Admissions profile

Colleges to explore with a 3.5 GPA

These 481 colleges admit 5070% of applicants — CampusPin’s selective band, a starting point for students exploring with a 3.5 GPA. CampusPin does not hold admitted-student GPA data, so no GPA figure is shown or implied.

Selective colleges admitting 5070% of applicants

Largest by enrollment first. Showing 30 of 481. The SAT column is each college’s published admitted-student range where it reports one — the closest published proxy CampusPin has for academic profile.

Colleges admitting 50–70% of applicants, with acceptance rate, published SAT range, tuition, net price, and graduation rate.
CollegeAcceptance rateSAT rangeIn-state tuitionAvg. net priceGraduation ratePublic/privateLocation
Texas A & M University-College Station57%1140–1380$13,154$21,31584%PublicCollege Station, TX
Rutgers University-New Brunswick65%1270–1480$17,929$24,40684%PublicNew Brunswick, NJ
Arizona State University Digital Immersion67%946–1171$10,912Not reportedNot reportedPublicScottsdale, AZ
Ohio State University-Main Campus61%1330–1480$13,244$17,33988%PublicColumbus, OH
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus61%1220–1400$20,644$32,87586%PublicUniversity Park, PA
Florida International University55%1060–1250$6,565$9,28874%PublicMiami, FL
Kennesaw State University69%1020–1220$5,808$15,04852%PublicKennesaw, GA
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University55%1240–1420$15,948$24,95386%PublicBlacksburg, VA
University of South Carolina-Columbia60%1180–1380$12,688$22,81179%PublicColumbia, SC
Brigham Young University68%1290–1450$6,688$15,56481%PrivateProvo, UT
Georgia State University55%1040–1280$8,664$15,93153%PublicAtlanta, GA
University of Massachusetts Amherst65%945–1147$16,500$22,38383%PublicAmherst, MA
The University of Texas at Dallas65%1170–1410$14,644$18,26776%PublicRichardson, TX
Florida Atlantic University66%1040–1210$4,879$8,75263%PublicBoca Raton, FL
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus58%1270–1450$21,926$30,43486%PublicPittsburgh, PA
University of Connecticut52%1210–1420$21,044$25,09783%PublicStorrs, CT
University of Delaware65%1200–1360$16,810$17,79981%PublicNewark, DE
CUNY Hunter College54%1210–1470$7,382$2,98457%PublicNew York, NY
Baylor University51%1210–1400$58,100$41,10480%PrivateWaco, TX
University of California-Santa Cruz66%923–1160$16,005$17,89075%PublicSanta Cruz, CA
Middle Tennessee State University69%1000–1230$10,266$13,35954%PublicMurfreesboro, TN
University of North Carolina Wilmington64%1220–1360$7,277$20,10971%PublicWilmington, NC
University at Albany69%939–1156$10,866$17,16761%PublicAlbany, NY
University of North Georgia68%1020–1215$5,285$9,82337%PublicDahlonega, GA
University of North Florida53%990–1210$6,389$10,15469%PublicJacksonville, FL
Fordham University59%1330–1490$64,915$44,33882%PrivateBronx, NY
Rochester Institute of Technology67%1280–1460$59,274$34,90670%PrivateRochester, NY
Florida Gulf Coast University63%1040–1210$6,118$12,56857%PublicFort Myers, FL
CUNY Queens College64%1100–1320$7,538$4,19553%PublicQueens, NY
Northern Illinois University70%873–1088$13,248$13,39149%PublicDekalb, IL

How this page was built

CampusPin does not hold admitted-student GPA data.There is no GPA field in our dataset, so this page shows no GPA figure for any college and asserts no GPA threshold. Publishing an invented “typical GPA” column would be fabricating a statistic, which we will not do.

Instead, colleges are grouped by acceptance rate, which every institution in the dataset reports. The selective band covers colleges admitting 5070% of applicants. Mapping a 3.5 GPAto this band is CampusPin’s editorial starting point for exploration — it is not derived from admissions data and is not a claim about your odds anywhere.

If you have taken the SAT, the SAT score pages are built on real published percentile data and will place you more precisely than any GPA band can.

Frequently asked questions

Does CampusPin know the average GPA at these colleges?
No, and this page does not show one. CampusPin does not hold admitted-student GPA distributions, so there is no GPA column here and no GPA threshold is claimed. What is shown instead is each college's acceptance rate and published SAT range, both reported to federal data collections.
How was this list of colleges chosen for a 3.5 GPA?
By acceptance rate. This page groups colleges that admit 50–70% of applicants — CampusPin's selective band. The grouping is an editorial starting point for exploring, not a statement that a 3.5 GPA is required or sufficient at any of them.
Can I get into these colleges with a 3.5 GPA?
Nobody can answer that from a GPA alone, and this page does not try to. Admissions decisions weigh course rigor, grade trends, test scores where submitted, essays, recommendations, and each college's own priorities in a given year. Use this list to build a range of options, then check each college's published requirements.
How much do these colleges cost?
Costs are in the table: published in-state tuition and, where the college reports it, the average net price students actually paid after grants and scholarships. Net price is an average across a prior entering class and varies widely by family income, so treat it as a comparison between colleges rather than your own bill.

Keep going on CampusPin

Narrow this list with the full filter set, or put any two colleges side by side.

Data sources & methodology

Admissions, cost, and outcome figures come from each institution's federal reporting.

Sources used across this page

Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.

  • IPEDS / NCES College Navigator

    Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.

  • U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

    Net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context.

  • Institutional websites

    Each school's official admissions, registrar, and financial-aid pages are the authoritative source for current details.

Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.

Suggested citation

CampusPin. Colleges to explore with a 3.5 GPA. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/colleges-for/3-5-gpa