For the 2023 application year, the North Carolina School of the Arts had an overall acceptance rate of 33%, with 1,421 applicants and 470 accepted. Both the Early Action (EA) and Regular Decision (RD) acceptance rates were not reported, but the RD acceptance rate matched the overall, standing at 33%. The waitlist had a robust acceptance rate of 45.6%, with 173 students offered a place and 79 admitted. Transfer students saw a 27.1% acceptance rate from 221 applicants, average GPA for admissions stands at 3.6. SAT scores ranged from a 25th percentile composite of 1175 to a 75th percentile composite of 1345, while ACT scores ranged from a 25th percentile composite of 24 to a 75th percentile composite of 27.

For the application year 2023, the North Carolina School of the Arts had an overall acceptance rate of 33%, accepting 470 out of 1,421 applicants. This marks a slight increase from 31.7% in 2022, when 362 out of 1,139 applicants were accepted. The acceptance rate has shown a general upward trend over the past few years, rising from 29.7% in 2021 and a notable 36.3% in 2020, indicating fluctuating competitiveness in the admissions process. The growth in acceptance rates reflects changes in applicant pools and admission strategies over time.
For the Class of 2028, North Carolina School of the Arts had a wait list acceptance rate of 45.6%, with 79 out of 173 offered places being accepted. In comparison, the previous year (Class of 2027) saw a significantly lower acceptance rate of 15.6%, where only 18 of the 115 wait listed applicants were admitted. The Class of 2026 had an even lower acceptance rate of 12.5%, with just 22 out of 175 accepted, indicating a notable increase in acceptance this year. These historical trends illustrate fluctuations in the wait list dynamics, highlighting the improved chances for those placed on the wait list in the current cycle.
The North Carolina School of the Arts has a transfer acceptance rate of 27.1% for the application year 2024, with 60 out of 221 applicants being accepted. This rate is a slight decrease from the previous year's acceptance rate of 27.9%, where 50 of 179 applicants were accepted. Historically, the acceptance rate has fluctuated, with a lower rate of 24.3% in 2021, when 55 out of 226 applicants were accepted. The average GPA of accepted transfer students is 3.6, reflecting the competitive nature of the applicant pool.
| Race | Applicants |
|---|---|
| Asian American | 3.17% |
| White | 58.37% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 17.19% |
| Black/African American | 9.95% |
| American Indian/Alaskan Native | 0.45% |

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