Common Data Set 2025-2026

Average GPA at Top US Universities

The average high school GPA and acceptance rate each university reports in its own Common Data Set. Enter your GPA to compare it with every average.

Your GPA on a 4.0 scale

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University	Average GPA	You vs average	Acceptance rate	Had a 4.0
Stanford	3.94	—	3.8%	72.97%
Harvard	4.22	—	4.2%	74.70%
Columbia	4.25	—	4.9%	74.9%
NYU 2024-2025 CDS	3.81	—	9.2%	18%
UCLA	3.94	—	9.4%	58.80%
USC	3.85	—	11.2%	28.20%
UC Berkeley	3.90	—	11.4%	39.80%
Boston University	3.86	—	12.8%	36%
Georgia Tech	4.17	—	13.3%	95.85%
University of Michigan	3.9	—	16.4%	38.8%
UNC Chapel Hill	4.47	—	16.7%	94.6%
University of Florida	3.9	—	20.3%	58%
UC San Diego	3.88	—	28.6%	31%
Purdue	3.81	—	43.4%	43%
UC Davis	4.03	—	44.3%	66.14%
Penn State	3.67	—	55.3%	8%
Arizona State	3.52	—	88.4%	9.0%

Sorted by acceptance rate. n/a: the average is above 4.0, so it cannot be compared with a 4.0-scale GPA. "Had a 4.0" is the share of enrolled first-years in the CDS's 4.0 band.

Universities that leave the average GPA out

These universities publish a 2025-2026 Common Data Set but give no average GPA or GPA bands in it. Their admission numbers are still there:

University	Average GPA in the CDS	Applicants	Acceptance rate
MIT	Printed as "N/Av"	29,281	4.6%
Duke	Left blank	55,541	5.2%
Northwestern	Left blank	52,676	7.5%
Cornell	Left blank	72,523	8.4%
UVA	Left blank	64,457	15.6%
UT Austin	Left blank	90,690	22.2%
UC Irvine	Left blank	124,231	28.9%
Ohio State	Left blank	81,392	49.2%
Texas A&M	Left blank	62,967	51.7%

How to read these averages

Each average is for the first-years who enrolled, not everyone admitted, and only for those with a high school GPA on file (item C12).
No Common Data Set here says whether its GPAs are weighted or unweighted. Harvard 4.22, UC Davis 4.03, Georgia Tech 4.17, UNC Chapel Hill 4.47 and Columbia 4.25 are above 4.0, so compare your GPA with each university's GPA bands on its own page.
The figures are for students who enrolled in Fall 2025, except NYU, whose 2025-2026 file we could not open; its row uses the 2024-2025 CDS (Fall 2024).
Some documents cover one campus or part of a university: Penn State University Park, Purdue West Lafayette, ASU Campus Immersion, Michigan's Ann Arbor campus, UF Main Campus, and Columbia College with Columbia Engineering.
Acceptance rates are worked out as admitted ÷ applied from item C1. Everything else is copied as printed. Checked 26 September 2026; each university page links the document we read.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average GPA at top US universities?

Among the 17 universities here that print one, the averages up to 4.0 run from 3.52 (Arizona State) to 3.94 (UCLA and Stanford). 5 print an average above 4.0: Harvard 4.22, UC Davis 4.03, Georgia Tech 4.17, UNC Chapel Hill 4.47 and Columbia 4.25. Each is the average for first-years who enrolled, from the university's latest Common Data Set.

Which universities do not publish an average GPA?

Duke, UVA, Cornell, Texas A&M, UT Austin, UC Irvine, Northwestern and Ohio State leave the GPA items blank in their 2025-2026 Common Data Set, and MIT prints "N/Av" (not available). Their acceptance rates are in the second table.

Why doesn't MIT report an average GPA?

MIT's Common Data Set 2025-2026 prints "N/Av" for the average GPA and for every GPA band, and does not give a reason. It does report 29,281 first-year applicants and 1,334 admits, an acceptance rate of 4.6%.

Is the average GPA weighted or unweighted?

None of these Common Data Set documents says. The CDS groups GPAs on a 4.0 scale, yet 5 universities print an average above 4.0, so their averages cannot be plain 4.0-scale averages.

What is the Common Data Set?

A yearly report in which a university answers a standard set of numbered questions, in sections running from general information and enrollment through first-year admission to costs, financial aid and faculty. In section C, item C1 counts first-year applicants, admits and enrollees, C11 gives the share of enrolled first-years in each high school GPA band, and C12 gives their average high school GPA.

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