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Admissions & selectivity

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# Point Loma Nazarene University Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated September 30, 2026

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

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## What is the acceptance rate at Point Loma Nazarene University?

Point Loma Nazarene University’s reported acceptance rate is 83.7%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
83.7%

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

Point Loma Nazarene University admits 83.7% of applicants, a rate that sits above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

## What SAT and ACT scores do Point Loma Nazarene University students report?

The middle half of enrolled students who submitted SAT scores at Point Loma Nazarene University scored between 1,175 and 1,365. For the ACT, the middle half of submitters scored between 25 and 32.

These ranges describe the enrolled class, not a set of minimum requirements. Applicants can use those figures as a benchmark for the academic profile of recent entering students who chose to submit scores.

The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Point Loma Nazarene 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**
1175

**Approximate upper endpoint**
1365

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**
25

**75th percentile**
32

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

Figures cover fall 2024.

## Who enrolls at Point Loma Nazarene University?

**Pell Grant recipients**
21.4%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
37.5%

**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.

Point Loma Nazarene University, a private nonprofit university in San Diego, enrolls 3,188 undergraduates. The university admits 83.7% of applicants, a rate that sits above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Pell Grant recipients make up 21.4% of undergraduates, and an estimated 37.5% of students enter as transfers or part-time students. Those two figures point to a campus where many students arrive with prior college experience and a notable share bring financial need.

Applicants who are Pell-eligible or who plan to transfer should connect with the university's financial aid and transfer-support offices to confirm how their credits and aid eligibility will carry forward.

The [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) for the first-time, full-time cohort is 77.2%, which exceeds the peer median of 68.8%. First-year retention sits at 85.5%, also above the peer median of 83.4%.

Pell Grant recipients in the same entering cohort complete at a rate of 68.6%, below the overall six-year rate by 8.6 percentage points. The overall completion figure remains above the peer benchmark.

Enrolled students can expect a university where most first-year students persist and where the entering class as a whole graduates at a rate that outpaces comparable institutions.

## 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/).