UNC Chapel Hill SAT Scores & Admissions

Current admissions guidance for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

UNC–Chapel Hill is a highly selective public research university with a reported 1390–1530 SAT middle-50% range in the federal College Scorecard snapshot. That competitive range is separate from the UNC System's minimum testing rules.

How to use your SAT score

• Treat 930 as a system eligibility minimum for applicants below a 2.8 weighted GPA, not as a competitive target for UNC–Chapel Hill.
• A score within the reported 1390–1530 range can strengthen the academic evidence in an otherwise competitive application.
• Applicants with a 2.8-or-higher weighted GPA may omit a score that does not represent their academic work well.

Admissions details checked July 17, 2026. Verify policies before applying: UNC first-year application and deadlines · UNC testing guidelines.

How University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill compares

• Its SAT rank in the stored federal dataset is #24 of 197 US colleges with published SAT ranges in this snapshot and #2 of 10 in NC.
• Its 15% acceptance rate is more selective than 91% of the 197 colleges in the same ranked pool.
• Reported section midpoints skew 10 points toward Math (640 Math vs 630 Reading and Writing).
• Median earnings 10 years after entry ($72,200) are $9,134 above the $63,066 median across that pool.
• Out-of-state students pay $32,209 more per year than in-state students ($41,203 vs $8,994).

What the numbers say about University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• The reported middle 50% spans 140 points, from 1390 to 1530. A planning score near or above 1570 gives you a target above that historical range, not an admission guarantee.
• The reported section midpoints are 630 Reading and Writing and 640 Math. Use the lower section as the first place to look for recoverable points in your own score split.
• The Scorecard snapshot reports a 15% acceptance rate. That rate describes a past applicant pool and should not be read as your personal admission probability.
• Reported outcomes include a 91% completion rate and $72,200 in median earnings 10 years after entry. Compare those figures with cost and program fit, not in isolation.

Tuition and outcomes

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard. Documentation version September 2025; our snapshot imported April 25, 2026. Scorecard fields can come from different reporting years, and this snapshot does not encode one universal data year. SAT totals are rounded to the nearest valid 10 points. Tuition excludes room, board, fees, and books. Read the methodology.

How your SAT score lines up

The Scorecard snapshot places the middle 50% of reported scores between 1390 and 1530. This is descriptive data, not an admission threshold or probability estimate.

• 1570 SAT planning target: Above the reported middle-50% range, not an admission guarantee.
• 1530 SAT (reported 75th percentile): At the upper end of the reported middle-50% range.
• 1460 SAT (range midpoint): Within the reported range; not a measured median.
• 1390 SAT (reported 25th percentile): At the lower end of the reported middle-50% range.

Colleges with similar SAT scores

Ranked by proximity to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's reported SAT midpoint. Similar scores do not imply similar programs, cost, or admission odds.

Questions about University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill