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Admissions & selectivity

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# Villanova University Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

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

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## What is the acceptance rate at Villanova University?

Villanova University’s reported acceptance rate is 27.0%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
27.0%

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.

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

**Applicants**
23,253

**Admitted**
6,273

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

How to interpret the acceptance rate

Villanova University admits 27.0% of applicants, a rate far below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 23,253 first-year applicants and 6,273 admitted students.

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

Among enrolled students who submitted SAT scores, the middle half scored from 1,395 to 1,510. For ACT submitters, the corresponding range was 32 to 34.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported class ranks for enrolled first-time, first-year students who reported a rank. Of those students, 76% placed in the upper tenth of their high-school class, 93% in the upper quarter, and 97% in the upper half.

These ranges describe enrolled students who submitted scores, not admission cutoffs. Applicants can weigh their own scores against the university's 1,395 to 1,510 SAT range. For the ACT, the range is 32 to 34.

The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Villanova 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**
1395

**Approximate upper endpoint**
1510

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**
32

**75th percentile**
34

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

Figures cover fall 2024.

## Who enrolls at Villanova University?

**Pell Grant recipients**
12.0%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
6.5%

**First-year retention**
95.1%

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.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, Villanova University reported 23,253 first-year applicants and 6,273 admitted applicants. The university enrolls 6,938 undergraduates, with 12.0% receiving Pell Grants and an estimated 6.5% entering as transfers or part-time students.

This composition suggests an undergraduate population oriented chiefly around first-year entry, alongside a smaller transfer presence and Pell Grant recipients. Pell-eligible and transfer applicants should ask admissions how financial aid and transfer credit policies apply to their circumstances.

Villanova University posts retention and completion rates that sit above those at comparable institutions. For the full-time bachelor’s-seeking first-year cohort, 95.1% return after the first year, compared with a peer median of 83.4%.

The first-time full-time cohort’s [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) is 91.9%, above the comparable-institution median of 68.8%. Pell recipients in that first-time full-time cohort complete within six years at 82.9%, below the overall rate by 9.0 percentage points.

Enrolled students can expect reported first-year continuation and six-year completion outcomes that exceed the peer 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/).