1.  [College research](/)
2.  /
3.  [William & Mary](/school/william-mary/)
4.  /
5.  Admissions & selectivity

Admissions & selectivity

Copy linkPrint brief

# William & Mary Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

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

**On this page**+

## What is the acceptance rate at William & Mary?

William & Mary’s reported acceptance rate is 34.1%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
34.1%

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**
16,895

**Admitted**
6,245

Source: William & Mary Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.

How to interpret the acceptance rate

William & Mary admits 34.1% of applicants, a rate far below the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 16,895 applicants, 6,245 admitted, and 1,639 enrolled.

## What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled William & Mary students report?

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, William & Mary reported an average high-school GPA of 4.34 among the 88.0% of enrolled first-year students who submitted a GPA. Among enrolled first-year students with a reported class rank, 79% finished in the highest tenth of their high-school class and 95% in the highest quarter.

Class rank was reported by 30% of the entering class. Enrolled first-year students who submitted SAT scores landed between 1390 and 1520 across the middle half, a range covering 48% of the entering class.

The median among those submitters was 1450. ACT submitters scored from 32 to 34 within the middle half, a group making up 14% of the class.

The median ACT score was 33. Applicants can weigh their own scores against these ranges as context, not as a cutoff.

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

**48% of entering students submitted SAT scores**

SAT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
1390

**Median**
1450

**75th percentile**
1520

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

**14% of entering students submitted ACT scores**

ACT: reported composite 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: William & Mary Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.

## Who enrolls at William & Mary?

**Pell Grant recipients**
12.4%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
10.2%

**First-year retention**
94.6%

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.

An estimated 10.2% of students enter as transfers or part-time students, while 12.4% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access. William & Mary enrolls 7,055 undergraduates, a population composed mainly of first-time entrants.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 16,895 first-year applicants, 6,245 admitted, and 1,639 enrolled. The same source listed 963 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 440 admitted, and 206 enrolled.

William & Mary retains 94.6% of first-year students, above the 73.7% median for comparable institutions. The [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) is 89.4%, also above the 49.1% median.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university listed a 95% retention rate 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 88.3%; Pell recipients in that cohort graduated at 80.3%, below the overall figure.

Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort complete at 89.7%, 0.3 percentage points above the overall rate. Enrolled students can expect retention and graduation outcomes that exceed the medians for comparable institutions.

## 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/).