Admissions & selectivity
Wake Forest University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at Wake Forest University?
Wake Forest University’s reported acceptance rate is 21.7%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 21.7%
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
Wake Forest University admits 21.7% of applicants, well below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled Wake Forest University students report?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, Wake Forest University reported that enrolled first-year students who submitted SAT scores posted a range from 1420 to 1490. 24% of the entering class submitted SAT scores.
For the ACT, the range for enrolled submitters was 32 to 34, with 22% submitting. The ranges cover a minority of the entering class and do not set admission floors.
17% of the entering class reported a high-school class rank; among them, 61% were in the highest tenth and 90% in the upper quarter. Applicants can weigh their scores against the university's 1420 to 1490 SAT span, remembering that it describes recent enrolled submitters. The ACT range is 32 to 34, also drawn from recent enrolled submitters.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Wake Forest University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
24% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1420
- Median
- 1450
- 75th percentile
- 1490
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
22% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 32
- Median
- 33
- 75th percentile
- 34
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: Wake Forest University Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at Wake Forest University?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 10.1%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 3.2%
- First-year retention
- 92.6%
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.
Wake Forest University enrolls 5,485 undergraduates, and the entering class is overwhelmingly made up of first-time, full-time students. Pell Grants reach 10.1% of the undergraduate population.
An estimated 3.2% arrive as transfers or part-time students, which means most undergraduates began their studies here as freshmen. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 464 degree-seeking transfer applicants. Of those, 173 were admitted, and 59 enrolled.
Wake Forest University retains 92.6% of first-year, full-time bachelor’s-seeking students, above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size) of 83.4%. 89.1% of the first-time full-time cohort finishes within six years, a result that is above the peer median of 68.8%.
For Pell recipients, the six-year rate is 83.9%, which is 5.2 percentage points below the overall rate. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported a retention rate of 92% for the first-time, full-time fall 2024 entering class.
For the first-time, full-time fall 2019 entering class, the six-year graduation rate was 90.3% overall; Pell recipients graduated at 84.3%, below the cohort rate. Students who enroll can expect retention and graduation outcomes that exceed the medians for comparable institutions, though Pell recipients should note the gap between their rate and the overall figure.
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.