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Admissions & selectivity

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# Valparaiso University Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

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

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## What is the acceptance rate at Valparaiso University?

Valparaiso University’s reported acceptance rate is 89.4%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
89.4%

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.

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

**Applicants**
5,906

**Admitted**
5,288

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

How to interpret the acceptance rate

Valparaiso University admits 89.4% of applicants, a rate that sits well above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 5,906 applicants, 5,288 admitted students, and 517 enrolled first-year students.

## What SAT and ACT scores do Valparaiso University students report?

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported an average high-school GPA of 3.69 among enrolled first-year students, with 100.0% of the entering class reporting a GPA. Among those who reported a class rank—51% of the entering class—58% placed in the highest quarter of their high school and 24% in the highest tenth.

The middle half of enrolled students who submitted SAT scores—39% of the entering class—scored between 1,060 and 1,280. For the 5% who submitted ACT scores, the middle half ranged from 23 to 31.

These ranges describe the enrolled class, not a set of minimum requirements. Applicants can use those SAT and ACT figures as a benchmark for the academic profile of recent entering students who chose to submit scores.

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

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range

**Approximate lower endpoint**
1060

**Approximate upper endpoint**
1280

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.

ACT: enrolled-student score range

**25th percentile**
23

**75th percentile**
31

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Figures cover fall 2024.

## Who enrolls at Valparaiso University?

**Pell Grant recipients**
27.3%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
16.0%

**First-year retention**
75.4%

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.

Valparaiso University is a private nonprofit university in Valparaiso, Indiana, enrolling 2,083 undergraduates. The university admits 89.4% of applicants, well above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 5,906 first-year applicants, 5,288 admitted, and 517 enrolled. For transfer students, it reported 378 applicants, 275 admitted, and 102 enrolled.

27.3% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 16.0% enter as transfers or part-time students.

Of full-time bachelor's-seeking students who start at Valparaiso University, 75.4% return for a second year and 70.4% finish within six years. The six-year rate sits above the peer median of 68.8% for comparable institutions, while retention runs below its peer median of 83.4%.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported a [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) of 70.2% for the first-time, full-time fall 2018 entering class. Pell recipients in that cohort completed at 58.3%, below the overall rate.

Pell recipients in the federal cohort complete at 67.3%, 3.1 percentage points below the overall rate. Enrolled students can expect a campus where most who start full time go on to finish, though the first-year persistence figure suggests some early departure.

## 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/).