The Citadel acceptance rate and your odds of getting in
The Citadel is a public university in South Carolina that admits most qualified applicants (around 76%), which puts it in the accessible range. A rate like this means it admits most qualified applicants; the bar is less about clearing a single cutoff and more about how your full profile compares to admitted students.
Use this page to see what The Citadel weighs, where it ranks among South Carolina schools, and how a profile like yours is likely to land. Admitted students post a 75th-percentile SAT around 1200, a useful checkpoint for where your scores sit, though it is a reference range and not a cutoff.
What do students study at The Citadel?
Bachelor's degrees awarded by field in 2023 (IPEDS completions). Each field has its own page with the school's numbers, the model's major adjustment, and peers offering it.
Will I get into The Citadel?
Direct answers to what applicants ask about getting into The Citadel, plus a free way to calculate your own odds.
What are my chances of getting into The Citadel?
At The Citadel, your real chance depends on far more than the published 76% admit rate. Your real odds depend on how your GPA, course rigor, test scores, and activities compare to its admitted students. Run your profile through the free CollegeCalcAI calculator to get a personalized acceptance percentage for The Citadel in about three minutes, with no account needed to start.
Is The Citadel hard to get into?
The Citadel is accessible: it admits most qualified applicants, with about a 76% acceptance rate. Meeting the academic basics gives most qualified applicants a realistic shot.
What GPA do you need to get into The Citadel?
There is no hard GPA cutoff at The Citadel, but admitted students span a wide GPA range, with many in the 2.8 to 3.5 band. The Citadel reads your GPA alongside the rigor of your courses, so a challenging schedule matters as much as the number itself.
Your chances at The Citadel by GPA and SAT
Estimated chance of admission at The Citadel for plain profiles, from the same model as the calculator. Unweighted GPA, 3 AP courses, Regular Decision, no legacy, athletic or first-generation hook. The last column is test-optional (no score sent).
What are my chances at The Citadel with a 3.1 GPA and a 1190 SAT?
About 95% (Safety), by CollegeCalcAI's deterministic model, for an applicant with a 3.1 unweighted GPA and a 1190 SAT, the middle of The Citadel's admitted range, applying Regular Decision without a hook. A 3.4 GPA with a 1290 SAT comes out near 98%. Courses, activities, essays and the application round move the number; the free calculator includes them.
Estimates, not guarantees. Get yours with your real courses and activities. Assistants and developers can fetch this table from the free API: /api/v1/colleges/the-citadel.
How to get into The Citadel
Built from The Citadel's admitted class and what it reports weighing. The typical-admit GPA and SAT are CollegeCalcAI's modeled figures, not published cutoffs.
Getting into The Citadel comes down to four decisions, each one visible in the data on this page.
CollegeCalcAI's modeled typical admit at The Citadel carries about a 3.16 core GPA and a 1235 SAT, in the most rigorous schedule available. Meeting it puts you in the admitted range for most applicants.
The admitted middle 50% is 1085 to 1285 SAT (22 to 27 ACT). Submit a score at 1185 or higher; below 1085, apply test-optional if the policy allows.
The Citadel rates rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and character / personal qualities highest in its own Common Data Set. Put your depth there: and a transcript whose rigor rises through junior year.
Most public universities read early applicants first without a binding commitment. Apply by The Citadel's early or priority deadline (confirm dates at citadel.edu), and if you are out of state, know that residency changes both the bar and the price.
How many students apply to The Citadel, and how many get in?
2,883 students applied to The Citadel for fall 2023; 2,828 were admitted (98.1%). 661 enrolled. Only about 23% of admitted students enrolled, so the school admits several students for every seat it expects to fill, which is why its acceptance rate reads higher than its selectivity feels. The Citadel enrolls about 2,705 undergraduates in total, 14% of them women, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 11 to 1.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS 2023 admissions and enrollment.
What SAT and ACT scores do you need for The Citadel?
Admitted students at The Citadel post SAT scores of 1085 to 1285 in the middle 50%, with an average of 1208. On the ACT the middle 50% runs from 22 to 27. A score above 1285 puts you in the top quarter of admits and turns the test into an asset; a score below 1085 puts you in the bottom quarter, where the rest of the application has to carry more weight. The Citadel is test-optional: scores are considered if you submit them but not required. Send a score at or above the middle of the admitted range; otherwise apply without one and let your transcript lead.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10.
What The Citadel looks for
What The Citadel weighs most heavily in its admissions review, informed by its reported Common Data Set.
The Citadel signals that it values rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and character / personal qualities above the rest of the file. Solid grades in a challenging schedule do most of the work here, with the rest of the application providing context. These ratings come from The Citadel's reported Common Data Set, so the full chart below reflects what the school itself says it values, not a generic guess.
SAT score positioning at The Citadel
How common SAT scores sit relative to the admitted middle. This is context, not a probability. Your full profile determines the real estimate.
How much does The Citadel cost after financial aid?
The full sticker price at The Citadel (tuition, fees, housing, food, books) is about $33,880 a year. Tuition and fees are $12,570 for SC residents and $38,508 for out-of-state students, a $25,938 gap that makes residency the single biggest lever on cost. What families actually pay is different: the average net price after grants and scholarships is $20,723 a year, and it ranges from $15,430 for families earning under $30,000 to $24,047 for families earning over $110,000. 20% of undergraduates receive a federal Pell Grant.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10. Net price is what students receiving aid paid after grants, by family income.
What do The Citadel graduates earn, and how many graduate?
Median earnings for The Citadel students ten years after entry are $72,085 ($60,168 at the six-year mark). 75% of first-time, full-time students graduate within six years, and 86% return for a second year. Among graduates who borrowed, median federal debt at graduation is $21,096; 36% of undergraduates take federal loans.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10. Earnings cover students who received federal aid.
How The Citadel compares in South Carolina
The Citadel ranks #19 most selective of 32 schools in South Carolina in our database.
Among the 32 South Carolina schools we track, The Citadel ranks #19 most selective by acceptance rate. Schools like Clemson University (38%) and Furman University (43%) sit nearby, which makes South Carolina a useful frame for calibrating a balanced list. As a public university, residency matters: in-state applicants generally see meaningfully better odds than the headline rate suggests.
Similar to The Citadel
Schools with a similar selectivity profile, worth comparing as you build a balanced list.
If The Citadel is on your list, schools with a similar admit profile are worth a look: Indiana University Indianapolis, Tennessee Tech University, and UC Riverside. Running the same profile against each one in the free calculator is the fastest way to see where you are a reach, a match, or a likely.
Frequently asked questions
What is The Citadel's acceptance rate?
The Citadel admitted 2,828 of 2,883 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class, an acceptance rate of 98.1% (U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS). 23% of admitted students enrolled.
What SAT score do you need for The Citadel?
The middle 50% of admitted students scored 1085 to 1285 on the SAT and 22 to 27 on the ACT. A score above 1285 is in the top quarter of admits. The Citadel is test-optional, so only submit a score that helps.
Is The Citadel test-optional?
Yes. The Citadel reports that test scores are considered but not required. Submit a score at or above the middle of the admitted range; otherwise apply without one.
How much does The Citadel cost after financial aid?
The average net price at The Citadel, what students receiving aid paid after grants and scholarships, is $20,723 a year against a sticker price of about $33,880. Families earning under $30,000 paid about $15,430 on average.
What do The Citadel graduates earn?
Median earnings ten years after entering The Citadel are $72,085 a year among students who received federal aid, and 75% of students graduate within six years (College Scorecard).
What does The Citadel value most in applicants?
Based on its admissions profile, The Citadel weighs rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and character / personal qualities most heavily. The full factor breakdown is on this page.
Does The Citadel favor in-state applicants?
As a public university, The Citadel generally admits in-state applicants at a higher rate than out-of-state applicants, so your home state affects your odds. CollegeCalcAI applies an in-state residency boost when you select your state.
How can I improve my chances at The Citadel?
Focus on the highest-leverage parts of your application: course rigor and GPA trajectory first, then test scores, then a focused leadership or activity spike. CollegeCalcAI's Power-Ups quantify how much each change would move your odds at The Citadel specifically.
How does residency affect admission to The Citadel?
As a public university, The Citadel typically admits in-state students at a higher rate, and tuition differs sharply by residency. Select your home state in the calculator to fold the in-state effect into your estimate.
Acceptance rate, application counts, admitted test ranges, cost, and outcomes reflect publicly reported federal data (U.S. Department of Education: IPEDS 2023 and the College Scorecard) and each school's Common Data Set; figures are rounded and lag the current cycle by one to two years, so confirm deadlines and policies on the school's own site. The typical-admit GPA and SAT are CollegeCalcAI's modeled estimates. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are a planning tool computed by a fixed, transparent model, not a guarantee of any admission decision.