Carnegie Mellon acceptance rate and admissions statistics
Carnegie Mellon admitted 3,859 of 33,083 first-year applicants in its 2026-27 Common Data Set, an official acceptance rate of 11.7%. Every number below comes from the college’s own Common Data Set, each year linked to its document; a figure the college leaves blank says “Not published”, and the notes at the foot of the page say where a total is the sum of rows the college printed.
What did admitted applicants have? How to get into Carnegie Mellon counts the grades, scores and activities they posted.
Carnegie Mellon acceptance rate by year
| CDS year | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance rate | Enrolled | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 33,083 | 3,859 | 11.7% | 1,865 | 48.3% |
| 2025-26 | 34,867 | 3,859 | 11.1% | 1,804 | 46.7% |
| 2024-25 | 33,941 | 3,959 | 11.7% | 1,808 | 45.7% |
Acceptance rate is admitted divided by applied; yield is enrolled divided by admitted. Both are computed by Aristo Scholars from the two counts printed beside them.
Early decision at Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon waitlist
Carnegie Mellon SAT and ACT scores
What Carnegie Mellon says matters in admission
In section C7 each college rates its own admission factors as Very Important, Important, Considered or Not Considered. These are the factors Carnegie Mellon rated in the top two tiers.
- 2026-27
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Academic GPA, Extracurricular activities, Character/personal qualities, Volunteer work
- Important: Application essay, Recommendations, Talent/ability, First generation
- 2025-26
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Academic GPA, Extracurricular activities, Character/personal qualities, Volunteer work
- Important: Application essay, Recommendations, Talent/ability, First generation
- 2024-25
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Academic GPA, Extracurricular activities, Character/personal qualities, Volunteer work
- Important: Application essay, Recommendations, Talent/ability, First generation
Carnegie Mellon testing policy for students applying in 2026-27
Varies by college. The School of Computer Science requires the SAT or ACT. Engineering, Dietrich, Heinz Information Systems, Mellon College of Science and Tepper are 'test flexible': a test is required, but it can be the SAT, ACT, IB, AP, A-Level or French Bac. The College of Fine Arts is test-optional and requires a portfolio or audition. The page does not name the cycle; this is the policy posted on 2026-11-05.
From Carnegie Mellon’s admissions site, read 2026-11-05. Policies change; the college’s page is the authority.
How these numbers were read
Carnegie Mellon has published its 2026-27 Common Data Set (the Fall 2026 class), so the three most recent years are 2026-27, 2025-26 and 2024-25. Enrolled counts full-time and part-time students.
Carnegie Mellon acceptance rate questions
- What is the Carnegie Mellon acceptance rate?
- Carnegie Mellon's Common Data Set for 2026-27 reports 33,083 first-year applicants and 3,859 admitted, an acceptance rate of 11.7%. It was 11.1% in 2025-26 and 11.7% in 2024-25.
- What is the Carnegie Mellon early decision acceptance rate?
- In 2026-27, 559 of 2,422 early decision applicants were admitted (23.1%), against 11.7% of all applicants. Early decision applicants are a different pool who commit to enroll, so the two rates are not a like-for-like comparison.
- What SAT scores do Carnegie Mellon students have?
- In 2026-27, the middle half of enrolled first-year students who submitted the SAT scored 1510 to 1560, and ACT submitters scored 34 to 36. 34.4% of enrolled students submitted an SAT score.
- How many students get off the Carnegie Mellon waitlist?
- In 2026-27, Carnegie Mellon offered 8,681 applicants a place on the waitlist; 4,316 accepted one, and 73 were admitted from it.
- Does Carnegie Mellon require the SAT or ACT for students applying in 2026-27?
- Varies by college. The School of Computer Science requires the SAT or ACT. Engineering, Dietrich, Heinz Information Systems, Mellon College of Science and Tepper are 'test flexible': a test is required, but it can be the SAT, ACT, IB, AP, A-Level or French Bac. The College of Fine Arts is test-optional and requires a portfolio or audition. The page does not name the cycle; this is the policy posted on 2026-11-05.
Applying to Carnegie Mellon?
An acceptance rate describes the whole pool, not one student. A Specialist can read your student’s file against what Carnegie Mellon says it weighs.
Source: Carnegie Mellon Common Data Set, sections C1, C2, C7, C9 and C21, each year linked above, read 2026-11-05. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with Carnegie Mellon. All official acceptance rates