How to Get Into Clemson University: Acceptance Rate & Strategies

July 31, 2025

Clemson University, a public land-grant institution located in South Carolina, is home to more than 23,000 undergraduate students. After receiving an all-time record of 60,000+ applications in 2024, it is fair to say that becoming a Clemson Tiger has never been a more common goal for stellar students in South Carolina as well as throughout the rest of the United States. For students to turn that dream into reality, they will need to bring stronger academic credentials to the table than at any previous time in the school’s 130+ year history. For evidence, you can look to Clemson’s dropping acceptance rate and incredibly impressive admitted student profile.

Given the rising selectivity of Clemson, this article will touch on the following topics:

Clemson’s Class of 2028 acceptance rate (plus how to predict your chances with our free admissions calculator)
SAT/ACT, GPA, and class rank for Clemson freshmen
Admissions trends from the Class of 2028
Clemson’s system for rating applicants
A look at the demographics of current Clemson undergraduates
The percentage of accepted students who attend Clemson (yield rate)
Tips for applying to Clemson
How to assess whether applying to Clemson is even worth the $70 application fee (for you)

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Clemson Acceptance Rate – Class of 2028

There were an eye-popping 61,517 applications for admission into the Tiger Class of 2028, and 23,586 individuals received an acceptance. This acceptance rate of 38% was in line with the previous year.

	Applicants	Admits	Acceptance Rate
Class of 2027	60,122	22,879	38%
Class of 2026	52,819	22,704	43%
Class of 2025	47,007	23,138	49%
Class of 2024	28,600	17,715	62%

Clemson University In-State vs. Out-of-State Acceptance Rate

Your path to Clemson will be much easier if you are a South Carolina resident. For the Class of 2028, the acceptance rate for in-state students was 56% compared to 35% for out-of-state applicants and 35% for international students.

What GPA do you need to get into Clemson?

An impressive 86% of enrolled Class of 2028 students possessed an unweighted 4.0 GPA. Just 4% of students had a GPA below 3.75.

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

54.5% of 2024-25 freshmen placed in the top decile of their high school class while 92% placed in the top quartile; 99.6% landed in the top half.

What is the minimum SAT or ACT score for Clemson?

Although Clemson is test-optional, about 55% of enrolled students submitted an SAT or ACT result alongside their application. According to Class of 2028 statistics, the mid-50% SAT range for enrolled freshmen who submitted scores was 1250-1400; the ACT range was 28-32.

Admissions Trends & Notes – Class of 2028

Applications rose by just 2% last year, but they have more than doubled since 2020.
The Clemson acceptance rate has dropped a staggering 24 points over the past four years.
Interestingly, Clemson claims 95 percent of all South Carolina applicants for the Class of 2028 were offered a path to Clemson University through fall admission, the summer term, or entrance into the “Bridge to Clemson” program.
The Class of 2028 included students from 273 South Carolina High Schools.
The Class of 2028 includes 50 international students from 29 countries.

How Clemson Rates Applicants

There are four factors that the Clemson admissions committee deems as “very important” to the process: rigor of high school course load, class rank, GPA, and state residency. Standardized test scores are the sole factor labeled as “important.” “Considered” factors are: recommendations, extracurricular activities, first-generation, talent/ability, and legacy status, and geographical residency.

Directly from the Clemson admissions staff:

“One of the clearest indicators of your fit at Clemson is your academic performance in high school. We examine your GPA, class rank and the rigor of the classes you took to gauge your ability to rise to academic challenges.”
“Most of our applicants have competitive GPAs and present transcripts with college preparatory, honors and AP coursework based on what is offered by their high school.”

It is also worth highlighting that recruited athletes enjoy a huge edge. This is because Clemson takes great pride in their 19 NCAA Division I sports teams. Within the Class of 2027, there were 117 student-athletes.

For advice about how to stand out on the extracurricular front, check out our previous blog entitled How Many Extracurricular Activities Do I Need for College?

Who Actually Gets Into Clemson?

Let’s look at the demographics of the current Clemson undergrads.

In 2024, the top five U.S. states represented in the Clemson undergraduate population were as follows:

South Carolina: 58%
North Carolina: 4.4%
New Jersey: 4.3%
Georgia: 3.8%
New York: 3.7%

Among non-residents, competition is stiffest 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 Wyoming or North Dakota, your location is more likely to provide a boost to your admissions chances at Clemson. Keep this in mind as you consider Clemson’s acceptance rate.

International students made up about 1% of the Class of 2028. Among that tiny group, there were 29 countries represented.

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

White: 77%
Asian: 3%
Hispanic: 7.6%
Black or African American: 4%
Two or more races: 4%

Looking at the gender breakdown, the Class of 2028 enrolled many more women than men:

Men: 39%
Women: 59%

Students in the 2024-25 first-year class included:

56% South Carolina residents
273 South Carolina high schools
1,432 non-South Carolina high schools
50 states and the District of Columbia

In a recent year, the top 5 intended majors were:

General Engineering
Pre-Business
Biology
Computer Science
Nursing

Clemson’s Yield Rate

Clemson’s yield rate—the percentage of accepted students who elect to enroll, divided by the total number of students who are admitted—is only 20%. This figure is significantly lower than other Southern powerhouse state universities like UGA (38%), UVA (42%), and UNC-Chapel Hill (45%).

Tips for Applying to Clemson

If you plan on joining the 61,000+ Clemson hopefuls for the next admissions cycle, you should know the following:

Clemson will continue to be test-optional for the 2024-25 admissions cycle.
Clemson does not use evaluative interviews as part of their evaluation process. Therefore, you will need to find alternative ways to make a personal connection to an admissions officer through your essays and recommendations.
Legacy is factored into the admissions process, which means that being the son or daughter of one (or two) Tiger alumni can boost your admissions chances. This is something to keep in mind when looking at Clemson’s acceptance rate.
Clemson does not consider “demonstrated interest” so you will not be judged on whether or not you made a campus visit, contacted an admissions officer, etc.
Unless you are applying to the Honors College, Clemson does not require applicants to submit supplemental essays. Therefore, you should devote plenty of time to perfecting your Common App essay.

Should I Apply to Clemson?

Those with SAT/ACT scores within the mid-50% mark for Clemson who have earned a place in the top 10% of their high school class are absolutely viable candidates for Clemson. Those who are inside the top 25% of the class and/or have SAT/ACT scores above the median mark also have a solid chance at gaining acceptance—particularly if they are South Carolina residents. Keep this in mind when thinking about Clemson’s acceptance rate.

Clemson University Acceptance Rate—Final Thoughts

All teens applying to a school of Clemson’s ilk also need to have a proper mix of “target” and “safety” schools on their college list. More on creating a balanced college list can be found here.

Need additional college application resources? Consider checking out the following:

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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).