Admissions & selectivity
Sam Houston State University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at Sam Houston State University?
Sam Houston State University’s reported acceptance rate is 90.3%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 90.3%
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: Sam Houston State University Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
Sam Houston State University admitted 90.3% of applicants, a rate above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 18,093 first-year applicants, 16,956 admitted applicants, and 3,376 enrolled students.
The admission rate describes outcomes across an applicant pool rather than an individual prediction.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled Sam Houston State University students report?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that the middle half of enrolled first-year students who submitted SAT scores scored between 930 and 1120. 92% of the entering class submitted SAT scores, so the range describes most enrolled students.
For the 11% who submitted ACT scores, the middle half ranged from 18 to 25. These ranges describe enrolled students who provided scores, not admission cutoffs.
Among enrolled first-year students with a reported class rank, 11% finished in the highest tenth of their high school class and 34% finished in the highest quarter. Applicants can compare their own results with the university's 930 to 1120 SAT range.
Those who submitted the ACT can look at the 18 to 25 range, keeping in mind that the ranges describe recent enrolled submitters.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Sam Houston State University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
92% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 930
- Median
- 1020
- 75th percentile
- 1120
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
11% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 18
- Median
- 21
- 75th percentile
- 25
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: Sam Houston State University Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at Sam Houston State University?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 41.3%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 37.6%
- First-year retention
- 73.3%
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 2025-26 Common Data Set, Sam Houston State University reported 18,093 first-year applicants, 16,956 admitted, and 3,376 enrolled, describing a broad entry point into a sizeable undergraduate population. Pell Grants reach 41.3% of undergraduates, and an estimated 37.6% enter as transfers or part-time students; undergraduate enrollment is 17,743.
The mix includes many aid recipients and people continuing college after starting elsewhere. The report also lists 3,393 transfer applicants, 3,090 admitted, and 1,886 enrolled.
Pell-eligible and transfer applicants should plan around aid eligibility and transferable coursework before applying.
Staying enrolled and finishing within six years both trail the comparable-institution medians. At Sam Houston State University, 73.2% of full-time bachelor's-seeking first-year students return for a second year, below the peer median of 83.1%.
The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 54.8%, below its peer median of 65.0%. Pell recipients in that cohort complete within six years at 58.9%, above the overall rate by 4.1 percentage points.
Enrolled students can expect completion figures that vary by Pell status, alongside retention and graduation figures below the comparison medians. The higher Pell completion rate and lower peer-relative retention and graduation figures point in different directions.
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.