Wake Forest acceptance rate and admissions statistics
Wake Forest admitted 4,068 of 19,600 first-year applicants in its 2025-26 Common Data Set, an official acceptance rate of 20.8%. 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 Wake Forest counts the grades, scores and activities they posted.
Wake Forest acceptance rate by year
| CDS year | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance rate | Enrolled | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 19,600 | 4,068 | 20.8% | 1,544 | 38.0% |
| 2024-25 | 18,727 | 4,058 | 21.7% | 1,466 | 36.1% |
| 2023-24 | 17,479 | 3,768 | 21.6% | 1,385 | 36.8% |
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 Wake Forest
Early decision counts: Not published. Wake Forest’s Common Data Set prints no early decision applicant or admit counts (section C21) for any year shown.
Wake Forest waitlist
Waitlist counts: Not published. Wake Forest’s Common Data Set prints no waitlist numbers (section C2) for any year shown.
Wake Forest SAT and ACT scores
What Wake Forest 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 Wake Forest rated in the top two tiers.
- 2025-26
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Academic GPA, Application essay, Character/personal qualities
- Important: Recommendations, Interview, Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability
- 2024-25
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Academic GPA, Application essay, Character/personal qualities
- Important: Recommendations, Interview, Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability
- 2023-24
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Academic GPA, Application essay, Character/personal qualities
- Important: Recommendations, Interview, Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability
Wake Forest testing policy for students applying in 2026-27
Test-optional. Wake Forest has not required SAT or ACT scores since 2008 (TOEFL/IELTS still applies to some international applicants). The page does not name a specific cycle; it presents the policy as ongoing.
From Wake Forest’s admissions site, read 2026-11-05. Policies change; the college’s page is the authority.
How these numbers were read
Wake Forest prints no waitlist counts and no early decision counts, although it offers early decision. The 2025-26 and 2024-25 residency totals are blank, so those totals are the sums of the gender rows.
Wake Forest acceptance rate questions
- What is the Wake Forest acceptance rate?
- Wake Forest's Common Data Set for 2025-26 reports 19,600 first-year applicants and 4,068 admitted, an acceptance rate of 20.8%. It was 21.7% in 2024-25 and 21.6% in 2023-24.
- What SAT scores do Wake Forest students have?
- In 2025-26, the middle half of enrolled first-year students who submitted the SAT scored 1420 to 1490, and ACT submitters scored 32 to 34. 24.0% of enrolled students submitted an SAT score.
- Does Wake Forest require the SAT or ACT for students applying in 2026-27?
- Test-optional. Wake Forest has not required SAT or ACT scores since 2008 (TOEFL/IELTS still applies to some international applicants). The page does not name a specific cycle; it presents the policy as ongoing.
Applying to Wake Forest?
An acceptance rate describes the whole pool, not one student. A Specialist can read your student’s file against what Wake Forest says it weighs.
Source: Wake Forest Common Data Set, sections C1, C2, C7, C9 and C21, each year linked above, read 2026-11-05. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with Wake Forest. All official acceptance rates