How to Get Into American University: Acceptance Rate and Strategies

August 5, 2025

Washington, DC, is an attractive locale for students looking to attend college in a bustling, cosmopolitan city with a bevy of recreational, cultural, and internship/pre-professional opportunities. Therefore, it makes sense that American University’s acceptance rate has dipped as low as 26% in recent years, a precipitous drop from the mid-2010s when admit rates were 20 points higher. (For perspective, AU’s acceptance rate was 77% in 1994.)

Given that American University is now a very selective institution, we will touch on the following topics:

American University’s Class of 2028 acceptance rate (plus how to predict your chances with our free admissions calculator)
American University’s ED acceptance rate
SAT, ACT, GPA, and class rank of accepted American University applicants
Admissions trends at AU
The demographics of current American University undergraduates
American University’s yield rate
How American University’s admissions officers evaluate candidates
Tips for applying to American University, including the supplemental essay
How to assess whether applying to American University is even worth the $75 application fee (for you)

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American University’s Overall Acceptance Rate – Class of 2028

AU received 17,154 applications for a place in the Class of 2028 and accepted 10,613 of them. This means that the American University acceptance rate is 61%.

Historical American University acceptance rates are as follows:

	Applicants	Admits	Acceptance Rate
Class of 2027	17,786	8,427	47%
Class of 2026	19,510	7,926	41%
Class of 2025	19,650	12,594	64%
Class of 2024	20,036	7,744	39%

American University Early Decision Acceptance Rate

As much as any school in the country, American University will reward you handsomely for committing to them via binding Early Decision. If you are a borderline applicant (statistically), this is a great way to go. This statement is evidenced by an 80% ED acceptance rate for the Class of 2028. In total, 726 applicants applied through ED and 579 were accepted.

There are two rounds of Early Decision at AU. The ED I deadline is November 15 and the ED II deadline is January 15.

What GPA do you need to get into American?

Though AU is cagey about GPA, historically, the average GPA of an admitted student was 3.77.

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

Class rank is not considered at American, so the school does not report these numbers.

What is the minimum SAT or ACT score for American?

For the enrolled Class of 2028, the mid-50% SAT range for enrolled freshmen was 1300-1430, while the mid-50% ACT range was 29-32.

Since American is test-optional (more on that below), it’s important to note that just about a third of students submitted test scores alongside their application, so interpret the above numbers with that in mind.

Admissions Trends & Notes

Over the past several years, the number of applications that American has received—as well as its acceptance rate—has fluctuated significantly.
For the Class of 2028, AU’s ED acceptance rate was 20 percentage points higher than the regular decision rate.
Approximately 34% of the Class of 2o28 was filled through the ED round.
About 35% of those waitlisted were ultimately accepted.
Historically, about 10% of enrolled students are the first in their families to attend college.

Who Actually Gets Into American University?

Let’s look at the demographics of American University’s Class of 2027:

Students represented 47 states.
They came from 40 countries around the world.

As at any selective university, competition is toughest among those hailing from states with endless streams of qualified applicants (the entire Northeast & the West Coast). If you hail from a less populated state like Hawaii, the Dakotas, or Montana, your location is more likely to provide a boost to your admissions chances.

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

Asian American: 8%
Hispanic: 18%
Black or African American: 10%
White: 52%
Two or more races: 6.7%

The breakdown by gender was notably split in favor of women:

Male: 40%
Female: 60%

With male students at AU being somewhat of an endangered species, one would think the acceptance rate for men to be higher — not the case. For the Class of 2028, male and female applicants were accepted at the same rate.

International students made up less than 2% of the Class of 2028. Historically, the greatest number of students hail from the following countries:

China
Panama
India
Vietnam
Spain
United Kingdom

Yield Rate

American University’s yield rate—the percentage of accepted students who elect to enroll, divided by the total number of students who are admitted—was an extremely low 15% last year. This is due, in part, to the fact that AU is competing with the same pool of students as many elite institutions in the Northeast. As such, the university greatly values “demonstrated interest” (more on that in a moment). For comparison, other private institutions have the following yield rates: George Washington University (22%), Georgetown (48%), and Boston University (36%).

How American University Rates Applicants

There are only three factors that American University ranks as being “very important” to their admissions process: rigor of secondary school record, GPA, and—the surprise—the level of an applicant’s interest. This last factor connects to the aforementioned low yield rate, so AU is acutely interested in whether a given applicant is likely to actually go on to enroll in their school.

There are an additional six factors that American views as being “important” to their evaluation of a candidate: the application essay, recommendations, talent/ability, extracurricular activities, character/personal qualities, and volunteer work. They “consider”: test scores, first-generation status, legacy status, geographic residence, and paid work experience.

Straight from the American University admissions staff:

“The Office of Admission’s holistic approach to making admissions decisions has helped to identify candidates for admission who are a great fit for AU – including students who are intellectually curious and passionate about creating meaningful change.”

Additional Tips for Applying to American University

If you plan on joining the 17,000+ AU hopefuls for the next admissions cycle, you should know the following:

American University has been test-optional for over a decade, so the policy was not a temporary pandemic measure and is here to stay.
American University weighs “demonstrated interest” as “very important” in the admissions process. Therefore, you will be judged on whether or not you made a campus visit, contacted an admissions officer, followed the school on social media, etc.
A teacher recommendation is required. For tips on requesting a letter of recommendation, check out this blog.
American will ask you for a mid-year report, so make sure to keep your grades up throughout senior year of high school.
Make sure to dedicate sufficient time and effort to AU’s supplemental essay. In the 2025-26 cycle, the prompt is as follows:

American University students identify as changemakers and describe themselves as passionate. Describe a belief, hobby, idea, issue, or topic about which you’re excited. (250 words)

For writing tips and advice, check out our blog: American University Supplemental Essay.

Should I apply to American University?

If you’ve earned mostly A’s in a rigorous courseload, possess a solid extracurricular profile, and are willing to go the extra mile for American via demonstrated interest, you would absolutely be a solid contender for this institution. Unlike many similarly desirable/selective universities, American is not looking for reasons to say “No” to prospective students with reasonably strong credentials.

American University Acceptance Rate — Final Thoughts

If American University is your aim and you don’t have grades and test scores in their 75th percentile range (if electing to submit test scores), make sure to also have a rock-solid backup plan. All students need to make sure that they formulate an appropriate college list, containing a complement of “target” and “safety” schools. You’ll definitely want to do this in conjunction with an admissions professional.

Ready to start building your college applications? Consider checking out the following:

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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).