Admissions & selectivity
University of Houston-Downtown Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at UH Downtown?
UH Downtown’s reported acceptance rate is 90.0%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 90.0%
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 Houston-Downtown Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
The University of Houston-Downtown admitted 90.0% of applicants, well above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 7,355 applicants, 6,465 admitted, and 1,185 enrolled.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled UH Downtown students report?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, University of Houston-Downtown reported that 60% of its entering class submitted SAT scores. The middle half of those SAT submitters scored from 880 to 1050.
Among the 4% who submitted ACT scores, the middle half scored from 16 to 21. Far more of the entering class submitted SAT scores than ACT scores, so the SAT range describes more of the class.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at UH Downtown. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
60% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 880
- Median
- 970
- 75th percentile
- 1050
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
4% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 16
- Median
- 19
- 75th percentile
- 21
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: University of Houston-Downtown Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at UH Downtown?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 55.2%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 74.3%
- First-year retention
- 67.1%
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.
The University of Houston-Downtown admits 90.0% of applicants, above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 7,355 first-year applicants, 6,465 admitted, and 1,185 enrolled.
Undergraduate enrollment stands at 12,555, and an estimated 74.3% of undergraduates enter as transfers or part-time students. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 2,911 transfer applicants, 2,778 admitted, and 1,868 enrolled.
Pell Grant recipients make up 55.2% of undergraduates, signaling broad financial access. Prospective Pell-eligible students can expect to join a majority-Pell undergraduate community where their background is the norm.
At University of Houston-Downtown, first-year retention is 67.1%, below the peer median of 83.1% for comparable institutions. The six-year graduation rate is 33.2%, also below the peer median of 65.0%.
Pell recipients complete at 48.4%, 15.2 percentage points above the overall rate. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 72% of the first-time, full-time fall 2024 entering class returned for a second year.
The six-year graduation rate for the first-time, full-time fall 2019 entering class was 30.5%, and Pell recipients in that cohort graduated at 32.6%, above the overall 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.