Acceptance Rate and Application Statistics
The following table compares the admission related statistics including number of applicants, admitted, and enrolled between best schools in North Carolina. The average acceptance rate of best schools in North Carolina is 33.98% and the average admission yield (enrollment rate) is 25.92%.
Duke University has the tighest (lowest) acceptance rate of 5.71% and Duke University has the highest yield (enrollment rate) of 58.84% among best schools in North Carolina. The numbers in parenthesis() in below table represent the number and rate by gender (men/women). The statistics is based on the latest data from IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education for academic year 2024-2025.
| Rank | Name | Applicants | Admitted | Enrolled | Acceptance Rate | Enrollment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke University | 51,795 (24,298/27,497) | 2,957 (1,388/1,569) | 1,740 (824/916) | 6% (6%/6%) | 59% (59%/3%) |
| 2 | Davidson College | 8,114 (3,956/4,156) | 1,085 (519/565) | 520 (252/268) | 13% (13%/14%) | 48% (49%/6%) |
| 3 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 66,535 (27,893/38,632) | 10,209 (4,256/5,953) | 4,640 (1,752/2,888) | 15% (15%/15%) | 45% (41%/7%) |
| 4 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh | 44,047 (21,260/22,777) | 18,385 (7,980/10,401) | 5,839 (2,828/3,011) | 42% (38%/46%) | 32% (35%/13%) |
| 5 | Wake Forest University | 18,727 (8,224/10,498) | 4,058 (1,919/2,137) | 1,464 (671/793) | 22% (23%/20%) | 36% (35%/8%) |
| 6 | Elon University | 18,105 (6,735/11,368) | 12,012 (4,372/7,638) | 1,607 (642/965) | 66% (65%/67%) | 13% (15%/8%) |
| 7 | Salem College | 2,246 (0/2,246) | 1,722 (0/1,722) | 136 (0/136) | 77% (0%/77%) | 8% (0%/6%) |
| 8 | Meredith College | 1,983 (0/1,983) | 1,471 (0/1,471) | 272 (0/272) | 74% (0%/74%) | 18% (0%/14%) |
| 9 | University of North Carolina Wilmington | 20,393 (6,787/13,602) | 13,101 (4,100/9,000) | 2,754 (951/1,803) | 64% (60%/66%) | 21% (23%/13%) |
| 10 | Appalachian State University | 24,614 (10,337/14,274) | 22,188 (9,152/13,033) | 4,038 (1,774/2,263) | 90% (89%/91%) | 18% (19%/16%) |
| Average | 25,656 (10,949/11,268) | 8,719 (3,409/5,070) | 2,825 (1,212/1,613) | 33.98% (31.1%/45.0%) | 25.92% (28.4%/25.5%) | |
SAT Scores Comparison
The average SAT score of best schools in North Carolina is 1335. By subject, the average score of the SAT EBRW(Evidence-based Reading and Writing) is 673 and the average SAT Math score is 662.
Duke University has the highest SAT scores of 1,540 and Salem College has the lowest SAT scores of 1,160 among best schools in North Carolina. The following table compares SAT Scores between best schools in North Carolina for the academic year 2024-2025.
| Rank | Name | Submit%* (Submit#**) | SAT Total | Evidence-Based Reading and Writing | Math |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke University | 48% (824) | 1540 | 760 | 780 |
| 2 | Davidson College | 28% (147) | 1460 | 720 | 740 |
| 3 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 28% (1,320) | 1480 | 730 | 750 |
| 4 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh | 18% (1,072) | 1370 | 680 | 690 |
| 5 | Wake Forest University | 22% (325) | 1470 | 730 | 740 |
| 6 | Elon University | 2% (40) | 1200 | 610 | 590 |
| 7 | Salem College | 6% (8) | 1160 | 610 | 550 |
| 8 | Meredith College | 11% (30) | 1185 | 625 | 560 |
| 9 | University of North Carolina Wilmington | 5% (138) | 1280 | 650 | 630 |
| 10 | Appalachian State University | 9% (354) | 1200 | 610 | 590 |
| Average | 17.70% | 1335 | 673 | 662 | |
ACT Scores Comparison
The average ACT score of best schools in North Carolina is 28. By subject, the average ACT English score is 28 and the ACT math score is 26.
The following table compares ACT Scores between best schools in North Carolina for academic year 2024-2025.
| Rank | Name | Submit%* (Submit#**) | Composite | English | Math |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke University | 30% (526) | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| 2 | Davidson College | 23% (121) | 33 | ||
| 3 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 41% (1,896) | 31 | 33 | 29 |
| 4 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh | 29% (1,688) | 30 | 30 | 28 |
| 5 | Wake Forest University | 26% (376) | 33 | 35 | 31 |
| 6 | Elon University | 1% (24) | 25 | 25 | 24 |
| 7 | Salem College | 7% (10) | 19 | 16 | 16 |
| 8 | Meredith College | 14% (37) | 25 | 25 | 24 |
| 9 | University of North Carolina Wilmington | 12% (342) | 27 | 26 | 25 |
| 10 | Appalachian State University | 23% (921) | 25 | 23 | 23 |
| Average | 20.60% | 28 | 28 | 26 | |
*Number of first-time degree/certificate-seeking students submitting SAT scores.
**Percent of first-time degree/certificate-seeking students submitting SAT scores.
Application Requirements
The following table list and compare the requirements when applying best schools in North Carolina based on academic year 2024-2025 data.
| Rank | Name | HS GPA | HS Rank | HS Record | Prep. Program | Rec. | Compe. | SAT/ACT | TOEFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke University | ✔ | ✗ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| 2 | Davidson College | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✗ | ✓ | ✔ |
| 3 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ |
| 4 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh | ✔ | ✓ | ✔ | ✔ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✔ |
| 5 | Wake Forest University | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | ✔ | ✗ | ✓ | ✔ |
| 6 | Elon University | ✔ | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✔ |
| 7 | Salem College | ✔ | ✓ | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✔ |
| 8 | Meredith College | ✔ | ✓ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 9 | University of North Carolina Wilmington | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✔ |
| 10 | Appalachian State University | ✔ | ✓ | ✔ | ✔ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✔ |
✔: Required △: Considered but not Required ✔: Recommended ✗: Neither Required nor Recommended
- HS GPA: High School or Secondary School GPA
- HS Rank: High School or Secondary School Rank
- HS Record: High School or Secondary School Record
- Prep. Program: Completion of College Preparatory Program
- Rec.: Recommendations
- Comp.: Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g., portfolios, certificates of mastery, assessment instruments)
The ranking data is provided by CollegeEvaluator. We compare the schools that ranked top 10 in North Carolinaand in top 500 ranking for all colleges and universities in United States.
Top Colleges By Subject
- Tightest Schools To Admit (Lowest Acceptance Rate)
- Affordable Schools To Admit (Highest Acceptance Rate)
- Most Favored Schools (Highest Yield)
- Colleges with Low Yield
- Expensive Colleges (Highest Tuition & Fees)
- Inexpensive Colleges (Lowest Tuition & Fees)
- Colleges with Most Students
- Colleges with Least Students
- Colleges with Most Online Students
- Colleges with Least Online Students
- Colleges with Highest Graduation Rates
- Colleges with Lowest Graduation Rates
- Low Student to Faculty Ratio
- High Student to Faculty Ratio
*Number of first-time degree/certificate-seeking students submitting SAT scores.
**Percent of first-time degree/certificate-seeking students submitting SAT scores.