Admissions & selectivity
Northern Arizona University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at Northern Arizona University?
Northern Arizona University’s reported acceptance rate is 89.6%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 89.6%
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.
Source: Northern Arizona University Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
Admission is relatively common at Northern Arizona University, where the reported admission rate is 89.6%. That rate is above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 39,685 first-year applicants, 35,561 admitted applicants, and 4,540 enrolled students.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled Northern Arizona University students report?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported an SAT range of 1010 to 1280 for the middle half of enrolled first-year score submitters; 3% submitted SAT scores. The ACT range was 19 to 26, with scores submitted by 27% of enrolled first-year students.
These ranges describe enrolled students who submitted scores, not admission minimums. The reported average high-school GPA was 3.70 among first-year students, based on the 91.0% who reported a GPA.
Among first-year students with a reported class rank, 25% had ranks within the upper tenth of their high-school classes and 55% within the upper quarter. 9% of the entering class reported a rank.
Applicants can compare their own scores with the 1010 to 1280 SAT range and the 19 to 26 ACT range, keeping the submitter shares in mind.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Northern Arizona University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
3% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1010
- Median
- 1175
- 75th percentile
- 1280
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
27% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 19
- Median
- 23
- 75th percentile
- 26
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: Northern Arizona University Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at Northern Arizona University?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 31.3%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 25.8%
- First-year retention
- 75.5%
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.
Northern Arizona University serves a sizable undergraduate population with both federal grant recipients and people continuing studies begun elsewhere. Pell Grant recipients make up 31.3% of undergraduates, and undergraduate enrollment is 22,903.
An estimated 25.8% of undergraduates enter as transfers or part-time students, suggesting that attendance is not limited to a first-year entry route. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 3,092 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 3,033 admitted, and 1,498 enrolled.
First-year retention is 75.5%, below the median of 83.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The six-year graduation rate is 61.3%, also below the peer median of 65.0%.
Pell recipients complete at 56.4%, below the overall rate by 4.9 percentage points. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported a six-year rate of 59.0% for the first-time, full-time fall 2019 entering class (Pell recipients: 52.0%, below the overall rate).
Students who enroll should plan for completion rates that trail peer medians, with Pell recipients finishing a few points behind the overall cohort.
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.