Admissions & selectivity
Salem State University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at Salem State University?
Salem State University’s reported acceptance rate is 95.9%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 95.9%
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
Admission was broadly available in the reported cycle, with 95.9% of applicants admitted to Salem State University. That rate is above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size), so the reported outcome differs from its peer midpoint.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled Salem State University students report?
In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, Salem State University reported that 4% of enrolled first-year students submitted SAT scores, so the range reflects a small group of score submitters. Applicants can compare their SAT results with the university's own 1000 to 1170 range, which marks the middle half of enrolled score submitters rather than an admission minimum.
The university reported an average high-school GPA of 3.15 among enrolled first-year students, based on the 99.4% who reported a GPA. That broader reporting base gives the GPA figure useful context alongside the submitted-score range.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Salem State University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
4% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1000
- Median
- 1130
- 75th percentile
- 1170
CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: Salem State University Common Data Set 2024-25, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at Salem State University?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 35.4%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 33.2%
- First-year retention
- 75.2%
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, Salem State University reported 715 degree-seeking transfer applicants, with 655 admitted and 395 enrolled. That transfer activity sits alongside a federal undergraduate enrollment of 4,291.
Pell Grant recipients make up 35.4% of undergraduates, and an estimated 33.2% of the undergraduate body enters as transfers or part-time students. The enrollment mix includes people using federal grant aid and people continuing coursework begun elsewhere.
These figures describe the people enrolled, rather than admission priorities or any individual applicant's outcome.
Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort record a six-year completion rate of 56.5%, which is above the overall six-year graduation rate of 49.8% by 6.7 percentage points. Overall completion is above the peer median of 49.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
For full-time bachelor’s-seeking first-year students, Salem State University retains 75.2% into the second year, above the peer median of 73.7%. Enrolled students can expect retention and six-year completion figures that sit above the comparable-institution medians.
The Pell completion figure and the broader persistence measures point in the same direction.
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.