Washington and Lee acceptance rate and admissions statistics
Washington and Lee admitted 1,214 of 8,963 first-year applicants in its 2025-26 Common Data Set, an official acceptance rate of 13.5%. 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 Washington and Lee counts the grades, scores and activities they posted.
Washington and Lee acceptance rate by year
| CDS year | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance rate | Enrolled | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 8,963 | 1,214 | 13.5% | 499 | 41.1% |
| 2024-25 | 8,213 | 1,147 | 14.0% | 472 | 41.2% |
| 2023-24 | 6,820 | 1,184 | 17.4% | 502 | 42.4% |
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 Washington and Lee
Washington and Lee waitlist
Washington and Lee SAT and ACT scores
What Washington and Lee 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 Washington and Lee rated in the top two tiers.
- 2025-26
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Recommendations, Extracurricular activities, Character/personal qualities
- Important: None recorded
- 2024-25
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Recommendations, Extracurricular activities, Character/personal qualities
- Important: None recorded
- 2023-24
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Recommendations, Extracurricular activities, Character/personal qualities
- Important: None recorded
Washington and Lee testing policy for students applying in 2026-27
Test-optional for 2026-27 applicants: W&L extended its test-optional policy, so SAT/ACT scores are not required for first-year or transfer admission in the 2026-27 cycle. Students in local national curricula outside the US should strongly consider submitting scores if they can test.
From Washington and Lee’s admissions site, read 2026-11-05. Policies change; the college’s page is the authority.
How these numbers were read
The 2025-26 C1 has no total row, so totals are the sums of the sex rows, which match the residency breakdown. C7 rates no factor Important.
Washington and Lee acceptance rate questions
- What is the Washington and Lee acceptance rate?
- Washington and Lee's Common Data Set for 2025-26 reports 8,963 first-year applicants and 1,214 admitted, an acceptance rate of 13.5%. It was 14.0% in 2024-25 and 17.4% in 2023-24.
- What is the Washington and Lee early decision acceptance rate?
- In 2025-26, 289 of 1,048 early decision applicants were admitted (27.6%), against 13.5% 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 Washington and Lee students have?
- In 2025-26, the middle half of enrolled first-year students who submitted the SAT scored 1430 to 1530, and ACT submitters scored 33 to 34. 29.7% of enrolled students submitted an SAT score.
- How many students get off the Washington and Lee waitlist?
- In 2025-26, Washington and Lee offered 1,274 applicants a place on the waitlist; 604 accepted one, and 2 were admitted from it.
- Does Washington and Lee require the SAT or ACT for students applying in 2026-27?
- Test-optional for 2026-27 applicants: W&L extended its test-optional policy, so SAT/ACT scores are not required for first-year or transfer admission in the 2026-27 cycle. Students in local national curricula outside the US should strongly consider submitting scores if they can test.
Applying to Washington and Lee?
An acceptance rate describes the whole pool, not one student. A Specialist can read your student’s file against what Washington and Lee says it weighs.
Source: Washington and Lee Common Data Set, sections C1, C2, C7, C9 and C21, each year linked above, read 2026-11-05. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with Washington and Lee. All official acceptance rates