Admissions & selectivity
University of Dayton Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at University of Dayton?
University of Dayton’s reported acceptance rate is 65.4%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 65.4%
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
The University of Dayton admits 65.5% of applicants, a rate that sits below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The university is more selective than its peer median, though the gap is modest.
What SAT and ACT scores do University of Dayton students report?
The University of Dayton's enrolled class shows a middle 50% SAT range of 1,200 to 1,380 and an ACT range of 25 to 31 among students who submitted scores. These figures describe the academic profile of recent entering students, not minimum requirements.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at University of Dayton. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
- Approximate lower endpoint
- 1200
- Approximate upper endpoint
- 1380
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.
- 25th percentile
- 25
- 75th percentile
- 31
Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Figures cover fall 2024.
Who enrolls at University of Dayton?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 15.8%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 9.4%
- First-year retention
- 89.1%
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.
University of Dayton enrolls 7,682 undergraduates. The student body includes Pell Grant recipients and people who started at other institutions: 15.8% of undergraduates receive federal Pell Grants, and an estimated 9.4% enter as transfers.
Those figures describe the composition of the enrolled population, not the odds for any one applicant. Pell-eligible students should use the cost calculator to see their estimated grant-adjusted price, and transfer applicants should review the transfer credit policies alongside their intended program.
Students who enroll at University of Dayton tend to stay and finish at rates that exceed those of comparable institutions. The first-year retention rate is 89.1%, above the peer median of 83.4%, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size).
The six-year graduation rate is 80.2%, which also exceeds the peer median of 68.8%. For Pell Grant recipients, the six-year completion rate is 71.6%, below the overall rate by 8.6 percentage points.
Enrolled students can expect strong overall persistence. Most first-year students return, and graduation outcomes for the entering class exceed those of comparable institutions.
Still, Pell-eligible students should note the gap that separates their completion rate from the overall six-year rate.
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.