University of Wisconsin-Madison's admit rate has fallen 6.5 percentage points across the 6 reported years on file.
The headline numbers, drawn from CDS sections A–H.
Per-cycle Common Data Set values. Enrolled is first-year matriculants (CDS B1), not total undergraduate population. Blank cells mean the field was not published in that year's source CDS.
| Year | Admit rate | Enrolled | 6-yr grad | Retention | SAT (50th) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | 45.2% | 8,514 | 91.0% | 96.1% | 1,400 |
| 2023-2024 | — | — | — | 95.0% | — |
| 2022-2023 | 49.0% | 8,628 | 89.2% | 94.2% | 1,440 |
| 2021-2022 | 60.3% | 8,465 | 89.0% | 95.2% | — |
| 2020-2021 | 57.2% | 7,306 | 88.5% | 95.2% | — |
Cross-admits and statistical look-alikes, surfaced from the CollegeNumbers peer model.
Comparative observations derived from this school's reported CDS values and from IPEDS / College Scorecard reference data. Every claim is grounded in a number — no editorial overlay.
Six-year graduation rate exceeds the national median by 35 percentage points.
University of Wisconsin-Madison's 91.0% six-year graduation rate exceeds the national 4-year-institution median of 56.3% (per IPEDS, n=1555) by 34.7 pp.
Admit rate has tightened 12.0 percentage points over 4 reporting cycles.
University of Wisconsin-Madison's admit rate fell from 57.2% (2020-2021) to 45.2% (2024-2025) — a 12.0 pp drop. Year-over-year: 57.2 → 60.3 → 49.0 → 45.2. A snapshot of the current year alone would hide this structural shift.
Cross-admit cohort spans an unusually wide selectivity range.
The schools University of Wisconsin-Madison applicants most commonly also apply to range from 16.4% admit to 78.9% admit — a 62.5 pp band. A reasonable read: applicants choose by region or program fit rather than selectivity tier alone.
First-year retention is among the highest in the index.
University of Wisconsin-Madison's 96.1% first-year retention exceeds the national 4-year-institution median of 76.8% by 19.3 pp — a strong signal of student-institution fit at intake.
Sources: each school's officially-published Common Data Set; IPEDS / College Scorecard for federal comparisons. Methodology →
Compare every CDS field — admissions, aid, outcomes — side by side.
Open in CollegeNumbers compareThe Common Data Set is a standardized reporting form U.S. colleges file annually — sections A through J covering admissions selectivity, enrollment, aid, faculty resources, and outcomes. CollegeNumbers extracts every value directly from each school's officially published CDS PDF, xlsx, docx, or HTML, then normalizes into a unified schema.
Federal data layers — College Scorecard, EADA athletics, Clery campus safety, FSA financial responsibility — are joined on top. Every value traces back to its primary source. All covered schools →