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Admissions & selectivity

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# Brown University Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/brown-university/)[Cost & aid](/school/brown-university/cost/)[Outcomes](/school/brown-university/outcomes/)Admissions[Majors](/school/brown-university/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/brown-university/similar/)

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## What is the acceptance rate at Brown University?

Brown University’s reported acceptance rate is 5.4%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
5.4%

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.

How to interpret the acceptance rate

Brown University admitted 5.4% of applicants in the reported entering-class pool, a rate well below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). This rate describes the share of that year’s applicants who were admitted, rather than a prediction for an individual applicant.

Applicants should place Brown University on an application list only after comparing their academic record with its published score ranges. The admission figure summarizes the reported pool and does not establish any one applicant’s odds.

## What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled Brown University students report?

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, Brown University reported that enrolled first-year students who submitted SAT scores fell between 1510 and 1560 on the composite. 61% of the entering class submitted SAT results.

The ACT composite range for enrolled submitters was 34 to 35, and 24% submitted ACT scores. These ranges reflect the middle half of enrolled students who chose to report scores, not admission cutoffs.

Among enrolled first-year students with a reported class rank, 89% placed within the first tenth of their high-school class, 98% within the first fourth, and 100% within the first half. The university’s reported SAT span of 1510 to 1560 and ACT span of 34 to 35 provide context for enrolled score submitters.

The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Brown University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.

**61% of entering students submitted SAT scores**

SAT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
1510

**Median**
1540

**75th percentile**
1560

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

**24% of entering students submitted ACT scores**

ACT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
34

**Median**
35

**75th percentile**
35

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Source: Brown University Common Data Set 2024-25, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.

## Who enrolls at Brown University?

**Pell Grant recipients**
13.8%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
8.2%

**First-year retention**
98.8%

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.

Brown University has an undergraduate body that includes both Pell Grant recipients and people entering after prior college coursework. Of its 7,226 undergraduates, 13.8% receive Pell Grants, a measure of federal grant aid among undergraduates.

An estimated 8.2% of the undergraduate population entered as transfers or part-time students, so the campus includes routes beyond direct first-year entry. This composition describes who attends, rather than how applications are evaluated or any applicant’s likelihood of admission.

Completion is common for the reported first-time full-time cohort: 95.7% finish within six years, above the comparable-institution median of 68.8%. Returning after the first year is also more frequent than the peer reference point, with a 98.8% retention rate for full-time bachelor’s-seeking entrants compared with 83.4%.

Pell recipients in the cohort post a 92.3% six-year completion rate, below the overall rate by 3.4 percentage points. Enrolled students can expect these measures to describe cohort patterns for returning and finishing, rather than an individual guarantee.

The overall retention and completion figures both sit above their peer medians, while Pell completion remains lower than the overall graduation rate.

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), 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](/about/).