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Admissions & selectivity

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# University of South Dakota Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/university-of-south-dakota/)[Cost & aid](/school/university-of-south-dakota/cost/)[Outcomes](/school/university-of-south-dakota/outcomes/)Admissions[Majors](/school/university-of-south-dakota/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/university-of-south-dakota/similar/)

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## What is the acceptance rate at University of South Dakota?

University of South Dakota’s reported acceptance rate is 98.8%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
98.8%

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.

First-year applicants and admitted students · CDS 2024-25

**Applicants**
5,965

**Admitted**
5,892

Source: University of South Dakota Common Data Set 2024-25, C1 · first-time, first-year students.

How to interpret the acceptance rate

University of South Dakota admitted 98.8% of applicants, a rate above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 5,965 first-year applicants, 5,892 admitted applicants, and 1,418 enrolled students.

## What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled University of South Dakota students report?

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported an ACT middle-half range of 19 to 25 among enrolled first-year students who submitted scores; 62% did so. Only 4% submitted SAT scores, and their middle half ran from 1145 to 1260.

Applicants should note that the 19 to 25 ACT range reflects recent enrolled submitters, not a bar for admission. The same source gave a reported average high-school GPA of 3.51 for enrolled first-year students, drawn from the 94.6% who provided one.

This average does not function as a minimum for admission. Among the entering class, 70% reported a high-school class rank. Of those, 17% were in the upper tenth and 42% in the upper quarter.

The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at University of South Dakota. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.

**4% of entering students submitted SAT scores**

SAT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
1145

**Median**
1200

**75th percentile**
1260

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

**62% of entering students submitted ACT scores**

ACT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
19

**Median**
22

**75th percentile**
25

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Source: University of South Dakota Common Data Set 2024-25, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.

## Who enrolls at University of South Dakota?

**Pell Grant recipients**
18.7%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
21.0%

**First-year retention**
79.3%

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.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, University of South Dakota reported 658 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 647 admitted, and 315 enrolled, making transfer entry a visible part of the incoming class. Federal enrollment data list 5,439 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients account for 18.7% of undergraduates, and an estimated 21.0% enter as transfers or part-time students. This mix includes people using federal grant aid and people continuing coursework begun elsewhere.

The university’s persistence picture is uneven: its overall results exceed comparable medians, but Pell recipients finish at a lower rate. Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort have a six-year completion rate of 41.3%, below the overall rate by 18.6 percentage points.

First-year retention for full-time bachelor’s-seeking first-year students is 79.3%, versus a peer median of 73.7% for comparable institutions. For the first-time full-time cohort, the [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) is 59.9%, compared with the peer median of 49.1%.

Enrolled students can expect returning and graduating figures that sit above comparable-institution medians, alongside a lower completion rate for Pell recipients.

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), 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](/about/).