Admissions & selectivity
Central Michigan University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at Central Michigan University?
Central Michigan University’s reported acceptance rate is 89.8%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 89.8%
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
Central Michigan University is a broad-access public university that admits 89.8% of applicants, a figure well above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). Most applicants receive an offer of admission.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled Central Michigan University students report?
The academic profile of recent entering students at Central Michigan University shows a wide range of preparation. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported a middle half of SAT scores from 970 to 1210 among the 52% of enrolled first-year students who submitted them.
For the 5% who submitted ACT scores, the middle half ranged from 20 to 28. These ranges describe the enrolled class, not minimum requirements.
The reported average high-school GPA was 3.48, with 100.0% of the entering class reporting a GPA. Among the 17% of enrolled first-year students who reported a class rank, 25% placed in the upper tenth of their high-school class and 56% in the upper quarter.
Applicants can use the SAT and ACT ranges as a benchmark for the academic profile of recent entering students.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Central Michigan University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
52% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 970
- Median
- 1100
- 75th percentile
- 1210
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
5% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 20
- Median
- 24
- 75th percentile
- 28
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: Central Michigan University Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at Central Michigan University?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 31.4%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 31.8%
- First-year retention
- 75.4%
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.
Central Michigan University is a public university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, enrolling 10,035 undergraduates. 31.4% of them receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 31.8% arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the student body is built from more than one entry route.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 2,095 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 1,982 admitted, and 966 enrolled. Pell-eligible applicants and transfer students should use the cost calculator to estimate their own grant-adjusted price, and transfer applicants should review the transfer information alongside their intended field.
Central Michigan University retains most of its first-year students, though both its retention and six-year graduation rates sit below the peer medians for comparable institutions (same type and size). The federal retention rate is 75.4%, compared with a peer median of 83.1%.
The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 58.7%, below the peer median of 65.0%. Pell Grant recipients complete at 58.3%, below the overall rate by 0.4 percentage points.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported a retention rate of 79% for the first-time, full-time fall 2024 entering class. For the first-time, full-time fall 2019 entering class, the six-year graduation rate was 59.1%, and Pell Grant recipients in that cohort completed at 45.0%, below the overall rate.
Enrolled students can expect a campus where most first-year students return, and where graduation rates for the entering class as a whole trail those of comparable institutions.
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.