University of Mississippi

Gaining admission to the University of Mississippi is exceptionally accessible, as its acceptance figures place it at the very top of its peer cohort. In the 2025 cycle, the university posted an overall admit rate of 96.6%, making its admission rate higher than all peer schools in a comparison group of 30 public comprehensive universities. However, the university encounters clear challenges when convincing admitted applicants to enroll. Its yield rate reached just 18.5%, which was higher than 27% of peer schools. This modest draw indicates that while the vast majority of applicants receive an acceptance letter, relatively few decide to attend. Meanwhile, institutional standing has slipped over the past decade. In the US News National Universities ranking, the school held the 145th position in 2018 but dropped to rank 179 in the 2027 edition. For prospective students, these trends mean the campus serves as an accessible entry point with very little admissions friction, though its broader standing has softened over time.

Applicants evaluating their chances at the University of Mississippi will find that academic thresholds are quite accessible compared to regional and national peers. In the 2025 admissions cycle, the school recorded a median SAT score of 1090, which was higher than 7% of peer schools among ranked public universities. While score submissions skew heavily toward the ACT among enrolled students, standardized testing expectations remain moderate across both tests, with SAT section scores typically landing in moderate ranges. For prospective international applicants seeking a practical benchmark, unofficial applicant cases collected by Forward Pathway offer useful context. Among these unofficial records, admitted international students held a median unweighted GPA of 3.5 alongside a median SAT score of 1200. These figures suggest that while domestic admission standards are broad and forgiving, international candidates typically present academic profiles near a solid B-plus average with test scores somewhat above the general institutional median.

Academic offerings at the University of Mississippi are relatively dispersed rather than heavily concentrated in a handful of departments. In 2025, the top three undergraduate majors accounted for 20.6% of all bachelor's degrees awarded, led by Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia, General Business, and Registered Nursing. These high-enrollment undergraduate fields do not directly coincide with the university's highest-ranked academic disciplines, which are found primarily at the graduate level. According to US News, the institution earns its highest marks in graduate Pharmacy, which ranked 31st in 2026, and graduate Criminology, ranked 36th in 2021, while undergraduate nursing was ranked 75th in 2027. International students represent a tiny presence among bachelor's degree recipients. For career outcomes, 2023 earnings data reveal that technical training provides the strongest initial financial return, with Chemical Engineering graduates earning a median starting salary of $77,391 one year after graduation.

The student body at the University of Mississippi is predominantly domestic and White, with female students constituting the majority across undergraduate and graduate levels. Overall, Asian and international students account for relatively limited portions of the campus community, though their presence varies significantly by degree level. In 2025, Asian enrollment remained small in the undergraduate cohorts, including 95 first-year students who accounted for 1.6% of the freshman class. Meanwhile, international representation is overwhelmingly concentrated within post-baccalaureate programs rather than the undergraduate colleges. At the graduate level, international scholars numbered 529 students, comprising 10.9% of the graduate student body, compared to minimal figures among undergraduates. Black students represent the largest racial minority group across both undergraduate and graduate divisions. For prospective students, these demographics reflect a traditional state flagship environment where Asian and international communities are relatively small, especially during the undergraduate years.

The University of Mississippi features a clear age profile that shapes a traditional residential undergraduate experience. In 2025, the undergraduate population was dominated by traditional college-aged students, with the youngest group aged eighteen to nineteen comprising 43.6% of undergraduates and the cohort aged twenty to twenty-one making up 39.7%. Very few undergraduates are older, indicating that campus life revolves primarily around students transitioning directly from high school. In contrast, graduate programs are composed mainly of young adults, led by degree seekers in their early twenties who account for 42% of graduate enrollment. This distinct demographic division means undergraduate activities, housing, and social programming cater almost entirely to young adults, while graduate students pursue advanced study alongside peers in early adulthood.

International student representation at the University of Mississippi has followed diverging paths depending on the degree level. At the undergraduate level, the international presence has trended downward over the past decade, with international students making up just 1.4% of the undergraduate student body in 2025. This proportion is lower than most comparable institutions, ranking higher than 27% of peer schools in its public university cohort. By contrast, the graduate division has expanded its global footprint, where the international proportion increased to 10.9% in 2025. Degree completion data reflect this stark divide between levels: international students earned only 0.9% of bachelor's degrees awarded in 2025, compared to noticeably higher shares among master's and doctoral recipients. Furthermore, international undergraduate degree recipients are virtually absent from the university's largest majors, such as Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia and Registered Nursing, appearing in minimal shares only in fields like General Business. For international applicants, these patterns indicate a limited peer network during undergraduate studies, while graduate programs offer a moderately more global academic environment.

Students considering the University of Mississippi can explore several alternative higher education institutions in the neighboring area. Located 56.8 kilometers away in Tennessee, the University of Memphis is a large public institution holding the 288th spot among national universities in the 2027 rankings. Also situated in Memphis, approximately 60.3 kilometers from campus, Rhodes College provides a private undergraduate setting, ranked 49th among national liberal arts colleges. Within the state of Mississippi, public peer Mississippi State University sits 76.1 kilometers away and was ranked 208th in the national university category. These nearby options present families with a practical range of choices within reasonable driving distance, spanning both major public research universities and an established liberal arts college.

Campus safety at the University of Mississippi has improved over the past decade, reflected in a steadily declining incident rate. In 2025, the campus recorded a crime rate per 1,000 students of 4.8, down from earlier highs in the previous decade. An examination of specific categories from 2023 to 2025 demonstrates that the vast majority of campus safety reports involved policy infractions rather than violent crimes. Across those years, disciplinary referrals for alcohol violations formed the largest single category, totaling 405 incidents, followed by disciplinary referrals for drug violations, which reached 235 incidents. While interpersonal offenses such as stalking, rape, and dating violence were documented by campus authorities during these years, they occurred in far smaller numbers than substance violations. For prospective students and their families, these records indicate that safety enforcement on campus is predominantly centered on addressing alcohol and drug violations rather than widespread violent incidents.