What Is the Syracuse Acceptance Rate?
The Syracuse University acceptance rate for the fall 2025 entering class is 48.8 percent. The university reports 46,645 first-year applicants, 22,756 admitted students, and 3,969 enrolled first-years in section C1 of its Common Data Set 2025-2026, published by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness in September 2026. The enrolled count is 17.4 percent of those admitted, so Syracuse admits a little under six students for every seat it fills, a yield that explains why the university leans on Early Decision and on its waitlist to land the class.
Women made up the larger share of the pool and of the admitted class: 28,476 women applied and 13,868 were admitted (48.7 percent), against 18,168 men with 8,888 admits (48.9 percent), so the two rates are effectively the same. The enrolled class of 3,969 was 58.6 percent women. Syracuse is a private research university in central New York whose applicants choose a college at the point of application, including the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and the College of Arts and Sciences. The Common Data Set reports one university-wide rate; Syracuse does not publish rates by college, and programs with limited seats and portfolio or program-specific requirements, such as Newhouse and architecture, should be assumed to be more competitive than the headline figure.
| Measure (fall 2025 entering class) | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First-year applicants | 46,645 | Common Data Set 2025-2026, C1 |
| Admitted | 22,756 | C1 |
| Acceptance rate | 48.8 percent | Computed from C1 |
| Enrolled first-year students | 3,969 | C1 |
| Yield (enrolled divided by admitted) | 17.4 percent | Computed |
| Early Decision applicants and admits | 2,654 and 1,478 (55.7 percent) | C21 |
| Waitlist offered, accepted, admitted | 14,242, 6,530, 2,039 | C2 |
| First-year retention | 92.0 percent | B22 |
Read the 48.8 percent as a middle number. It sits above the rates at Boston University, Northeastern, or Fordham and below those at large public flagships, and it moves with the size of the pool. Syracuse does not publish a multi-year admissions history on its institutional data pages, so the fairest reading is the one the Common Data Set supports: roughly half of applicants are admitted, and the half that is admitted is shaped by plan, residency, and college as much as by grades.
How Does the Syracuse Acceptance Rate Vary by Residency?
Section C1 of the Common Data Set breaks the pool into three groups, and the differences are large enough to change a strategy. Applicants from other states were admitted at 52.4 percent (15,356 of 29,307) and made up 62.4 percent of the enrolled class. New York residents were admitted at 45.8 percent (6,028 of 13,154) and were one third of the class (1,315 students). International applicants were admitted at 32.8 percent (1,372 of 4,184) and enrolled only 178 students, 4.5 percent of the class, an unusually small international share for a private university of Syracuse’s size (Common Data Set 2025-2026, C1).
| Residency | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance rate | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Out-of-state (domestic) | 29,307 | 15,356 | 52.4 percent | 2,476 |
| New York residents | 13,154 | 6,028 | 45.8 percent | 1,315 |
| International | 4,184 | 1,372 | 32.8 percent | 178 |
| All first-year applicants | 46,645 | 22,756 | 48.8 percent | 3,969 |
Two things follow. A New York applicant is competing in a deeper local pool, where Syracuse is often the in-state private option next to the SUNY system, and should treat the 45.8 percent figure as the relevant one. An international applicant faces a rate about 20 points below the out-of-state rate and a class where fewer than 200 international students enrolled, so the file needs to be clearly stronger than the domestic median and the financial documentation needs to be complete at submission; Syracuse yields international admits at only 13 percent, which suggests cost is what turns most of them away.
What GPA and Test Scores Do Syracuse Students Have?
Syracuse is test-optional, and most enrolled students used that option: only 23 percent of the fall 2025 class submitted an SAT score and 8 percent an ACT score (Common Data Set 2025-2026, C9). Among the submitters, the SAT middle 50 percent was 1300 to 1410, with a median of 1350, and the ACT middle 50 percent was 29 to 33 with a median of 31. The average high school GPA of enrolled students was 3.71, reported for 99.7 percent of the class, and the distribution shows where the class sits: 29.5 percent had a 4.0, 20.4 percent were between 3.75 and 3.99, 21.9 percent between 3.50 and 3.74, 15.0 percent between 3.25 and 3.49, and 10.4 percent between 3.00 and 3.24. Only 19.7 percent of enrolled students came from schools that report class rank; of those, 36.1 percent were in the top tenth and 68.6 percent in the top quarter.
| Measure (enrolled fall 2025) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average high school GPA | 3.71 |
| Share with a 4.0 GPA | 29.5 percent |
| SAT middle 50 percent (23 percent submitted) | 1300 to 1410 (median 1350) |
| ACT composite middle 50 percent (8 percent submitted) | 29 to 33 (median 31) |
| Top 10 percent of class (of those ranked) | 36.1 percent |
| Top 25 percent of class (of those ranked) | 68.6 percent |
The practical reading is that a 3.7 unweighted GPA with a solid schedule is the center of the class, and that scores matter only when they are above the center. A student with a 1400 SAT is at the 75th percentile of submitters and should send it; a student with a 1300 sits at the 25th percentile and gains little from doing so. Because only about three in ten enrolled students sent any score, the ranges describe the strongest testers rather than the class, and an applicant with a 3.9 GPA and no score is a normal Syracuse admit, not an exception.
How Do Syracuse Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision Compare?
Syracuse offers Early Decision I, Early Decision II, and, starting with the current cycle, Early Action, and it reports the Early Decision result in its Common Data Set. For fall 2025, 2,654 students applied Early Decision and 1,478 were admitted, a rate of 55.7 percent (Common Data Set 2025-2026, C21). The rest of the pool, 43,991 applicants in the non-ED rounds, produced 21,278 admits, an implied rate of 48.4 percent. The ED advantage at Syracuse is therefore about seven points, real but modest, and the 1,478 ED admits were only 6.5 percent of all offers, which means Syracuse filled most of its class in Regular Decision rather than locking it in early. That balance may shift from fall 2027, because Syracuse has added a non-binding Early Action plan, described on its admission plans page as “New for Fall 2027 applicants” (Syracuse admission plans).
| Plan | Binding | Deadline | Notification begins | Reply date | Fall 2025 rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Decision I | Yes | November 1 | Late December | February 15 | 55.7 percent (ED I and II combined) |
| Early Action (new for fall 2027 entry) | No | November 1 | Early February | May 1 | No history yet |
| Early Decision II | Yes | January 5 | Mid-January | March 1 | Included in the 55.7 percent |
| Regular Decision | No | January 5 | Mid-March, then weekly through spring | May 1 | Not published separately |
For most families the sequence is now Early Action by November 1, because it is non-binding, it returns a decision in early February, and it gets the file read before the Regular Decision pool. Syracuse also lets Early Decision applicants name an alternate college; a student admitted to the alternate choice rather than the first choice is released from the binding commitment and has until May 1 to reply (Syracuse dates and deadlines). Early Decision makes sense for a student who has visited, has a specific college in mind, and has run the net price calculator, since a seven-point advantage does not justify a binding commitment that the family cannot afford. Early Decision II on January 5 is the useful middle path for a student deferred or denied elsewhere in December who would commit to Syracuse: it carries the same ED rate and the same signal of commitment. Our guide to Early Decision acceptance rates compares the Syracuse advantage with schools where the ED gap is three or four times larger, and our Early Action acceptance rates guide covers the non-binding round.
How Does the Syracuse Waitlist Work?
The Syracuse waitlist is one of the largest reported by any private university. For fall 2025, Syracuse offered a place on the waitlist to 14,242 applicants, 6,530 accepted the offer, and 2,039 of them were later admitted, 31.2 percent of those who stayed on the list (Common Data Set 2025-2026, C2). The list is not ranked. Set against the 22,756 total admits, waitlist admissions were 9.0 percent of all offers, and the 14,242 waitlist offers were almost a third of the size of the applicant pool.
This changes how a waitlisted student should read a decision. At most selective universities a waitlist offer is a soft denial; at Syracuse it is a second round with roughly a one-in-three chance for students who accept the spot. The steps that matter are the ones Syracuse can see: accept the waitlist offer promptly, send a short letter confirming that the student would enroll if admitted, update the file with the final semester grades and any new honors, and keep the deposit at another school in place until an offer arrives. Waitlist offers arrive after May 1 and can continue into the summer.
What Does Syracuse Cost and What Are the Deadlines?
Tuition for 2025-2026 was $69,180 with $1,869 in required fees, so the tuition-and-fees line is $71,049 before housing, food, books, and travel (Common Data Set 2025-2026, G1). The application fee is $85. First-year retention was 92.0 percent, a figure that puts Syracuse in the range of more selective private universities and reflects a class that largely chose it as a first or second choice. Syracuse awards merit scholarships at admission, and applying by November 1 in either Early Decision I or Early Action keeps the student in the earliest review; the Syracuse dates and deadlines page carries the current requirements, the program-specific deadlines for architecture, music, drama, and visual arts, and the test score deadline, which the Common Data Set lists as January 5.
Two timing notes. The Early Action notification in early February is later than at most peers, which use mid-December, so a student who wants an early answer for planning purposes gets it faster from Fordham or Northeastern than from Syracuse. And because Regular Decision and Early Decision II share the January 5 deadline, a student can convert a Regular Decision application to Early Decision II up to that date if Syracuse becomes the first choice after the December results elsewhere.
How Should Families Approach the Syracuse Application?
Start with the college, because Syracuse admits into schools with very different competition. Newhouse, the architecture program, and the Whitman business school draw the deepest pools of committed applicants; the College of Arts and Sciences is the largest college and the one closest to the university-wide numbers. A student whose profile sits near the 3.71 average is well placed for most colleges and should not weaken the application by naming Newhouse without the work to support it. The Syracuse application asks why the student chose a particular college, and the answer should name specific programs, centers, and faculty rather than the university as a whole.
- Grades carry the file: 29.5 percent of the enrolled class had a 4.0 and the average was 3.71. A rising junior with a 3.8 and honors or AP coursework is a strong applicant.
- Submit an SAT of 1380 or higher or an ACT of 32 or higher; below the medians of 1350 and 31, apply test-optional as seven in ten enrolled students did.
- Apply Early Action by November 1 unless Syracuse is the clear first choice and the aid estimate works, in which case Early Decision I adds about seven points.
- Out-of-state students hold the highest rate at 52.4 percent; New York residents should expect 45.8 percent and international students 32.8 percent.
- A waitlist offer is worth accepting: 2,039 of 6,530 waitlisted students who accepted were admitted for fall 2025.
Syracuse is a school where a well-prepared applicant is admitted more often than not, where the choice of college and plan shifts the odds by five to ten points, and where the waitlist functions as a genuine second round. Our guides on whether you need an admissions consultant and when to bring one in explain how we help families build a list around schools like this one, and our college acceptance rates guide puts Syracuse next to its peers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Syracuse admitted 48.8 percent of first-year applicants for fall 2025, so it is moderately selective. The enrolled class averaged a 3.71 GPA, and among the roughly three in ten students who submitted scores, the SAT middle 50 percent was 1300 to 1410.
For fall 2025, Syracuse admitted 1,478 of 2,654 Early Decision applicants, or 55.7 percent, compared with an implied 48.4 percent for the rest of the pool. Early Decision I is due November 1 and Early Decision II is due January 5.
Yes. Only 23 percent of the fall 2025 enrolled class submitted an SAT score and 8 percent an ACT score. Students who submit should be at or above the medians of 1350 on the SAT and 31 on the ACT.
Enrolled students for fall 2025 averaged a 3.71 high school GPA, 29.5 percent had a 4.0, and about half were at 3.75 or higher. A 3.7 with a rigorous schedule is the center of the class.
The fall 2025 rates were 52.4 percent for domestic out-of-state applicants, 45.8 percent for New York residents, and 32.8 percent for international applicants, so out-of-state applicants held the highest rate and made up 62.4 percent of the enrolled class.
For fall 2025, Syracuse offered waitlist places to 14,242 applicants, 6,530 accepted, and 2,039 were admitted, about 31 percent of those who accepted a place. The waitlist is not ranked.
Yes, starting with students applying for fall 2027 entry. Early Action is non-binding, due November 1, with decisions beginning in early February. Because the plan is new, there is no Early Action acceptance rate history yet.
Tuition for 2025-2026 was $69,180 plus $1,869 in fees, $71,049 in total before housing and food, per the Common Data Set. The application fee is $85, and merit scholarships are awarded at admission.
Sources: Syracuse University Common Data Set 2025-2026 (September 2026), Syracuse Office of Institutional Effectiveness, key data index, Syracuse University dates and deadlines, Syracuse University admission plans
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