Test-optionalED

Denison University

OH · Private · Midwest · Liberal arts college · Top 50 tier · 2,442 undergraduates (small)

Admission rates

Latest admit rates

Overall admit rate19.5%
ED rate24.8%394 of 1,589
Regular round (est.)†18.8%estimated, see note below

How much of the class comes from ED

~63% of enrolled freshmen were admitted through Early Decision.

This is a share of the freshman class, not an admit rate.

† Regular round (est.) = (all admitted students − Early Decision admits) ÷ (all applicants − Early Decision applicants).

Trends, Fall 2019–Fall 2025

Admission rates

OverallEarly Decision
0%30%60%'19'20'21'22'23'24'2529.4%28.3%22.0%16.9%17.4%19.5%57.4%42.8%31.5%22.0%18.3%24.8%no data

ED share of the enrolled freshman class (% of first-years admitted ED, not an admit rate)

ED admits ÷ enrolled first-years
0%30%60%'19'20'21'22'23'24'2546.5%51.7%no datano datano datano datano data

Early plans

Fall 2027 applicants

Early Decision I & II, binding · School admissions page ↗What this means:

Testing

Testing policy

Fall 2027
Test-optionalSchool testing page ↗ · checked Nov 2026
Fall 2028
Fall 2028 policy not yet announced.School testing page ↗ · checked Nov 2026

Superscoring

What this means:

SAT
Superscores
ACT
Superscores

Source ↗ · checked Nov 3, 2026

Test-optional for fall 2027 entry.

How to send scores

Self-report accepted; official scores only after admission/enrollment

Send all scores? Required

Must report all section scores for every sitting; Denison recalculates the superscore.

School’s words: “We accept both official and self-reported scores. ... If you self-report your score and choose to enroll, we will require you to submit an official score report. ... It is important to note that when you submit your scores you need to submit all test section scores for each time you took a standardized test.”

Source ↗ · checked Nov 3, 2026

Students submitting scores

Est. % submitting scores‡45.2%SAT 26.6% + ACT 18.6%

‡ Est. % submitting scores adds the share of enrolled first-years who submitted the SAT to the share who submitted the ACT.

Submitted SAT26.6%
166 students
Submitted ACT18.6%
116 students

Score ranges (middle 50%)

Enrolled first-years who submitted scores, Fall 2025. A quarter scored below the range and a quarter above.

SAT composite
1270–1420 median 1360
10001600
SAT Reading & Writing
640–720 median 680
500800
SAT Math
630–710 median 660
500800
ACT composite
28–33 median 31
2036

Trends, Fall 2019–Fall 2025

Share of enrolled students submitting scores

SAT + ACT (est.)SATACT
0%50%100%'19'20'21'22'23'24'2577.0%51.0%54.0%51.0%51.0%45.2%38.0%28.0%28.0%26.0%29.0%26.6%39.0%23.0%26.0%25.0%22.0%18.6%no data

SAT composite, middle 50%

25th–75th percentile, enrolled students (labels show both values)
160014001200'19'20'21'22'23'24'251230–137013701230no data1250–1410141012501290–1440144012901320–1440144013201340–1480148013401270–142014201270

ACT composite, middle 50%

25th–75th percentile, enrolled students (labels show both values)
363228'19'20'21'22'23'24'2527–313127no data28–32322829–32322929–32322930–33333028–333328

Waitlist admit rate

Share of students who stayed on the waitlist and were later admitted, by entering class.

  • 2025: 9%
  • 2024: 16%
  • 2023: 8%
  • 2022: 6%
  • 2021: 6%

What is a waitlist? How is it different from a deferral?

Test policy in each Common Data Set

History only. The current policy is under Testing above.

  1. Fall 2027 Test-optional2025-26 CDS
  2. Fall 2026 Not reported2024-25 CDS
  3. Fall 2025 Not reported2023-24 CDS
  4. Fall 2023 Not reported2022-23 CDS
  5. Fall 2023 Not reported2021-22 CDS
  6. No CDS found CDS not available2020-21 CDS
  7. Fall 2021 Not reported2019-20 CDS

Sources