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Admissions & selectivity

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# Southern Methodist University Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

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

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## What is the acceptance rate at SMU?

SMU’s reported acceptance rate is 63.3%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
63.3%

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.

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

**Applicants**
24,053

**Admitted**
11,459

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

How to interpret the acceptance rate

Southern Methodist University admitted 63.3% of applicants, so the rate describes an admissions outcome rather than any individual applicant's likelihood. It is below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 24,053 first-year applicants, 11,459 admitted, and 1,715 enrolled.

## What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled SMU students report?

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported average high-school GPA was 3.69 among enrolled first-year students, with 100.0% reporting a GPA. Applicants using SAT scores should place them alongside the 1360 to 1470 range for enrolled submitters; 9% of the entering class submitted SAT scores.

The ACT range for enrolled submitters ran from 31 to 34, and 9% submitted ACT scores. These score ranges describe enrolled students who submitted scores, not minimums.

Among first-year students with a reported class rank, 49% were in the upper tenth and 79% were in the upper quarter; 24% of the entering class reported a rank.

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

**9% of entering students submitted SAT scores**

SAT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
1360

**Median**
1410

**75th percentile**
1470

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

**9% of entering students submitted ACT scores**

ACT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
31

**Median**
32

**75th percentile**
34

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

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

## Who enrolls at SMU?

**Pell Grant recipients**
12.8%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
15.5%

**First-year retention**
90.5%

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.

Southern Methodist University enrolls an undergraduate population that includes Pell Grant recipients and students who entered as transfers. Of its 7,277 undergraduates, 12.8% receive Pell Grants, a financial-access measure, and an estimated 15.5% entered as transfers or part-time students.

These figures describe two parts of the undergraduate population; they do not describe academic preparation or admission priorities. Pell-eligible and transfer applicants should estimate their costs and confirm how prior coursework may apply before deciding whether to enroll.

The mix of Pell recipients and transfer entrants shows that the university serves students arriving through more than one educational path.

At Southern Methodist University, most first-time full-time entrants complete within six years: the graduation rate is 84.3%. That is above the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions of the same type and size, of 68.8%.

First-year retention is 90.5%, also above the peer median of 83.4%. Pell recipients in that cohort complete within six years at 68.9%, below the overall rate by 15.4 percentage points.

Enrolled students can expect strong first-year continuation and six-year completion figures, although Pell completion remains lower than the overall rate. The two overall rates sit above their peer medians.

## 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/).