Admissions & selectivity
Colgate University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at Colgate University?
Colgate University’s reported acceptance rate is 13.9%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 13.9%
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: Colgate University Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
Colgate University admits 13.9% of applicants, well below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 17,310 first-year applicants, 3,030 admitted students, and 805 who enrolled.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled Colgate University students report?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported an average high-school GPA of 3.85 among enrolled first-year students, with 100.0% of the class reporting a GPA. Among the 17% of the entering class who reported a high-school class rank, 79% placed in the highest tenth and 96% in the highest quarter.
For students who submitted test scores, the middle half of enrolled SAT submitters scored between 1450 and 1510, with 23% of the class submitting SAT results. The middle half of ACT submitters scored between 33 and 35, with 16% submitting ACT results.
These ranges describe enrolled students who chose to submit scores, not every enrolled student or a minimum for admission.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Colgate University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
23% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1450
- Median
- 1480
- 75th percentile
- 1510
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
16% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 33
- Median
- 34
- 75th percentile
- 35
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: Colgate University Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at Colgate University?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 12.5%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 2.2%
- First-year retention
- 93.4%
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.
Colgate University enrolls 3,180 undergraduates. 12.5% receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 2.2% arrive as transfers or part-time students.
The student body is overwhelmingly first-time, full-time entrants, with a small share continuing coursework begun elsewhere. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 17,310 first-year applicants, 3,030 admitted, and 805 enrolled.
For transfer students, 423 applied, 58 were admitted, and 13 enrolled. Applicants who receive Pell Grants should use the cost calculator to see their estimated price after grants and scholarships.
First-year retention runs at 93.4%, and the six-year graduation rate is 91.2%. Both exceed the peer medians of 83.4% and 68.8% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
Pell recipients in the entering cohort complete at 84.0%, which is 7.2 percentage points below the overall rate. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported a retention rate of 92% for the first-time, full-time fall 2024 entering class.
Enrolled students can expect persistence and completion outcomes that exceed the norm for similar schools, though the gap for Pell recipients is a factor to weigh.
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.