Admissions & selectivity
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at UNC?
UNC’s reported acceptance rate is 15.3%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 15.3%
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.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill admits 15.3% of applicants. Most who apply are not offered a place.
That rate sits below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The figure describes that year's pool, not the likelihood for any individual.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled UNC students report?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 28% of enrolled first-year students submitted SAT scores, with those submitters earning composite scores between 1400 and 1530. For the ACT, 41% of the entering class submitted scores, and those submitters posted composites from 29 to 34.
66% of enrolled first-year students reported a high-school class rank. Among that group, 76% were ranked in the top tenth of their high-school class and 97% in the highest quarter.
Applicants should treat the 1400–1530 SAT range and the 29–34 ACT range as reference points for the academic profile of recent enrolled students, not as minimums.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at UNC. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
28% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1400
- Median
- 1470
- 75th percentile
- 1530
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
41% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 29
- Median
- 32
- 75th percentile
- 34
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at UNC?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 20.0%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 17.6%
- First-year retention
- 96.6%
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.
Federal enrollment data list 20,752 undergraduates at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Pell Grant recipients make up 20.0% of the student body, and an estimated 17.6% enter as transfers or part-time students.
The campus draws from multiple entry points rather than a single first-year pipeline.
First-time, full-time students at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill return for a second year at a rate of 96.6%. That figure sits above the peer median of 83.1% for institutions of similar size and control.
The six-year graduation rate for that same cohort reaches 91.2%, which also exceeds the peer median of 65.0%. Among Pell Grant recipients in the first-time, full-time cohort, the six-year completion rate is 85.4%, a figure that falls below the overall rate by 5.8 percentage points.
Enrolled students can expect a campus where first-year persistence and six-year graduation both outpace typical outcomes among institutions of similar size and control.
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.