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Admissions & selectivity

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# Elmhurst University Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

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

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## What is the acceptance rate at Elmhurst University?

Elmhurst University’s reported acceptance rate is 73.6%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
73.6%

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

For applicants, Elmhurst University's 73.6% admission rate indicates that admissions were open to a substantial share of the reported entering-class pool. That rate is above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

It summarizes reported admissions results for that pool rather than forecasting an individual application.

## What SAT and ACT scores do Elmhurst University students report?

At Elmhurst University, submitted-score ranges offer applicants a reference point rather than a required threshold for admission. Applicants should compare SAT results with the university’s 990 through 1,260 range, which covers the middle half of scores submitted by enrolled students.

Applicants should compare ACT results with its 23 through 30 range, also representing the middle half of submitted scores among enrolled students. Because these figures cover only enrollees who submitted each test, they do not describe every enrolled student.

They provide context for recent score submitters rather than a score required for admission.

The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Elmhurst University. 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**
990

**Approximate upper endpoint**
1260

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**
23

**75th percentile**
30

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

Figures cover fall 2024.

## Who enrolls at Elmhurst University?

**Pell Grant recipients**
36.8%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
40.8%

**First-year retention**
79.9%

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.

Federal grant aid and transfer entry are both visible in Elmhurst University’s undergraduate mix. The university enrolls 3,006 undergraduates.

Of that group, 36.8% receive Pell Grants, a financial-access measure, and an estimated 40.8% enter after beginning college elsewhere. The figures describe a student body that includes people using federal grant aid and people continuing prior college coursework.

At Elmhurst University, 79.9% of full-time bachelor’s-seeking first-year entrants return for their second year, a rate below the 83.4% peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). By six years, 70.0% of the first-time full-time cohort has graduated, placing completion above the 68.8% peer median.

Pell recipients in that cohort have a 66.1% six-year completion rate, below the overall rate by 3.9 percentage points. Enrolled students can expect first-year continuation to sit below the peer midpoint, while six-year completion sits above it.

## 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/).