Why is Arizona State University’s (ASU) acceptance rate so high?

Aug. 13, 2026

By Matt Lopez

Vice President of Academic Enterprise Enrollment for Arizona State University

Arizona State University's acceptance rate is high because we intentionally admit all students who meet our academic admission standards. Unlike universities that limit enrollment to increase exclusivity, ASU's charter emphasizes inclusion and student success. We believe that academic excellence and accessibility can exist together, and our size enables us to invest in research, faculty and student opportunities while maintaining rigorous admission requirements. A high acceptance rate reflects our mission, not lower academic standards. 

Before I explain further, let’s address the elephant in the room. You are likely thinking, “Of course ASU’s head of enrollment is going to say ASU is an excellent university and defend its admission philosophy.” You’re right, I will. 

But I’ve spent my career in higher education at several universities. I’ve worked at schools and consulted with universities that believe the only way to achieve greatness is to limit who can enroll. I do not believe this, and ASU is a model that shows that excellence and inclusivity can coexist.

Does a high acceptance rate mean ASU is low quality?

Acceptance rate alone is not a reliable measure of educational quality. ASU’s high acceptance rate reflects our mission and values of offering every qualified student an education. Our commitment to quality is reflected in nationally recognized research, world-class faculty, strong employer partnerships and recognition from multiple national and global university rankings.

Why is ASU so large?

Some may say ASU is just too big and too accessible to be high quality. In reality, it’s actually our size that makes us an outstanding university.  

When our university president Michael Crow took the helm in the early 2000s, he committed to providing higher education access to all students qualified to succeed in college. This was unconventional at the time, as the prevailing belief was that as a university’s enrollment grew, its academic quality declined.

President Crow saw it differently. He turned the assumption that a big university can’t be an excellent university on its head. He hired some of the world’s top professors, combined disparate units to come at global challenges from multiple perspectives, and built a culture that rewarded innovation over tradition. 

He instituted a university charter, which states in part that ASU measures itself not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed. Rather than restricting enrollment to artificially inflate rankings, President Crow argued that universities have a societal obligation to maximize the number of people who can benefit from a top-tier education. 

Education is for everyone

President Crow showed remarkable conviction when he resolved to accept any student who meets admission standards. Why was he right in doing so? Because education should be for everyone, not just the privileged few.

Some universities are considered elite because of how many students they don’t admit; how many students they say no to. I came to ASU because it is so much more fun to say yes. I wanted to be at a university that looks beyond a student’s family connections or what they scored on a standardized test. I wanted to be at a university that believes that everyone deserves a college education if they want to pursue one. ASU thinks they should.  If they’re qualified, they’re in.

Finding your niche

I understand the concern that I hear sometimes about fitting in at big universities. It makes sense that you might be worried about finding your people when so many students attend ASU. Honestly, the opposite is usually true. Because we’re a bigger school, we can offer lots of opportunities for you to find your niche. We have a large Tempe campus that enrolls about 60,000 students. We have a medium size, urban campus in downtown Phoenix that enrolls around 10,000, and two smaller campuses (West Valley and Polytechnic) that enroll 5,000 to 6,000 students. And, we even have locations in Los Angeles and London. We also have more than 1,000 student clubs for every student interest imaginable — from drone flying, to gaming, to quidditch, to club sports, to robotics, dance and everything in between.

In fact, we hear all the time from our students that by the end of their first semester, most of them have found their place and their people, and have settled into university life. Suddenly the big university doesn’t feel so big anymore. It feels like a collection of smaller communities.

Our students also tell us that one of the reasons they chose ASU is because of the amount of opportunities and options that ASU offers. That includes the choice of which campus to study on. Want to attend a campus with fewer students or even take classes online? We have those options for you.

The results are in

ASU stands out among U.S. universities, ranking in the top 15 domestically and top 40 globally for employable graduates. That’s higher than Johns Hopkins, Dartmouth, Brown and UCLA, according to the 2026 Global Employability University Ranking and Survey. When measured against public universities, ASU is No. 2 and trails only after UC Berkeley.

Access is our superpower

ASU has shown that two things can be true at once — a big, accessible university can be an academically excellent university, and it can offer students opportunities that in turn make that university feel small. It’s a reminder that the best ideas often begin by questioning long-held assumptions. 

To quickly summarize, ASU’s acceptance rate is high because:

• ASU admits all students who meet admission requirements.
• ASU was designed to serve more qualified students — not fewer.
• A higher acceptance rate reflects ASU's mission, not lower academic quality.
• ASU invests heavily in research, faculty and student success despite its size.
• Admission standards are consistent with Arizona's public universities. 

So yes, ASU admits a lot of students and that’s because there are a lot of students who are qualified and excited to be here. We embrace the opportunity to educate as many people as possible, which in turn makes our communities stronger and empowers people to create better lives for themselves and their families. It’s a badge we wear with honor.

Matt López

Vice President, Academic Enterprise Enrollment,

Academic Enterprise Enrollment