how to get into marquette: sat and act scores, gpa, and more

marquette university is a private, jesuit university that is ranked #84 in national universities. marquette is located walking distance from downtown milwaukee, a city full of museums, restaurants, music venues, and many other fun and exciting things to do. so if you’re looking for an urban college experience in small-ish and super welcoming city, marquette may be for you!

with 11 full schools and more than 100 majors, marquette boasts options for nearly any subject you may be considering. there’s also a rich campus life, with countless extracurricular activities to partake in.

before we explore exactly how to get into marquette, let’s take a look at some quick marquette admissions statistics.

quick marquette admissions statistics

marquette sat scores (average composite score of admitted students)	1240 on a 1600 scale
marquette act scores (average composite score of admitted students)	27 on a 36 scale
marquette gpa (average of admitted students)	3.62 on a 4.0 scale
marquette acceptance rate	81.7%

now you may notice that it takes pretty strong academic chops to get into marquette. at the same time, their acceptance rate is quite high. this means that as long as you’re a strong candidate, you’ll have a great chance of getting in!

without further ado, let’s take a closer look at exactly how to get into marquette university.

more about marquette sat scores

before determining what score you’ll want to aim for, here are a few things to keep in mind about marquette sat scores:

marquette requires that you submit either sat or act scores, but you can certainly submit both if you’d like.

the score choice policy at marquette is “highest sitting,” meaning that you can choose which scores from which testing dates that you submit. marquette will then consider your highest test scores for one specific date. note that marquette does not superscore, meaning that they will not
consider your highest scores across multiple dates.

it appears that the sat essay is currently optional.

so what do you actually have to score to get into marquette?

it actually really helps to consider percentiles when determining what to aim for:

the 25th percentile for marquette sat scores is 1150.

the 75th percentile for marquette sat scores is 1320.

meaning, if you score a 1150 or lower, you will be below average compared to students admitted to marquette. on the other hand, if you score a 1320 or higher, you’ll be above average.

the sweet spot score to aim for is 1320 or higher, which will make you highly competitive.

depending on what program you’re applying for, you may want to raise your score on a given test section. in that case, it can be helpful to consider the percentiles for each individual section:

section	average	25th percentile	75th percentile
math	620	570	660
reading/writing	620	580	660
composite	1240	1150	1320

as a rule of thumb, you should aim for the 75th percentile score or higher for each section. this means scoring higher than 75% of other people applying.

and remember, you only have to submit your highest scores to marquette. you can take the sat as many times as necessary to get a score you’re happy with. you should retake the test if you don’t score a 1310 or higher the first time.

more about marquette act scores

here are a couple things to keep in mind when considering marquette act scores:

you choose which act scores you send to marquette. while marquette does not superscore your act, you can still take the test as many times as you’d like. marquette will only see the highest composite scores you choose to send.

act writing test scores are not required, but are strongly encouraged.

so what do you need to score on the act? again, percentiles are helpful in determining what to aim for:

the 25th percentile for marquette act scores is 24.

the 75th percentile for marquette act scores is 30.

this means that if you score a 24 or lower on your act, you’ll be below average compared to other students accepted to marquette. if you score a 30 or higher, however, you’ll be above average.

the takeaway? you’ll want to aim for a 30 or higher to be a competitive applicant.

more about marquette gpa requirements

the average gpa of students admitted to marquette is an impressive 3.65. a gpa of 3.65 means earning mostly a’s in your high school classes, and perhaps some b’s.

depending on how gpa is calculated at your high school, earning high grades in honors, ib, and/or ap classes can help boost your gpa. you’ll also show marquette that you are ready for the rigor of college courses.

keep in mind though, that after your sophomore year, it is very difficult to change your gpa. so if you’ve got your eye on marquette, you’ll have to keep your grades high starting early on in high school.

marquette acceptance rate

we have some good news about applying to marquette. unlike many other colleges and universities, which have lowered their acceptance rates, marquette’s acceptance rate is going up.

according to the marquette wire’s piece “new admissions strategy results in increasing acceptance rate” in december 2017, marquette’s acceptance rate has increased 20% since 2012, when only about 55% of students were accepted.

marquette’s goal is to expand opportunities to wider circles of students while still maintaining very high admissions standards. this includes excellent test scores, high gpas, and plenty of extracurricular activities.

according to marquette’s president lovell, “some of our programs will have 2000 applicants for 80 spots…and those are very high-achieving students. we want to be able to try to offer more of them to get up here and come to marquette. i think the master plan will help us grow the areas where we see tremendous demand.”

this year, for the class of 2023, marquette’s total enrollment went down, with 1975 student joining the freshman class. this is 225 less students than last year. however, the applicant pool was also smaller. brian troyer, dean of undergraduate admissions, says that things have not gotten more competitive, but stayed relatively consistent.

“our goal is to attract as large of a talented and diverse applicant pool as we can and then admit those students whom we believe have the capacity for success at marquette university,” he says.

so you can rest assured that marquette’s current accept rate is a “best of both worlds scenario.” if you’re a very strong student you’ll have a good chance of getting in, and you’ll still be attending an academically prestigious university.

marquette’s freshman profile

here’s a great overview of marquette’s student demographics, as well as a super comprehensive freshman profile for the class of 2022 that details test scores, academic programs, general demographics, etc.

this is the most recent data available, so let’s take a look at a few details about the class of 2022 to give you a sense marquette’s acceptance trajectory:

55% of students are female and 45% are male.

68% are from out of state

additionally, by the numbers:

584 students are people of color

449 students are first-generation college attendees

468 students are legacy students (family of marquette alumni)

151 students are commuters

27 students are international students

now obviously these types of statistics change year to year, but they can give you a general sense of what incoming freshman classes look like at marquette.

other marquette admissions requirements

what will you need to apply to marquette? here’s a handy list of the necessary application materials:

high school transcripts (for all high schools you attended if you attended more than one)

official act or sat scores

a completed common application, including a common app essay (more on this in a bit) as well as the marquette freshman application

a marquette-specific essay

additionally, there are some optional items you may want to include with your application:

an additional personal statement

letter(s) of recommendation from academic teachers or school counselors

ib or ap scores

on a deeper level, what will the admissions board be looking for?

we spoke with eric foley, admissions counselor at marquette university who said the following:

“as a jesuit institution, marquette looks for students who are well-rounded, intellectually curious, and academically strong. we live by the jesuit values of ‘cura personalis’ (meaning ‘care for the whole person’), ‘magis’ (meaning to ‘strive for excellence’) and ‘men and women for and with others.’ these institutional values allow us to create an academically challenging, supportive, and community-oriented campus space.

with that in mind, we are looking for students who live out these jesuit values and are ready to ‘set the world on fire’ (another favorite jesuit phrase) by becoming the leaders of tomorrow. in high school, you can show this through taking an academically rigorous course load along with engaging in service and leadership experiences outside of the classroom.

on the application, students will describe their high school activities and write a short essay. the short essay (less than 300 words) asks students to answer question prompts like “why marquette?” or “what’s the best advice you have received?” these application pieces allow us to review an applicant holistically and give us a sense of how a student will fit in on campus. overall, being detailed, thorough, and authentic are the best ways to create a quality application.”

so as you can see, applying to marquette involves demonstrating both qualitative and quantitative attributes about yourself that create a holistic, well-rounded picture of both your academic capabilities as well as your suitability for marquette specifically.

marquette faqs

here are some faqs about undergraduate admissions, but let’s address a few other commonly asked questions as well.

can i transfer to marquette?

yes, marquette accepts transfer students on a rolling basis. here is a great checklist for transfer students that details everything you will need to apply.

is marquette need-blind?

yes, marquette is need-blind. your need (or lack thereof) for financial aid will not affect your acceptance into the school. here is more information about financial aid at marquette university.

does marquette have early action application?

marquette has a priority application date of december 1. according to marquette admissions, “applications completed after [this] deadline will be considered on a space-available basis. application review for admission to marquette university is completed on a rolling basis. the online application for freshman admission will be available by august 1. beginning in late september, admission decisions are sent 2-3 weeks following the completion of the application for admission and receipt of all supporting materials.”