How to Get Into Notre Dame: Acceptance Rate and Strategies

July 23, 2025

notre dame university acceptance rate

The University of Notre Dame has always been a university for high-achieving students. In 1986, the home of the Fighting Irish admitted 43% of applicants. This group, the Class of 1990, sported an average SAT score of 1200; 75% earned a place in the top 10% of their high school cohort. By the turn of the new millennium, Notre Dame鈥檚 acceptance rate fell to 35%; by 2010, it was 28%; and by 2023, it had reached an all-time low of 12%.

Given that the process of gaining acceptance into Notre Dame becomes increasingly challenging with each passing year, this blog will tell you everything you need to know about:

  • Notre Dame acceptance rate for 2025 (plus how to predict your chances with our free admissions calculator)
  • Notre Dame REA acceptance rate 2025
  • SAT, ACT, and class rank of accepted applicants
  • Admissions trends from the Class of 2028
  • The demographics of current undergraduates
  • Yield rate
  • How Notre Dame鈥檚 admissions officers evaluate candidates
  • Tips for applying
  • Notre Dame supplemental essays聽
  • How to assess whether applying to Notre Dame is even worth the $75 application fee (for you)

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Notre Dame Acceptance Rate 鈥 Class of 2029

The Fighting Irish received 35,401 applications for its 2025-26 freshman class (an 18% increase year-over-year). Of these applicants, approximately 3,200 were admitted, which gives Notre Dame a 9% acceptance rate. This is the first time that Notre Dame’s admit rate has dipped below 10%.

However, it’s important to look at the individual acceptance rates of the Restrictive Early Action vs. Regular Decision rounds. In the Regular Decision round, Notre Dame received applications from 22,484 students, of whom the university admitted 1,600. This means that the Notre Dame regular decision acceptance rate is likely below 7%.

Recent overall Notre Dame acceptance rates are as follows:

Applicants Admits Acceptance Rate
Class of 2028 29,943 3,324 11%
Class of 2027 28,353 3,510 12%
Class of 2026 26,509 3,421 13%
Class of 2025 23,642 3,562 15%

Notre Dame Restrictive Early Action (REA) Acceptance Rate

For the Class of 2029, Notre Dame received 12,917 applications. Of these, 1,669 students were admitted. This means that the Class of 2029 REA acceptance rate was 12.9%, a few percentage points lower than the previous year.

What class rank do you need to get accepted to Notre Dame?

Among enrolled 2024-25 first-year students, an incredible 92% hailed from the top 10%, while 98% earned a place in the top quarter.

What is the minimum SAT or ACT score for Notre Dame?

According to Class of 2028 statistics, the mid-50% SAT range for enrolled freshmen was 1470-1540 while the mid-50% ACT range was 33-35.

Although Notre Dame is currently test-optional, nearly 60% of enrolled students submitted scores alongside their applications.

Admissions Trends & Notes 鈥 Class of 2029

  • Applications increased by 18% last year, and the acceptance rate is the lowest in the school’s history.
  • Half of incoming freshmen are typically admitted from the REA pool, and half from the regular decision pool.
  • This year’s REA admits comprise students from all 50 states and 149 countries around the globe.
  • Historically, waitlisted students are accepted at a 5% rate.

Who Actually Gets In?

Let鈥檚 look at the demographics of current undergraduates:

Geographically, students accepted into the Class of 2028 included the following breakdown:

  • Northeast: 20%
  • Southeast: 14%
  • Midwest: 35%
  • Southwest: 8%
  • West: 11.5%
  • Outside the United States: 11.5%

As with all selective colleges, those from lower-populated, more remote areas of the country (e.g., Wyoming, South Dakota, Idaho) enjoy a boost to their admissions prospects.

Looking at ethnic identity, the breakdown of the enrolled Class of 2028 was as follows:

  • Asian American: 6%
  • Hispanic: 17.5%
  • Black or African American: 3.3%
  • White: 59%
  • Two or more races: 4.2%

Incoming students had the following academic interests:

  • Business: 23.5%
  • Engineering: 22%
  • Science: 23%
  • Arts & Letters: 25.5%
  • Architecture: 3%
  • Global Affairs: 3%

The breakdown by gender of all current undergraduate students reveals slightly more men than women, a rarity in today鈥檚 postsecondary landscape (outside of engineering-heavy schools):

  • Male: 51%
  • Female: 49%

In a recent application cycle, students participated in the following activities:

  • Community service: 87%
  • Music/drama/fine arts/dance: 44%
  • Captain of a varsity sport: 43%
  • Head of a major student organization: 26%

Yield Rate

The yield rate 鈥 the percentage of accepted students who elect to enroll, divided by the total number of students who are admitted 鈥 was 61% last year, meaning that the majority of students who are admitted decide to attend. For comparison, schools like Stanford and Harvard were over 80%, and the University of Chicago, MIT, and Yale all sported 70%+ yield rates. Notre Dame finished ahead of elite private institutions such as Vanderbilt, Rice, and Carnegie Mellon.

How Notre Dame Rates Applicants

There are a whopping nine factors that this school ranks as being 鈥渧ery important鈥 to their admissions process: rigor of secondary school record, class rank, GPA, essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent/ability, character/personal qualities, and volunteer experience. Rating as 鈥渋mportant鈥 are: first-generation status and religious affiliation. They 鈥渃onsider鈥 an applicant鈥檚 work experience, legacy status, and geographic/state residency. Demonstrated interest is no longer factored into the equation.

In the words of Notre Dame admissions officers themselves: 鈥淭he most competitive applicants to Notre Dame are well-rounded, so we take a well-rounded, or holistic, view of students’ applications. That holistic review means that admissions counselors at Notre Dame evaluate both the academic and non-academic components of the application.鈥

The holistic review conducted by the university also dives into a student鈥檚 unique circumstances. The 鈥渃ontext of a student’s application is also incredibly important to the admissions process at Notre Dame. The context revolves around where the student goes to high school and what opportunities are available to a student. Context means not comparing different schools and different applicants from those different schools, however.鈥

Tips for Applying

If you plan on joining the 35,000+ Fighting Irish hopefuls for the next admissions cycle, you should know the following:

  • Familiarize yourself with the .
  • The school will remain test-optional for the 2025-26 cycle.
  • The school does favor those with a legacy connection; 28% of one recent freshman cohort were legacies.
  • There are no interviews offered through the university. Notre Dame states that 鈥渋t is through your essays that we are able to hear your voice, learn your sense of humor, empathize with your struggles.鈥
  • They do not consider 鈥demonstrated interest鈥 so your engagement with the school during the application process is no longer tracked.
  • Make sure to dedicate sufficient time and effort to the three supplemental essays required by Notre Dame. In the 2025-26 cycle, the prompts were as follows:

Essays

  • Briefly share what draws you to the area(s) of study you listed. (100 words)
  • Everyone has different priorities when considering their higher education options and building their college or university list. Tell us about your 鈥渘on-negotiable鈥 factor(s) when searching for your future college home. (150 words)

Choose 3 questions from the options below (50-100 words each):

  • How does faith influence the decisions you make?
  • What is distinctive about your personal experiences and development (eg, family support, culture, disability, personal background, community, etc)? Why are these experiences important to you and how will you enrich the Notre Dame community?聽
  • Notre Dame鈥檚 undergraduate experience is characterized by a collective sense of care for every person. How do you foster service to others in your community?
  • What compliment are you most proud of receiving, and why does it mean so much to you?
  • What would you fight for?

For advice on how to answer these prompts, you may want to check out our blog: Notre Dame Supplemental Essay Prompts and Tips.听

Should I apply to Notre Dame?

With the University growing more competitive each year, you will likely need to possess stellar SAT scores and near-perfect grades, and earn a place in the top 5-10% of your high school class. Applying REA can provide a small edge if you find yourself 鈥渙n the cusp鈥 from an admissions standpoint.

University of Notre Dame Acceptance Rate – Final Thoughts

All college-bound teens 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 definitely want to do this in conjunction with an admissions professional (including your own high school counselor).

Ready to start crafting your college applications? Consider reviewing the following: