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Admissions & selectivity

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# Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

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

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## What is the acceptance rate at SIU?

SIU’s reported acceptance rate is 86.9%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
86.9%

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

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale admits 86.9% of applicants, a rate close to the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The public university extends an offer to most who apply.

## What SAT and ACT scores do SIU students report?

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale enrolls entering students with a wide spread of standardized test scores. The middle half of enrolled students who submitted SAT scores falls between 900 and 1,160.

For the ACT, the comparable range is 18 to 25. They are snapshots of the recently enrolled group, not strict admission cutoffs. The wide ranges reflect varied levels of academic preparation among enrollees.

The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at SIU. 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**
900

**Approximate upper endpoint**
1160

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**
18

**75th percentile**
25

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

Figures cover fall 2024.

## Who enrolls at SIU?

**Pell Grant recipients**
38.8%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
42.4%

**First-year retention**
66.8%

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.

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale enrolls 8,494 undergraduates, with 38.8% receiving Pell Grants and an estimated 42.4% arriving as transfers or part-time students. The student body draws from multiple entry points rather than a single traditional path.

The admission rate is 86.9%, close to the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions. The university serves a broad range of applicants.

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale graduates its first-time full-time students at a six-year rate of 62.4%, above the peer median of 49.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). First-year retention sits at 66.8%, below the peer median of 73.7%.

Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate of 48.5%, below the overall six-year rate by 13.9 percentage points. Enrolled students can expect a university where the entering class graduates at a rate that exceeds comparable institutions, but where first-year persistence and Pell-recipient completion lag behind.

## 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/).