Admissions & selectivity
University of Chicago Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at UChicago?
UChicago’s reported acceptance rate is 4.5%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 4.5%
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: University of Chicago Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
The University of Chicago admitted 4.5% of applicants in the most recent cycle, well below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 45,533 applicants, 2,039 admitted, and 1,786 enrolled.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled UChicago 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 1500 and 1560. 57% of enrolled students submitted SAT scores, so this range describes a majority of the entering class.
For the 25% of enrolled students who submitted ACT scores, the middle half scored between 34 and 35. These ranges describe enrolled students who chose to submit scores, not a minimum for admission.
Among enrolled first-year students with a reported class rank, 97% graduated in the top tenth of their high school class. This figure applies to the share of students who reported a rank, not the entire entering class.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at UChicago. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
57% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1500
- Median
- 1540
- 75th percentile
- 1560
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
25% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 34
- Median
- 35
- 75th percentile
- 35
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: University of Chicago Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at UChicago?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 15.3%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 11.7%
- First-year retention
- 99.3%
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.
The University of Chicago enrolls 7,569 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 15.3% of undergraduates, and an estimated 11.7% of students did not enter as first-time, full-time students.
The undergraduate body is predominantly first-time, full-time students. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 45,533 first-year applicants, 2,039 admitted, and 1,786 enrolled.
For transfer entry, it reported 3,231 applicants, 380 admitted, and 311 enrolled. Applicants from lower-income backgrounds should know that the Pell share is 15.3%, and the transfer path, while present, is narrow. Strong academic preparation is the common thread among those who enroll.
At University of Chicago, the full-time bachelor's-seeking first-year cohort returns at a rate of 99.3%, a figure above the peer median of 83.4% for comparable institutions. The six-year graduation rate for that group is 95.9%, a level above the peer median of 68.8%.
The six-year completion rate for Pell recipients is 90.5%, below the overall rate of 95.9% by 5.4 percentage points. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that the retention rate for the first-time, full-time fall 2024 entering class was 99%.
Students who enroll can expect near-universal first-year persistence and six-year graduation outcomes that top the peer median.
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.