using it well

Treat acceptance rate as one piece of data among others. Compare your profile with the middle 50 percent ranges in the Common Data Set, and build a balanced list of reach, match and safety schools. Look at graduation rates, costs, programs and fit.

Related terms

See yield rate, reach match and safety schools, Common Data Set, holistic admissions and open admissions.