Interested in applying to University College Dublin? Before you begin the application process, you’ll want to know what your chances of admission are.

But what is the University College Dublin acceptance rate? In this guide, we will analyse official data to calculate the acceptance and offer rates for this prestigious Irish university, and discuss how hard it is to get in.

Calculating the University College Dublin Acceptance Rate

Online sources report that the UCD acceptance rate is anywhere between 20% and 50%. These figures are not official and, as the large discrepancy between the top and bottom of the range indicates, cannot be relied upon.

Luckily, although UCD does not release its acceptance rate, it is possible to calculate it with a good degree of confidence from other pieces of official data. Read on to find out the real University College Dublin acceptance rate.

How many students apply to University College Dublin?

To calculate UCD’s acceptance rate, we first need to know how many applicants it receives. In 2024, University College Dublin received 26,376 applications via the CAO.

The CAO is the Central Applications Office – Ireland’s equivalent of UCAS for those familiar with the UK university application system. All Irish applicants, as well as those from the UK and most of the rest of Europe, have to apply through the CAO.

How many students are accepted to University College Dublin?

In 2024, UCD made around 6,000 offers to study on its undergraduate degrees – including both CAO and non-CAO applicants.

We know that 66% of students at UCD are domestic. Assuming that of the remaining 34%, half are from other CAO countries (the UK and Europe) and half are from the rest of the world, that would mean around 5,000 offers go to CAO students.

Not all of those will accept their offer, however – some might choose to go to another university, others might take a gap year or not go to university at all. There are just under 17,000 undergraduate students at University College Dublin. Seeing as most degrees are four years, that gives us an average student intake of around 4,250 students per year.

Using the same split between CAO and non-CAO students, that would make 3,500 undergraduates accepting their offers every year from CAO countries.

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What is the University College Dublin acceptance rate?

Now that we have these data points we can calculate University College Dublin’s acceptance rate.

CAO
Applications26376
Offers~5000
Acceptances~3500
Offer rate~19%
Acceptance rate~13%

As we can see, UCD’s offer rate is 19% and its acceptance rate is 13% for CAO applicants – significantly lower than those unofficial figures quoted in online sources.

This means it has a similar acceptance rate to Trinity College Dublin, Ireland’s other leading university – and roughly on a par with Oxford and Cambridge.

University College Dublin Acceptance Rate for International Students

But what about for non-CAO students? What is the UCD acceptance rate for applicants from outside Ireland, the UK, and Europe?

Unfortunately, this is a little harder to estimate as University College Dublin does not release data on the number of non-CAO applications it receives.

Anecdotally, the acceptance rate for international students seems to be significantly higher. This is partly driven by the fact that international students pay higher fees and therefore the university is financially incentivized to admit more of them.

The typical SAT and ACT entry requirements at UCD range between 1200 and 1450 (SAT) and 20-30 (ACT) depending on the degree. This would make it easier to get into than Ivy League universities or Oxbridge, though more or less on a par with other desirable European universities – such as Trinity College Dublin, Bocconi, or IE University.

How hard is it to get into University College Dublin?

University College Dublin is a competitive university particularly for Irish, UK, or European applicants. The acceptance rate for these is 13%, while the offer rate is 19%, which bears comparison with Oxbridge, Trinity College Dublin, or the other G5 universities.

For international applicants, however, UCD does appear relatively easier to get into. While still being a selective and well regarded university, its SAT and ACT requirements suggest that it is significantly easier to get into than the most competitive universities in the world (Ivy League and Oxbridge).

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FAQs

The acceptance rate for UCD undergraduate programmes via the CAO is approximately 13%, with an offer rate of 19%. These figures apply primarily to applicants from Ireland, the UK, and most of Europe.

Generally, yes. While exact acceptance rates for international (non-CAO) applicants are not publicly available, anecdotal evidence and entry requirements suggest that acceptance rates for international students are higher, partly due to financial incentives and less competition per place.

UCD is highly competitive, particularly for CAO applicants. With a 13% acceptance rate, it is comparable to Trinity College Dublin, and even Oxford or Cambridge in terms of selectivity for Irish, UK, and European applicants.

In 2024, 26,376 students applied to University College Dublin through the CAO. This number excludes additional international and non-CAO applications.

Typical score requirements range from 1200 to 1450 on the SAT and 20 to 30 on the ACT, depending on the course. These scores indicate that UCD is less competitive than Ivy League universities, but on par with other top European institutions.

No. UCD does not release official acceptance rate figures. However, by analysing official application and enrolment data, it’s possible to calculate accurate estimates for CAO applicants, as this guide has done.