Admissions & selectivity
James Madison University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at James Madison University?
James Madison University’s reported acceptance rate is 71.5%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 71.5%
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: James Madison University Common Data Set 2024-25, C1 · first-time, first-year students.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, James Madison University reported 38,423 first-year applicants and 27,477 admitted applicants, offering a count-based view of a recent admission cycle. The reported admission rate is 71.5%, which describes the share of that year’s applicants who were admitted.
That rate is below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled James Madison University students report?
In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported the middle half of enrolled first-year students who submitted SAT scores fell between 1190 and 1330. The median was 1260.
Only 14% of the entering class submitted an SAT, so the range describes a small slice of the cohort. For the ACT, the middle half of submitters scored between 24 and 29, and the median was 27.
Just 3% of enrolled students submitted an ACT, making it an even narrower window. A student comparing their own scores to these ranges should keep the low submission shares in mind.
The figures reflect a select group of recent enrolled students, not a threshold for admission or the profile of the full entering class.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at James Madison University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
14% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1190
- Median
- 1260
- 75th percentile
- 1330
CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
3% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 24
- Median
- 27
- 75th percentile
- 29
CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: James Madison University Common Data Set 2024-25, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at James Madison University?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 17.1%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 13.5%
- First-year retention
- 92.0%
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.
In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, James Madison University reported 1,780 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 1,328 admitted, and 777 enrolled, showing an established transfer route. Federal enrollment data list 20,888 undergraduates; 17.1% receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 13.5% enter as transfers or part-time students.
The mix suggests that the undergraduate population includes both grant-aided students and people continuing coursework begun elsewhere. These figures describe who attends rather than admission priorities or an individual applicant’s prospects.
Students who enroll encounter retention and completion figures that are above the medians for comparable institutions. The first-year retention rate is 92.0%, compared with 83.1% for comparable institutions in the same type and size.
For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 79.7%, above the peer median of 65.0%. Pell recipients in that cohort have a six-year completion rate of 81.9%, above the overall rate by 2.2 percentage points.
Enrolled students can expect to see strong persistence through the first year alongside completion figures that exceed the peer benchmarks. Retention and graduation point in the same direction, with Pell completion also above the overall rate.
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.