Admissions & selectivity
DePaul University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at DePaul?
DePaul’s reported acceptance rate is 75.9%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 75.9%
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.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
DePaul University admits 75.9% of applicants, a rate that sits just below the median of 47.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The university is broadly accessible, and the admission rate reflects that.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled DePaul students report?
In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, DePaul reported an average high-school GPA of 3.78 among the 94.0% of the entering class who reported a GPA. The middle half of enrolled students who submitted SAT scores earned between 1090 and 1300, with 42% of the class submitting.
For the ACT, the middle half of submitters scored between 24 and 30, though only 14% of the class sent ACT scores. These ranges describe the enrolled students who chose to send scores, not a floor for admission.
Class rank data covers a smaller slice of the class: 28% of the entering class reported a rank. Among those who did, 23% were in the highest tenth of their high-school class and 55% were in the highest quarter.
Applicants can use the SAT and ACT ranges above as a rough benchmark for the academic profile of recent entering students. Keep in mind that most of the class did not submit ACT scores and that the GPA average reflects a large share of the class.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at DePaul. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
42% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1090
- Median
- 1200
- 75th percentile
- 1300
CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
14% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 24
- Median
- 27
- 75th percentile
- 30
CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: DePaul University Common Data Set 2024-25, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at DePaul?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 31.8%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 29.3%
- First-year retention
- 85.5%
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.
DePaul University is a private nonprofit university in Chicago that enrolls 14,090 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 31.8% of undergraduates, and an estimated 29.3% of students enter as transfers or part-time students.
Together those shares describe a campus where financial need is common and a large share of students begin their college path elsewhere. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 4,329 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 2,724 admitted, and 1,048 enrolled.
The admission rate for first-year students is 75.9%, close to the peer median of 47.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). Applicants who are Pell-eligible or who plan to transfer should connect early with the university's advising and support offices.
Those services are built for students who arrive from different starting points and need help staying on track toward a degree.
At DePaul University, Pell Grant recipients complete at the same rate as the entering cohort as a whole. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported a six-year graduation rate of 67.8% for the first-time, full-time fall 2018 entering class.
The rate for Pell recipients in that cohort was 62.8%, below the overall figure. First-year retention sits at 85.5%, below the median of 90.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The six-year graduation rate of 67.8% also trails the peer median of 80.0%.
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.