Admissions & selectivity
University of Kentucky Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at University of Kentucky?
University of Kentucky’s reported acceptance rate is 92.9%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 92.9%
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
University of Kentucky admitted 92.9% of applicants, meaning most people in the reported applicant pool received an offer. That rate is above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
The rate describes an outcome across the reported applicant pool rather than a forecast for an individual applicant.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled University of Kentucky students report?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, University of Kentucky reported that 48% of enrolled first-year students submitted ACT scores. Among those submitters, the middle half scored from 21 to 28.
The reported average high-school GPA was 3.58, based on 100.0% of the class who reported one. 9% submitted SAT scores, with the middle half ranging from 1058 to 1270.
26% of the entering class reported a high-school class rank. Among them, 56% placed in the upper quarter of their high school class and 28% in the upper tenth.
Applicants should treat the university's 21 to 28 ACT range and 1058 to 1270 SAT range as context for recent enrolled submitters, not as admission minimums.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at University of Kentucky. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
9% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1058
- Median
- 1165
- 75th percentile
- 1270
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
48% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 21
- Median
- 24
- 75th percentile
- 28
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: University of Kentucky Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at University of Kentucky?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 22.5%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 14.9%
- First-year retention
- 86.8%
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.
University of Kentucky enrolls 24,763 undergraduates, with entry points that include both first-time and transfer paths. Pell Grant recipients account for 22.5% of undergraduates, a financial-access measure, and an estimated 14.9% enter after beginning college elsewhere.
That composition suggests a campus serving students with different financial circumstances and prior college experience, rather than only a single route into undergraduate study. Pell-eligible and transfer applicants should compare expected aid and likely credit transfer with their own budget and academic record before applying.
The enrollment figures show a large undergraduate setting with a visible transfer presence.
At University of Kentucky, first-year persistence is above the comparable-institution benchmark: 86.8% of the full-time bachelor’s-seeking first-year cohort returns, versus a peer median of 83.1%. Six-year completion follows the same pattern, with a 71.4% graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort compared with 65.0% at comparable institutions.
Pell recipients have a six-year completion rate of 57.6%, below the overall rate by 13.8 percentage points. Enrolled students can expect return and completion rates above the corresponding peer medians, alongside a lower completion rate for Pell recipients.
These figures describe reported cohort outcomes rather than an individual forecast.
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.