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Admissions & selectivity

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# Carnegie Mellon University Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

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

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## What is the acceptance rate at CMU?

CMU’s reported acceptance rate is 11.7%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
11.7%

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.

How to interpret the acceptance rate

Carnegie Mellon University admitted 11.7% of applicants, a rate far below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

## What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled CMU students report?

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that enrolled first-year students who submitted the SAT had composite scores from 1500 to 1560. Among ACT submitters, the composite range was 34 to 36.

The reported average high-school GPA among enrolled first-year students who reported GPA was 3.89. Among enrolled first-year students with a reported class rank, 83% finished in the highest tenth of their high-school class and 94% finished in the highest quarter.

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

SAT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
1500

**Median**
1540

**75th percentile**
1560

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

ACT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
34

**Median**
35

**75th percentile**
36

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

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

## Who enrolls at CMU?

**Pell Grant recipients**
16.0%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
3.2%

**First-year retention**
98.0%

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.

Carnegie Mellon University enrolls 7,304 undergraduates. 16.0% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 3.2% enter as transfers or part-time students.

The composition is one where most students start as first-year entrants. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 1,610 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 136 admitted, and 62 enrolled. The figures describe a transfer path that exists but is narrow.

Students who enroll at Carnegie Mellon University tend to stay and finish. The first-year retention rate is 98.0%, and the [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) for the first-time full-time cohort is 94.1%.

Both figures run well above the medians for comparable institutions, where retention sits at 83.4% and the six-year rate at 68.8%. Pell Grant recipients in the same entering cohort complete at 82.2%, which is 11.9 percentage points below the overall rate.

A student weighing the fit should look at the net price for their income band alongside the completion figures.

## 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/).