Yale University acceptance rate, SAT range and net price

Yale took away the AP and IB route

The class that entered in fall 2025 applied under a test-flexible rule: an ACT, an SAT, a set of AP results or IB results all counted. That rule is gone. Anyone applying for fall 2027 must send the SAT or the ACT, and AP or IB scores can only be added on top. In the fall 2025 class, 67% of enrolled students sent an SAT and 25% an ACT, and some sent both. The SAT range below describes only the students who chose to report an SAT, under a rule that did not force anyone to.

With a middle half of 1,480 to 1,560 and a median of 1,540, the scale is compressed at the top: a few dozen points separate the 25th and 75th percentiles. Scores above the range do not move an application into a different tier at a school that turns away about 21 applicants for every one it admits.

Yale: where your SAT score lands

Your SAT total

Enrolled students scoring below you (approx.)

50%

Middle 50%	1,480 to 1,560
Your score is	inside the middle 50%

Fall 2025 entering class (Class of 2029), CDS 2025-2026, C9 (1,092 SAT submitters, 412 ACT submitters). Normal curve fitted to the two published percentiles.

Odds and net price at other universities →

Single-Choice Early Action, and no edge for using it

Yale's early round is Single-Choice Early Action, due November 1, with decisions in mid-December. It is not binding, but it rules out early applications to other private colleges. Yale states plainly that applying early brings no advantage in its review, and a student denied in December cannot try again in Regular Decision, due January 2. The waiting list is long and slow: 944 students were offered a spot for fall 2025 and 32 were finally admitted, according to the CDS.

Yale: net price for your family income

Family income per year

$

Average net price, 2023-24

$17,943

Income band	$48,001-$75,000
Share of the 2023-24 cost	20%

Federal figure for first-year students on federal aid.

Compare with other universities →

A zero parent share that includes the plane ticket

Yale's most generous award goes to families earning below $100,000 with typical assets. It covers tuition and fees, housing, food and travel, adds hospitalization coverage, and gives a $2,000 start-up grant in the first year. Up to $200,000, the scholarship covers at least tuition. Admission is need-blind for every applicant in the world, and aid offers never require a loan, which is why 88% of graduates leave without student debt. The 2026-27 line items are $72,500 of tuition, $21,600 for housing and food and $2,700 of personal costs, plus books and a small activity fee.

The federal averages above are for students who received aid in 2023-24, before the current thresholds. For a figure built on your own income and assets, Yale's calculator remains the reference. To weigh Yale against its closest rivals, see Harvard, Princeton and Columbia.