Governors State University Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Governors State University admitted 48.3% of applicants to its reported entering class, so the rate records an outcome for a particular applicant pool rather than a forecast for an individual. That figure is below the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The reported rate summarizes that year's pool rather than predicting an individual decision.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, Governors State University reported 4,587 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 1,931 admitted, and 1,001 enrolled, making transfer entry a prominent route into the university. Federal enrollment data show 2,556 undergraduates, and 53.6% receive Pell Grants.

The estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 71.2%, so the undergraduate body includes many people continuing academic work begun elsewhere alongside Pell Grant recipients.

At Governors State University, federal persistence measures sit below peer medians, although Pell recipients complete at a higher rate than the overall cohort. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 62% of the first-time, full-time fall 2024 entering class were retained to the next fall.

Federal data show a first-year retention rate of 56.2%, below the 73.7% peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The first-time full-time cohort's six-year graduation rate is 22.1%, below its peer median of 49.1%.

Pell recipients' six-year completion rate is 57.3%, above the overall rate by 35.2 percentage points. Enrolled students can expect below-peer federal retention and graduation measures alongside higher Pell completion than overall completion.