Admissions & selectivity
California Lutheran University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at California Lutheran University?
California Lutheran University’s reported acceptance rate is 75.7%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 75.7%
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: California Lutheran University Common Data Set 2024-25, C1 · first-time, first-year students.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
California Lutheran University admitted 75.7% of applicants, above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The rate describes the share of the reported applicant pool admitted, rather than an individual applicant’s odds.
In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 5,992 first-year applicants and 4,540 admitted applicants.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled California Lutheran University students report?
In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported a 3.74 average high-school GPA among enrolled first-year students. That is an average of those who reported, not a cutoff.
Among enrolled students who submitted SAT scores, the middle half scored between 1120 and 1330. Only 7% of the entering class submitted SAT scores, so this range describes a small slice of the cohort. For the 3% who submitted ACT scores, the middle half ranged from 24 to 31.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at California Lutheran University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
7% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1120
- Median
- 1260
- 75th percentile
- 1330
CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
3% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 24
- Median
- 26
- 75th percentile
- 31
CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: California Lutheran University Common Data Set 2024-25, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at California Lutheran University?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 31.1%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 27.6%
- First-year retention
- 78.8%
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.
California Lutheran University serves an undergraduate population that includes both Pell Grant recipients and transfer entrants. Pell Grant recipients account for 31.1% of undergraduates, and an estimated 27.6% enter as transfers or part-time students.
Federal undergraduate enrollment is 2,296 undergraduates, pointing to a university with more than one common route into study. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 5,992 first-year applicants and 4,540 admitted.
It also recorded 504 transfer applicants, 339 admitted, and 162 enrolled. Pell-eligible and transfer applicants should assess grant eligibility and transfer-credit plans before applying.
Completion is modestly ahead of comparable institutions, but the first-year return rate is below that benchmark. For the first-time full-time cohort, the first-year retention rate is 78.8%, below the peer median of 83.4% for comparable institutions.
Retention measures whether members of that cohort return for a second year. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 69.6%, above the peer median of 68.8% for comparable institutions.
Pell recipients complete within six years at 62.5%, below the overall rate by 7.1 percentage points. Enrolled students can expect completion to sit near the peer benchmark, with a weaker comparison at the first-year transition.
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.