DePaul SAT Scores, GPA, and ACT (2026)

The middle 50 for DePaul SAT scores runs from 1140 to 1330, so half of enrolled students who submitted scores landed inside that range in the 2024-2025 data. A score anywhere in that band puts your DePaul SAT scores in line with the typical admit, and the average sits at 1262, closer to the top of the range than the bottom. That skew matters. It means submitters cluster in the upper half of the band, so a 1200 is technically in range but still below most of the room. Reading and Writing runs 580 to 670 and Math runs 560 to 660, so the verbal side sets a slightly higher bar here. If you are weighing tests, the ACT middle 50 is 25 to 31.

DePaul admits 75.9% of applicants, which makes it far more forgiving than the schools students often fixate on. Put plainly, about 3 out of 4 people who apply get in. It is a private nonprofit university in Chicago with 14,090 undergraduates, big enough to feel like a real campus in a major city but small enough that a solid application gets read. Testing is optional in the most recent federal data, so a score is a choice, not a requirement. Whether and when to make that choice is the real question, and the rest of this page answers it.

Below 1140 at DePaul means you scored under 3 out of 4 enrolled students who submitted, and since testing is optional in the most recent federal data, you would likely apply without a score and let your transcript carry the file. That is not a defeat. At a school admitting 75.9% of applicants, plenty of students get in on grades alone. Inside the 1140 to 1330 band, submitting helps: you look like a typical admit, and anything above the 1262 average actively works for you. Above 1330 puts you in the top quarter of submitters, which at an admit rate this generous makes you a strong candidate for merit consideration, not just admission.

Watch the section splits. Reading and Writing (580 to 670) demands about 20 more points than Math (560 to 660) at both ends. A 650 Math is comfortably in range. A 650 Reading and Writing is merely solid. If your practice tests tilt toward Math, expect the verbal side to be where the real work lives.

Admitted students at DePaul typically present an unweighted GPA around 3.0 to 3.5. That is a wide band, and it reflects an admissions office that reads more than one number. A 3.2 earned in honors and AP courses reads very differently from a 3.5 built on the easiest available schedule. Rigor counts as much as the number itself, and an upward trend late in high school can cover for a shaky start.

If your GPA sits at the lower edge of that band, the fastest offset is a strong SAT. Grades take years to move. A score does not. A submitted SAT at or above 1262, the average here, tells DePaul you can handle college level work even if a rough semester dented your transcript. That trade is especially worth making at a school where testing is optional, because every submitted score was sent on purpose. Nobody shows DePaul a strong number by accident, and the admissions office knows it. A good score is a deliberate signal. A missing one is just silence, not a strike against you.

Set 1140 as your floor. That is DePaul's 25th percentile, and at or above it you stay in range and submitting becomes worthwhile. Aim for 1330 if you want to sit in the top quarter of DePaul submitters. That is the 75th percentile, the point where a score stops being neutral and starts pulling weight for scholarships. Anything between the two markers helps more the closer it climbs toward the 1262 average. Given the section splits, budget extra prep time for Reading and Writing, since it sets the higher bar here: 670 marks its 75th percentile, against 660 in Math.

Start by finding out where you actually stand. Take a diagnostic to get a baseline score, then compare it against the 1140 and 1330 markers above. From there, our score plans map out how many points you need and how long that climb usually takes. Your next step: sit for the diagnostic this week and put a real number next to DePaul's range.