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Admissions & selectivity

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# Washington and Lee University Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

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

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## What is the acceptance rate at Washington and Lee University?

Washington and Lee University’s reported acceptance rate is 14.0%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
14.0%

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 2025-26

**Applicants**
8,963

**Admitted**
1,214

Source: Washington and Lee University Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.

How to interpret the acceptance rate

Washington and Lee University admits 14.0% of applicants, a rate far below the median of 75.7% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 8,963 first-year applicants and admitted 1,214, with 499 enrolling.

## What SAT and ACT scores do Washington and Lee University students report?

Students who submitted SAT scores posted a middle half from 1,430 to 1,540; those submitting ACT scores posted a middle half from 33 to 34. These ranges come from recent enrolled students who submitted scores, not from admission minimums.

Applicants should weigh their own scores against the university's 1,430–1,540 SAT and 33–34 ACT ranges to gauge where they fit among recent enrolled students. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported class-rank data for enrolled first-year students who submitted a rank.

85% of that group placed in the upper tenth of their high school class, 99% in the upper quarter, and 100% in the upper half.

The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Washington and Lee 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**
1430

**Approximate upper endpoint**
1540

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**
33

**75th percentile**
34

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

Figures cover fall 2024.

## Who enrolls at Washington and Lee University?

**Pell Grant recipients**
11.3%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
1.0%

**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.

Washington and Lee University enrolls 1,881 undergraduates. 11.3% of them receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 1.0% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The student body is built almost entirely from first-time, full-time entrants. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 100 transfer applicants, 7 admitted, and 3 enrolled. Transfer admission is narrow.

Students who enroll at Washington and Lee University tend to stay. The first-year retention rate is 96.6%, well above the peer median of 74.2% for comparable institutions.

The [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) is 93.9%, well above the peer median of 54.9%. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 97% of the first-time, full-time fall 2024 entering class returned for a second year.

Of the the first-time, full-time fall 2024 entering class who enrolled, 97% returned for a second year. Nearly everyone finishes within six years.

## 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/).