University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
UNC Chapel Hill publishes 17% (Fall 2025). In-state applicants got in at 37%; out-of-state at 9.6%.
Acceptance rate
What UNC Chapel Hill's 17% is made of
The published rate averages groups with very different odds. These are the splits UNC Chapel Hill reports itself.
Part of Real Acceptance Rates, our series decomposing published rates from each school's own Common Data Set.
Testing
Required for 2026-27
- Policy
UNC's own CDS 2025-26 (Section C8A, 'policies for use in admission for students applying for Fall 2027') checks SAT/ACT under 'Required to be considered for admission' — NOT 'Recommended' or 'Not required but considered.' The GPA-conditional nuance is real and is itself confirmed verbatim in the CDS's own C8F clarification: 'Beginning with the Fall 2025-26 academic year, students with a weighted GPA below 2.8 (on a 4.0 scale) are required to submit either an ACT or SAT score. If applicants have scores that they choose to share with us, they will be considered as one fact among many in our holistic application review.' So: not a blanket requirement for every applicant, but UNC's own official CDS classification is 'required,' not 'optional' — publish it as such, with the GPA threshold as the caveat, not the headline.
- SAT middle 50%
- 1390–1530sum of section 25th–75th percentiles
- ACT middle 50%
- 28–34
- Average HS GPA
- 4.47 (weighted)Fall 2025 (CDS 2025-26) · Source
Applying
Deadlines, essays and AI policy
- Early deadlines
- Oct 15, 2026 (EA)
- Regular decision
- Jan 15, 2027Source
- Supplemental essays
- None beyond the personal statement
UNC removed its two short-answer supplemental questions for the 2026-2027 cycle; only the required Common App essay remains ("Short essays removed from Carolina's 2026-2027 application," per UNC's own admissions blog).
- AI use in essays
No Official Policy
UNC's admissions FAQ does have an AI section — but it covers the admissions office's own use of AI in reviewing applications. UNC publishes no policy on applicants' use of AI in essays.
Full cycle calendar: Application Deadlines.
At a glance
Size and cost
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 20,752
- Tuition (out-of-state)
- $41,203
- Category
- Top Public
- Admissions site
- www.unc.edu
Dewey Smart
Dewey students who got into UNC Chapel Hill
What should this school mean for your list?
A published rate is one input. Working out what it means alongside the rest of your list is the part that actually changes an application. Free 25-minute call, no commitment.
Sources
- UNC Chapel Hill test policy (2026-27)
- UNC Chapel Hill GPA (Fall 2025 (CDS 2025-26))
- UNC Chapel Hill admissions pages
- UNC Chapel Hill admissions pages
- Acceptance rate, test-score percentiles, enrollment and tuition: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, pulled 2026-08-19.
Test policy and deadlines last verified 2026-08-17.
Is this school right for your student?
Talk through UNC Chapel Hill with an advisor.
Tell us about your student and we'll tell you whether UNC Chapel Hill is a reach, a target or a likely, and what would change that.
Book my free consult
