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Admissions & selectivity

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# Rice University Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

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

**On this page**+

## What is the acceptance rate at Rice University?

Rice University’s reported acceptance rate is 8.0%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
8.0%

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.

First-year applicants and admitted students · CDS 2025-26

**Applicants**
36,791

**Admitted**
2,948

Source: Rice University Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.

How to interpret the acceptance rate

Rice University admitted 8.0% of applicants, well below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 36,791 applicants, 2,948 admitted, and 1,263 enrolled.

## What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled Rice University students report?

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported the middle half of SAT scores for enrolled first-year students who submitted them. The range runs from 1510 to 1560, and 59% of the entering class submitted SAT scores.

For the ACT, the middle range was 34 to 36, with 24% of enrolled students submitting scores. These ranges describe enrolled score submitters, not a minimum for admission.

Among enrolled first-year students with a reported class rank, 90% graduated in the top tenth of their high-school class. A class rank was reported for a portion of the entering class, so this figure describes that subset rather than every enrolled student.

The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Rice University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.

**59% of entering students submitted SAT scores**

SAT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
1510

**Median**
1540

**75th percentile**
1560

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

**24% of entering students submitted ACT scores**

ACT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
34

**Median**
35

**75th percentile**
36

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Source: Rice University Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.

## Who enrolls at Rice University?

**Pell Grant recipients**
17.0%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
4.9%

**First-year retention**
97.4%

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.

Rice University enrolls 4,776 undergraduates, with an estimated 4.9% of students entering as transfers or part-time students. Pell Grant recipients make up 17.0% of undergraduates, a share that reflects the university's financial-access profile alongside its 8.0% admission rate.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 36,791 first-year applicants, 2,948 admitted, and 1,263 enrolled. For transfer entry, 1,675 applicants yielded 125 admitted and 74 enrolled.

Pell-eligible applicants should verify their aid package early, as the Pell share suggests a campus where financial-access students are a smaller but present group. Transfer applicants should note the estimated 4.9% share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group and plan to connect with transfer-specific advising resources.

Rice retains 97.4% of its first-year students, well above the peer median of 83.4%. Its [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) of 94.6% also exceeds the peer median of 68.8%.

Pell recipients complete at 89.4%, which is 5.2 percentage points below the overall rate. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported a 97% retention rate for the first-time, full-time fall 2024 entering class.

Enrolled students can expect a high probability of returning for a second year and completing a degree within six years. The retention and graduation figures place the university well ahead of its peer medians on both measures.

## 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/).