How to Get Into Emory: Acceptance Rate and Strategies

August 5, 2025

In 1990, The New York Times published an article entitled, 鈥淲ith Money and Talent, Emory Raises Its Status.鈥� The accelerated growth began when Coca-Cola magnate, Robert Woodruff, donated over 100 million dollars to the school鈥攁t the time, the largest gift ever handed to an educational institution. From 1980 to 1990, the number of applicants to Emory University grew from 3,900 to 6,300; today, the school receives nearly 35,000 applications and the Emory acceptance rate has plummeted. While it鈥檚 hard to imagine a time when Emory ever needed to 鈥渞aise its status,鈥� the average SAT score for an entering freshman was “only” 1138 in 1984, 1234 in 1995, and by 2022?鈥攃lose to 1500. Even with some score inflation in the intervening years, that鈥檚 still quite a jump.

It鈥檚 worth noting that Emory has two undergraduate colleges, Emory College of Arts & Sciences in Atlanta, and Oxford College located in Oxford, Georgia, roughly a 45-minute drive from the main campus. Students can apply to just one school or both via the Common or Coalition Application. Since admissions into Oxford College and Emory College are two different animals, we will provide college-specific data where possible.

We will touch on the following topics:

Emory University acceptance rate (plus how to predict your chances with our free admissions calculator)
Emory University ED acceptance rate
SAT, ACT, class rank, and GPA of accepted Emory University applicants
Admissions trends
The demographics of current undergraduates
Yield rate
How Emory University鈥檚 admissions officers evaluate candidates
Tips for applying
Emory essay prompts聽
How to assess whether applying to Emory is even worth the $75 application fee (for you)

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Emory University Acceptance Rate 鈥� Class of 2028

The acceptance rate at Emory is complicated, as students can apply to Emory College, Oxford College, or both. For example, a student could apply to both, be accepted to one, and rejected by the other.

When factoring in both Emory College and Oxford College, the overall Class of 2029 Emory University acceptance rate was 14.95%, a slight increase from the previous year. There were 37,855 undergraduate applications received (a record) and 5,658 students were admitted. 3,621 students were admitted to Emory and 3,142 were admitted to Oxford College. Of those students, 1,105 were admitted to both colleges within the larger university.

Historical overall Emory University acceptance rates are as follows:

	Applicants	Admits	Acceptance Rate
Class of 2027	34,614	5,058	14.5%
Class of 2027	33,534	5,445	16%
Class of 2026	33,517	5,303	15.8%
Class of 2025	33,780	6,892	20%

A clearer picture emerges if we separate out the data from Emory College and Oxford. According to , the admit rate for Emory College was 10% and the admit rate for Oxford College was 13% (Class of 2028).

Emory University Early Decision Acceptance Rate

Emory admitted 995 ED I applicants and 336 ED II students in the 2024-25 admissions cycle. The ED I acceptance rate was 31% compared to the ED II acceptance rate of 10% for Emory College and 11% for Oxford College.

Interestingly, while your chances of acceptance will increase if you apply ED I, they will actually drop if you apply ED II.

Finally, Emory College typically fills about 60% of its incoming class through the ED rounds. Oxford College fills about 50%.

What GPA do you need to get into Emory?

Among enrolled 2024-2025 first-year students, the average GPA was 3.84.

Moreover, 76% of enrolled students had a GPA of 3.75 or above, while 17% had a GPA of 4.0 or above.

What class rank do you need to get accepted to Emory?

The vast majority of enrolled students were in the top 10% of their graduating class鈥�84%, to be exact. What’s more, 98% placed in the top quarter.

What is the minimum SAT or ACT score for Emory?

61% of enrolled Class of 2028 members submitted test scores alongside their applications. Of this bunch, the mid-50% SAT range was 1470-1540 while the ACT range was 32-34. Keep this in mind when thinking about Emory’s acceptance rate.

Admissions Trends & Notes 鈥� Class of 2029

The overall acceptance rate held steady compared to last year’s numbers.
Overall, the early decision pool increased by 22%. The ED I pool increased by 28% and the ED II pool increased slightly.
The accepted Class of 2029 includes individuals from 68 countries and 48 US states.
The admitted Class of 2029 included 12% of students who identified as first-generation.

Who Actually Gets Into Emory University?

Let鈥檚 look at the demographics of the Emory College Class of 2028:

Southeast: 27%
Southwest: 10%
Mid-Atlantic: 21%
West: 11%
New England: 5%
International: 15%
Midwest: 8%

The demographics of the Oxford College Class of 2028 are as follows:

Southeast: 23%
Southwest: 9%
Mid-Atlantic: 21%
West: 17%
New England: 6%
International: 12%
Midwest: 9%

Looking at ethnic identity, the breakdown of the Emory College Class of 2028 is as follows:

Asian American: 31%
Hispanic: 12%
White: 33%
Black or African American: 13%
International: 15%

Ethnic identity for Oxford College for the Class of 2028 is as follows:

Asian American: 41%
Hispanic: 8%
White: 33%
Black or African American: 8%
International: 12%

Historically, the greatest percentage of international students hail from the following countries:

China
South Korea
India
Canada
Brazil

The breakdown by gender of the enrolled Class of 2028 was quite lopsided in favor of women:

Male: 43%
Female: 57%

Due to this wide gender disparity, the male acceptance rate tends to be several points higher than the figure for female applicants.

Yield Rate

Emory University鈥檚 yield rate鈥攖he percentage of accepted students who elect to enroll, divided by the total number of students who are admitted鈥攚as around 40% for the Class of 2028. For comparison, many other top private universities have superior yield rates (e.g., Notre Dame and Duke). Emory is a bit closer to other elite private schools like USC and Carnegie Mellon. Keep this in mind when thinking about Emory’s acceptance rate.

How Emory University Rates Applicants

Emory receives 34,000+ applications to fill a first-year class of approximately 1,400-1,500 students (1,900-2,000, including Oxford College). Despite this high total, Emory does give a genuinely holistic review to each and every applicant. Beyond mere test scores and other basic measurables, the admissions committee is 鈥渁lso looking for character traits, educational pursuits, and community awareness that would complement and blend into this campus community. Most Emory University students, regardless of major, have multiple interests and passions鈥攚hether it鈥檚 the arts, community service, medical research, theater, entrepreneurship, or athletics. We want to know what makes you happy and how your community/family/school has benefited from who you are as a person.鈥�

Six factors are rated as being 鈥渧ery important鈥� to the Emory admissions process: rigor of secondary school record, GPA, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent/ability, and character/personal qualities. Application components deemed 鈥渋mportant鈥� are standardized test scores, essays, and volunteer work. It definitely helps if you are recruited as an athlete to join one of . Over 400 undergrads are varsity athletes. Those who excel in a given sport can gain an edge in the admissions process.

Tips for Applying

If you plan on joining the 34,000+ Eagle hopefuls for the next admissions cycle, you should know the following:

Emory University offers Early Decision I and聽Early Decision II.聽 As cited earlier in the blog, ED I acceptance rates are typically higher than the Regular Decision round. Keep this in mind when thinking about Emory’s acceptance rate.
Emory University does offer optional, non-evaluative alumni interviews. These informal interviews are informational only.
Emory University states that they do not consider 鈥�demonstrated interest鈥� in the admissions process. Still, given that their yield rate is under 50%, it may be worth taking the simple steps of following them on social media, signing up for a virtual tour, or emailing an admissions officer with any questions you may have.
Make sure to dedicate sufficient time and effort to the supplemental essays required by Emory. In the 2025-26 cycle, students must answer two prompts as follows:

Academic Interests

1)听What academic areas are you interested in exploring at Emory University and why?聽(200 words)

Getting to Know You

2) In addition, answer聽one of the following questions. (150 words)

Option 1: Emory University has a strong commitment to building community. Tell us about a community that you have been part of where your personal participation helped to change or shape the community for the better.
Option 2: Reflect on a personal experience where you intentionally expanded your cultural awareness.
Option 3: Emory University鈥檚 unique mission calls for service to humanity. Share how you might personally contribute to this mission.
Option 4: In a scholarly community, differing ideas often collide before they converge. How do you personally navigate disagreement in a way that promotes progress and deepens meaningful dialogue?

For detailed advice on how to approach each prompt, visit our blog: Emory University Essay Prompts and Tips.

Should I apply to Emory?

With overall acceptance rates as low as 14% in recent years, Emory is a school that is looking for students who are at the 98th percentile or above on standardized tests and are among the very top of their high school class. Just about all 鈥淎鈥漵 in an AP/IB-heavy curriculum is expected.

Emory University Acceptance Rate 2025 – Final Thoughts

If Emory University is your aim, make sure to also have multiple other schools on your list where you are more likely to gain acceptance. All students need to make sure that they formulate an appropriate college list, containing a complement of 鈥渢arget鈥� and 鈥渟afety鈥� schools. You鈥檒l also definitely want to get your counselor鈥檚 input during this process.

Ready to begin crafting your applications? Consider reviewing the following blogs:

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College Admissions

Dave Bergman

Dave has over a decade of professional experience that includes work as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, and independent educational consultant. He is a co-author of the books The Enlightened College Applicant (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).