Admissions & selectivity
Western Kentucky University Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at Western Kentucky University?
Western Kentucky University’s reported acceptance rate is 93.9%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 93.9%
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
Western Kentucky University admitted 93.9% of applicants in the reported entering-class cycle, indicating that most applicants received an offer. This rate was above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).
What SAT and ACT scores do Western Kentucky University students report?
Western Kentucky University’s reported score ranges describe enrolled students who submitted scores, rather than thresholds for admission. The middle half of SAT submitters scored from 840 to 1,050; for ACT submitters, the corresponding range was 16 to 21.
These are the scores between the lower and upper quarter of each submitted-score distribution, so they portray the center of score reports rather than every enrollee. Applicants should compare their SAT score with 840 through 1,050, or their ACT score with 16 through 21, when considering this reported academic profile.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Western Kentucky University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
- Approximate lower endpoint
- 840
- Approximate upper endpoint
- 1050
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.
- 25th percentile
- 16
- 75th percentile
- 21
Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Figures cover fall 2024.
Who enrolls at Western Kentucky University?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 30.5%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 21.4%
- First-year retention
- 78.3%
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.
At Western Kentucky University, financial access and transfer entry are both visible in the undergraduate population. Pell Grant recipients make up 30.5% of undergraduates, a measure of financial access rather than a description of family background.
Undergraduate enrollment is 12,155 undergraduates, and an estimated 21.4% entered after beginning college elsewhere. That mix suggests a campus serving both students using federal grant aid and students arriving through transfer pathways.
Pell-eligible applicants should compare aid offers carefully, and transfer applicants should seek a transfer-credit evaluation before making an enrollment decision. These figures describe who attends, rather than any individual applicant's admission prospects.
At Western Kentucky University, the first-year retention rate for full-time bachelor's seekers is 78.3%, and the six-year graduation rate for that cohort is 55.6%. Both figures sit below the medians for comparable institutions, which are 83.1% and 65.0% respectively.
The gap is larger for Pell recipients, who complete at 40.3%—15.3 percentage points below the overall rate. A student considering the university should weigh these completion figures against its strongest , affordability, where the net price and debt picture is more favorable.
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.