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Admissions & selectivity

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# Colby College Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

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

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## What is the acceptance rate at Colby College?

Colby College’s reported acceptance rate is 7.1%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
7.1%

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.

How to interpret the acceptance rate

Colby College admits 7.1% of applicants, a rate far below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

## What SAT and ACT scores do Colby College students report?

Enrolled students who submitted SAT scores posted a middle range from 1,460 to 1,550. For those who submitted ACT scores, the middle range ran from 32 to 34.

These ranges mark the twenty-fifth and seventy-fifth percentiles of recent score submitters, not admission minimums. Applicants can compare their own scores with Colby's 1,460 to 1,550 SAT range.

They can also compare with the 32 to 34 ACT range. The figures describe only the students who chose to report scores.

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

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range

**Approximate lower endpoint**
1460

**Approximate upper endpoint**
1550

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

ACT: enrolled-student score range

**25th percentile**
32

**75th percentile**
34

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Figures cover fall 2024.

## Who enrolls at Colby College?

**Pell Grant recipients**
14.3%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
1.6%

**First-year retention**
93.6%

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.

Colby College enrolls 2,407 undergraduates on its campus in Waterville, Maine. The student body is built almost entirely from first-year entrants: an estimated 1.6% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

14.3% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. The admission rate is 7.1%, far below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Of full-time students who start at Colby College, 93.7% return for a second year. The [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) for the first-time, full-time cohort is 88.8%.

Both figures run above the medians for comparable institutions, where retention sits at 83.4% and completion at 68.8%. Enrolled students can expect strong persistence and a high likelihood of finishing within six years. The page cannot speak to outcomes for the small share who do not complete.

## 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/).