Liberty University acceptance rate

Apologies if this has been answered previously, but how is it that Liberty University has an acceptance rate in the low 20% range? Do a lot of students apply that don’t meet their strict religious criteria? Thanks.

Wow, who knew? Looks like they have a lot of applicants for the spots they have to fill. Yet the academic requirements for entry aren’t too daunting. I think they must be providing an atmosphere that a lot of students are looking for.

Because that figure only applies to their residential programs. Their online programs, which dwarf the residential programs in terms of enrollment, have much higher acceptance rates (probably approaching 100%). There are basically no requirements for admission into most of Liberty’s online undergraduate programs, beyond a high school diploma, GED, or homeschool equivalent (no standardized tests, for example).

Liberty’s current enrollment, including online students, is over 110,000. However, the residential campus has a much smaller capacity, of around 15,000 students. So while pretty much anyone can get into a Liberty online degree program, admission into the residential campus is much more competitive, due to the relatively limited space.

In other words, LU’s acceptance rate would be far higher if you counted all of the undergraduates that they admit, instead of just the traditional residential ones. And it would be reasonable to look it that way, because Liberty (to my knowledge) makes no formal distinction between their residential and online programs – you get the exact same diploma either way. It’s not like, say, Harvard, where there is a very clear distinction between the extremely selective undergraduate program at Harvard College vs. the relatively open, non-traditional undergraduate program at Harvard Extension School.

So many colleges are seeking a super low acceptance rate to boost their prestige. So irritating.

My guess is that Liberty is not deliberately “seeking a super low acceptance rate”. On the contrary, I think they probably want to enroll as many students as they can, which is why they admit practically everyone who is prepared to study online. They just don’t have the facilities to enroll all of their applicants as traditional residential students.

As with many schools, a notable difference between their residential and online programs is that nearly all specialized programs are only available on campus - e.g. engineering, sciences, medicine, arts, etc. Their engineering school has been rated as very selective - not sure about the others.

Also only 47% of students who get offers to enroll, actually do enroll to the Liberty University (https://search.university/best-colleges/liberty-university-lynchburg/applying-information)
Why is that? Interesting

Actually that is a very good number. Many decent “name” schools get below 30%.

A 47% yield is outstanding for a non-ivy.

I think that Liberty (especially Jerry Falwells) publicized responses to social progression have made them a beacon of light for the conservative / tea party types and that makes them more desirable. They profit from the “all press is good press” mentality.

They also are flush with cash and building a very much new and improved campus. Very attractive fin aid too.