Admissions & selectivity
Appalachian State University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at Appalachian State University?
Appalachian State University’s reported acceptance rate is 90.1%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 90.1%
Source: College Scorecard · Fall 2024 admissions. Acceptance rates can change from year to year; this figure does not predict the current or next admission cycle.
Source: Appalachian State University Common Data Set 2024-25, C1 · first-time, first-year students.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
Appalachian State University admitted 90.1% of applicants, a rate above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 24,614 first-year applicants, 22,188 admitted applicants, and 4,038 enrolled students.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled Appalachian State University students report?
In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported an average high-school GPA of 3.84 among enrolled first-year students; 99.8% reported a GPA. This reported average describes the entering class, not an admissions cutoff.
Among enrolled first-year students who submitted scores, the middle half of SAT results ran from 1140 to 1270, and SAT submitters made up 9% of the class. The ACT range for submitters was 21 to 27, with 23% submitting ACT scores.
These ranges describe enrolled score submitters rather than minimums. Of first-year students with a reported class rank, 11% fell within the upper decile and 34% within the upper quarter; 82% of the entering class reported a rank.
Applicants can use the SAT range of 1140 through 1270 and ACT range of 21 through 27 as context for recent enrolled submitters.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Appalachian State University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
9% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1140
- Median
- 1200
- 75th percentile
- 1270
CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
23% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 21
- Median
- 25
- 75th percentile
- 27
CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: Appalachian State University Common Data Set 2024-25, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at Appalachian State University?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 26.4%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 28.3%
- First-year retention
- 83.7%
Retention source: College Scorecard; full-time first-year retention.
About these student measures
The entering-student group includes part-time entrants as well as other attendance patterns.
In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 3,258 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 2,887 admitted, and 1,362 enrolled. Appalachian State University has 19,444 undergraduates; 26.4% receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 28.3% of undergraduates entered as transfers or part-time students.
That mix suggests a campus with both federal-aid recipients and people continuing coursework begun elsewhere. The figures describe who attends, rather than admission priorities or an individual applicant's prospects.
Students who start at Appalachian State University tend to stay and finish at rates that clear the bar for comparable institutions. The first-year retention rate is 83.7%, just above the median of 83.1% for institutions of the same type and size.
The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 74.5%, which is well above the comparable-institution median of 65.0%. Pell Grant recipients in that cohort complete at 69.9%, which is 4.6 percentage points below the overall rate.
The completion figure for Pell students is itself above the median for all students at comparable institutions. An enrolled student can expect a campus where most classmates return and graduate, and where Pell recipients complete at a rate that is close to the institutional figure.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Admission rates describe past applicants, not an individual’s chance of admission; confirm requirements and deadlines with the institution.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.