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Digest of Education Statistics
2015 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 305.40. Acceptance rates; number of applications, admissions, and enrollees; and enrollees' SAT and ACT scores for degree-granting postsecondary institutions with first-year undergraduates, by control and level of institution: 2014-15
Acceptance rates, applications,
admissions, enrollees, and SAT
and ACT scores
All institutions Public institutions Private institutions
Total 4-year 2-year Total 4-year 2-year Total 4-year 2-year Nonprofit For-profit
Total 4-year 2-year Total 4-year 2-year
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Number of institutions reporting
      application data1
4,193 2,590 1,603 1,583 664 919 2,610 1,926 684 1,353 1,271 82 1,257 655 602
Percentage distribution of institutions
      by their acceptance of applications
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.8
No application criteria 52.4 28.7 90.7 65.1 19.3 98.3 44.7 31.9 80.6 17.1 14.6 56.1 74.4 65.6 83.9
90 percent or more accepted 8.0 10.7 3.7 3.5 7.7 0.4 10.8 11.7 8.2 10.3 10.6 6.1 11.3 13.9 8.5
75.0 to 89.9 percent accepted 11.5 17.3 2.2 10.4 24.7 0.1 12.2 14.7 5.0 16.4 16.9 8.5 7.6 10.5 4.5
50.0 to 74.9 percent accepted 19.5 30.2 2.2 15.1 34.8 0.9 22.1 28.6 3.9 37.5 38.9 15.9 5.5 8.4 2.3
25.0 to 49.9 percent accepted 6.8 10.5 0.9 5.1 12.0 0.1 7.9 10.0 1.9 14.3 14.6 11.0 0.9 1.1 0.7
10.0 to 24.9 percent accepted 1.4 2.1 0.3 0.6 1.2 0.2 1.9 2.4 0.4 3.4 3.5 2.4 0.3 0.5 0.0
Less than 10 percent accepted 0.3 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.5 0.6 0.0 0.9 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
                               
Number of applications (in thousands) 9,586 9,518 68 5,292 5,260 33 4,293 4,259 35 4,184 4,170 13 110 88 21
Percentage distribution of applications
      by institutions' acceptance of
      applications
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.9
No application criteria
90 percent or more accepted 3.7 3.4 39.3 4.2 4.0 44.5 3.0 2.7 34.5 2.4 2.4 16.8 23.7 18.4 45.7
75.0 to 89.9 percent accepted 17.8 17.8 12.3 20.1 20.2 1.6 14.9 14.8 22.4 14.5 14.5 8.4 29.6 29.2 31.2
50.0 to 74.9 percent accepted 42.3 42.4 31.7 45.9 45.9 42.4 37.9 38.1 21.7 37.9 37.9 31.4 38.9 44.6 15.5
25.0 to 49.9 percent accepted 25.2 25.3 9.8 25.7 25.8 2.9 24.7 24.8 16.3 25.1 25.1 30.3 7.6 7.6 7.4
10.0 to 24.9 percent accepted 8.0 8.0 6.8 3.5 3.5 8.6 13.6 13.7 5.1 13.9 13.9 13.1 0.1 0.1 0.0
Less than 10 percent accepted 3.0 3.0 0.0 0.6 0.6 0.0 6.0 6.0 0.0 6.1 6.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
                               
Number of admissions (in thousands) 5,357 5,308 49 3,162 3,138 24 2,195 2,169 26 2,114 2,106 8 81 63 18
Percentage distribution of admissions
      by institutions' acceptance of
      applications
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
No application criteria
90 percent or more accepted 6.2 5.8 53.2 6.7 6.2 61.7 5.5 5.1 45.5 4.6 4.5 27.7 30.9 24.6 53.3
75.0 to 89.9 percent accepted 25.7 25.8 14.2 27.3 27.5 1.7 23.3 23.3 25.7 23.0 23.0 11.3 33.1 33.4 32.0
50.0 to 74.9 percent accepted 47.5 47.8 25.0 48.1 48.2 32.1 46.8 47.2 18.4 47.4 47.4 33.9 32.1 37.9 11.6
25.0 to 49.9 percent accepted 17.7 17.8 5.5 16.8 16.9 1.6 19.0 19.1 9.1 19.6 19.6 22.7 3.9 4.2 3.1
10.0 to 24.9 percent accepted 2.4 2.4 2.1 1.0 1.0 2.8 4.5 4.5 1.4 4.6 4.6 4.4 0.0 0.0 0.0
Less than 10 percent accepted 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.8 0.8 0.0 0.9 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
                               
Number of enrollees (in thousands) 1,556 1,528 27 1,028 1,014 14 528 514 13 492 488 4 36 26 10
Percentage distribution of enrollees
      by institutions' acceptance of
      applications
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
No application criteria
90 percent or more accepted 7.6 6.8 49.3 7.6 6.9 57.5 7.4 6.6 40.6 5.5 5.5 12.6 33.5 26.9 51.4
75.0 to 89.9 percent accepted 25.8 26.0 14.2 28.4 28.8 1.1 20.6 20.4 28.2 19.6 19.6 17.6 35.1 36.1 32.2
50.0 to 74.9 percent accepted 45.5 45.8 27.7 47.3 47.4 36.1 41.9 42.5 18.8 43.0 43.1 38.4 25.8 31.1 11.3
25.0 to 49.9 percent accepted 16.7 16.8 6.4 15.0 15.2 1.9 19.8 20.1 11.1 20.9 20.8 27.0 5.6 5.9 5.0
10.0 to 24.9 percent accepted 3.6 3.6 2.4 1.4 1.3 3.5 7.9 8.1 1.3 8.5 8.5 4.5 # # #
Less than 10 percent accepted 0.9 0.9 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.0 2.3 2.4 0.0 2.5 2.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
                               
SAT scores of enrollees                              
Critical reading, 25th percentile2 469 470 393 459 460 415 475 476 360 475 476 360 445 445
Critical reading, 75th percentile2 577 579 489 566 568 511 584 585 456 585 586 456 553 553
Mathematics, 25th percentile2 476 477 398 472 473 421 479 480 364 480 480 364 437 437
Mathematics, 75th percentile2 586 587 498 580 581 515 589 590 473 590 591 473 560 560
                               
ACT scores of enrollees                              
Composite, 25th percentile2 20.4 20.5 16.2 19.9 19.9 16.6 20.8 20.8 15.0 20.8 20.8 15.0 16.8 16.8
Composite, 75th percentile2 25.5 25.6 20.6 24.9 24.9 21.3 26.0 26.0 18.8 26.0 26.0 18.8 24.0 24.0
English, 25th percentile2 19.5 19.5 14.3 18.8 18.9 15.0 19.9 19.9 13.0 19.9 20.0 13.0 18.0 18.0
English, 75th percentile2 25.8 25.9 20.2 25.0 25.0 21.6 26.3 26.4 17.8 26.4 26.4 17.8 26.0 26.0
Mathematics, 25th percentile2 19.4 19.5 15.7 19.0 19.1 16.1 19.7 19.7 15.0 19.7 19.7 15.0 18.8 18.8
Mathematics, 75th percentile2 25.4 25.5 20.4 24.9 25.0 21.6 25.7 25.8 18.4 25.7 25.8 18.4 24.8 24.8
†Not applicable.
#Rounds to zero.
‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases).
1 The total on this table differs slightly from other counts of institutions with first-year undergraduates because approximately 0.3 percent of these institutions did not report application information.
2 Data are only for institutions that require test scores for admission. Relatively few 2-year institutions require test scores for admission. The SAT Critical reading and Mathematics scales range from 200 to 800. The ACT Composite, English, and Mathematics scales range from 1 to 36.
NOTE: Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Excludes institutions not enrolling any first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Winter 2014-15, Admissions component. (This table was prepared December 2015.)

2015 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest