Admissions Factors

What Denver Looks For

Denver rates 2 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses and academic GPA.

How Denver rates each factor

Each college sorts 18 factors into four levels on its Common Data Set.

Very important

Important

Considered

Not considered

The numbers behind the class

Overall admit rate

85.4%

14,205 of 16,637 applicants

Early decision admit rate

84.6%

Early decision admits equal 20% of the class

Admitted from the waitlist

0 of 4 who stayed on it

Enrolled first-years had an average high school GPA of 3.68. 34% of those who reported a class rank were in the top tenth of their class.

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A link to this page, plus the comparison table for every college we track.

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Frequently asked questions

What does Denver look for in applicants?

Denver rates 2 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses and academic GPA.

Does Denver consider legacy status?

Denver rates alumni relation as "considered" in its 2025-26 Common Data Set.

Does Denver track demonstrated interest?

Denver rates the level of an applicant's interest as "considered".

What is Denver's waitlist acceptance rate?

4 students stayed on the waitlist and 0 were admitted, a rate of 0%. The number changes a lot from year to year because it depends on how many admitted students enroll.

What is Denver's early decision acceptance rate?

Early decision: 231 of 273 applicants were admitted (84.6%), against 85.4% overall. Early pools include recruited athletes and other students with a strong tie to the college, so the gap overstates the boost for an ordinary applicant.

Source: Denver’s own Common Data Set 2025-26, Section C. Last checked 2026-10-08. The ratings are the college’s own description of its process. Counts are for one entering class.