AU Admission Requirements

Acceptance Rate

How hard is it to get into AU and can I get accepted? The school has a 36% acceptance rate ranking it #3 in District Of Columbia for lowest rate of acceptance. Last year, 6,691 out of 18,545 applicants were admitted making AU a highly competitive school to get into with a lesser chance of acceptance for qualifying applicants.  Academically, it has very high requirements for admission test scores, generally admitting students who score in the top 19 percent. American University typically accepts and attracts "A-" average high school students. Only 26% of those admitted chose to enroll in the school. Most incoming freshmen graduated in the top quarter of their high school class.

Test Optional

Submission of SAT or ACT scores is not required for admission to American University. If you submit test scores, they will be considered with your application, but they are not mandatory. 52% of students submit SAT scores and 36% submit ACT scores.

SAT Requirements & Average SAT Score

SAT Scores you need to get in

What are the SAT requirements for students to be admitted to American University?

American University typically prefers applicants to be in the top 23 percent of SAT test takers. The school consistently takes SAT composite scores down to 1210 on a 1600 scale, below which admission should be considered a reach. We estimate some students could be accepted with SAT's as low as 1120. The estimated average SAT composite for admitted freshman is 1300 out of 1600. The school ranks #3 in District Of Columbia for highest average SAT composite score. 52 percent of applicants submit SAT scores to the school.

Estimated Chance of Acceptance by SAT Score

ACT Requirements & Average ACT Score

ACT Scores needed to get accepted

What are the ACT requirements for prospective students to get into AU?

Admission data indicates that AU regularly accepts students with ACT's of 27 and above. Successful applicants typically send ACT scores in the top 15 percent nationally. We estimate the school accepting minimum ACT composite scores around 25 in some instances. Prospective students submitting an ACT composite of 29 or higher should be in the upper half of applicants - and students with a 31 and above have very competitive chances. The school ranks #3 in District Of Columbia for highest average ACT composite score. 36 percent of applicants submit ACT scores to American University.

Estimated Chance of Acceptance by ACT Score

Estimated GPA Requirements & Average GPA

What GPA do you need to get into American University?

Applicants require very good grades in high school to get into AU. The average high school GPA of the admitted freshman class at American University was 3.7 on the 4.0 scale indicating that primarily A- students are accepted and ultimately attend. The school ranks #3 in District Of Columbia for highest average GPA. Even with a competitive GPA, admission to AU will be challenging as the school denies more applicants than it admits.

 What do these ratings mean?

*This school has not released high school GPA data for its incoming freshmen. In these cases, CollegeSimply employs an artificial intelligence (AI) process to predict GPA based on this school's test scores and a large sample of other colleges' data. 3.7 is an estimate of the school's average incoming freshman GPA.

High School Class Rank

78% of American University freshman were in the top twenty five percent of their high school graduating class.

Admission Statistics

Fall 2021 Application Deadline

Application Fee

The cost for prospective students to apply to American University is $75.

Admission Requirements

What are the requirements for admission to American University and what student information is used for admission decisions?

Credits Accepted