How To Get Into UMass Amherst: Admissions Stats + Tips

Do you know how to improve your profile for college applications?

See how your profile ranks among thousands of other students using CollegeVine. Calculate your chances at your dream schools and learn what areas you need to improve right now — it only takes 3 minutes and it's 100% free.

Show me what areas I need to improve

What’s Covered:

• How Hard Is It to Get Into UMass Amherst?
• Average Academic Profile of Accepted UMass Amherst Students
• What is UMass Amherst Looking for?
• How to Improve Your Chances of Getting into UMass Amherst

 

UMass Amherst is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system. Founded as an agricultural college in 1863, UMass’s first class consisted of just 34 students. Today, UMass Amherst offers 110 undergraduate majors ranging from Afro-American Studies to Turfgrass Management and is home to over 24,000 undergraduates. Of those undergrads, over 14,000 of them live in one of UMass Amherst’s 51 residence halls—giving the university one of the largest on-campus housing systems in the nation.

 

How Hard Is It to Get Into UMass Amherst?

 

Gaining admission to UMass Amherst is not guaranteed. During the 2025-2026 admissions cycle, the university received 53,117 applications and admitted just 31,813 students, resulting in a 60% overall acceptance rate. UMass Amherst has an Early Action admissions process, through which about 33,000 (approximately 62%) of prospective students applied.

 

While UMass Amherst’s acceptance rate is low, your chances of admission are contingent upon the strength of your profile. CollegeVine can add clarity to your chances at UMass Amherst. Our free admissions calculator uses factors like your grades, test scores, and extracurriculars to estimate your odds of acceptance, as well as to provide tips to improve your profile!

 

Average Academic Profile of Accepted UMass Amherst Students

 

GPA

 

The average high school GPA of first-time, first-year students at UMass during the 2025-2026 admissions cycle was 4.05 and roughly 60% of them graduated high school with a 4.0. 

 

SAT/ACT

 

For the 2025–2026 admissions cycle, the middle 50% SAT scores of incoming UMass undergraduates ranged from 1330 to 1480, while the middle 50% ACT scores ranged from 30 to 34.

 

Class Rank

 

Students accepted to UMass Amherst generally graduated at, or near, the top of their class— about 34% of the incoming undergraduates during the 20252-2026 admissions cycle graduated in the top tenth of their high school. 

 

What is UMass Amherst Looking for?

 

UMass is a state-run institution and state residency factors into admissions decisions. In-state students made up over 66% of the incoming class. That said, both in-state and out-of-state applicants had similar acceptance rates in the 2025–2026 admissions cycle, with in-state students holding a slight advantage:

 

• In-state acceptance rate: 58%
• Ou-of-state acceptance rate: 64%

 

The disparity between the number of in-state and out-of-state students is a result of yield. About one in four accepted in-state students chose to matriculate, while only about one in 11 out-of-state students did so. 

 

State residency is just one of many factors considered when considering an applicant for admission to UMass Amherst. UMass Amherst reviews every application and while it places considerable weight on academic performance, it’s also searching for students who are driven, talented, and unique.

 

How UMass Amherst Evaluates Applications

 

According to their 2025-2026 Common Data Set, UMass Amherst considers the following factors “very important”:

 

• Course rigor
• GPA

 

These factors are “important”:

 

• Class rank 
• Essay
• Recomendation
• Extracurricular activities
• Talent
• Character
• Work experience

 

These are “considered”:

 

• Standardized test scores 
• First generation
• Volunteer work

 

And these are “not considered”:

 

• Interview 
• Legacy 
• Geographic location 
• State residency 
• Religious affiliation
• Applicant interest