Temple University

Temple University offers broadly accessible admissions, but it maintains a relatively modest draw among admitted applicants. In the 2027 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, Temple placed 109th, following several years of movement after reaching 89th in 2024. For the 2025 admissions cycle, the university admitted 80.4% of applicants, an admit rate higher than 73% of peer schools in a comparison group of 30 similarly ranked public universities. While Temple accepts a large portion of its applicant pool, its yield rate was just 15.2%, which is higher than only 27% of peer institutions. This shows that the vast majority of admitted students decide to enroll elsewhere. For prospective applicants, Temple represents an institution where admissions standards are attainable, but students should recognize that the school's draw is comparatively soft compared to its public university peers.

Temple University follows a test-blind admissions policy, meaning standardized test scores are not considered during evaluation even if submitted. As a result, recent years have no published official score ranges. High school performance serves as the primary academic indicator for prospective students. For the 2022–2023 entering class, 18.99% of students achieved a 4.0 GPA, while most others maintained solid secondary school marks across the B to A range. While official testing data is excluded from review, unofficial applicant cases collected by Forward Pathway provide additional perspective: among 257 admitted international applicant cases, the median unweighted GPA was 3.6 and the median SAT score was 1190. For applicants preparing their materials, these metrics highlight that classroom course rigor and steady transcript grades are the essential academic components of an application, as standardized testing plays no role in Temple's undergraduate selection process.

Temple University features an academic structure where undergraduate enrollment is broadly dispersed across disciplines rather than concentrated in a few fields, and its highest-ranked offerings differ from its largest departments. In 2025, the three largest bachelor's programs—Psychology, General; Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General; and Biology/Biological Sciences, General—accounted for only 14.7% of all bachelor's degrees. However, the university's top-ranked programs are in specialized professional areas: in the 2027 U.S. News rankings, undergraduate programs in Insurance placed 6th and International Business placed 9th, while its graduate research medical school ranked 2nd in 2026. International students made up 3.4% of undergraduate degree recipients and 15% of master's graduates in 2025. Career outcomes also highlight specific technical and healthcare paths; according to 2023 earnings data, Registered Nursing graduates achieved the highest early career median pay at $91,116. Prospective students should note that while popular majors provide liberal arts foundations, Temple's national recognition and highest earning returns center on specialized business, health, and engineering tracks.

Temple University educates a large and diverse student population across its urban campus. In 2025, total enrollment reached 29,640 students across undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. Asian and international students maintain a clear presence across degree levels, with their concentration highest in advanced studies. Within the graduate student body, Asian students numbered 1,145, representing 14% of all graduate students. International students in the graduate division totaled 1,082, making up 13.2% of that cohort. At the undergraduate level, Asian students comprise a steady share of continuing students, while international undergraduates represent a smaller portion of the student body. Women form the majority of both undergraduate and graduate enrollments. This demographic profile reflects an institution that balances strong domestic enrollment with substantial participation from Asian and international scholars in specialized graduate studies.

Temple University maintains an undergraduate population centered around traditional college ages alongside a graduate community composed primarily of young adults. In 2025, undergraduates aged 20 to 21 accounted for 39.2% of the undergraduate body, while those aged 18 to 19 made up 36.1%. Together, these traditional college-age groups represent three-quarters of all undergraduates, creating a campus environment focused on degree programs directly following secondary education. Meanwhile, the graduate school serves an older cohort, with students aged 25 to 29 forming the largest segment at 36.7%, followed by those aged 22 to 24 at 29%. This age distribution shows a clear distinction between the daytime student community pursuing initial degrees and older students engaged in graduate study.

International student representation at Temple University shows contrasting directions across academic levels. In 2025, international students accounted for 4.4% of undergraduate enrollment, down from 6.7% in 2016, though this share remained higher than 63% of peer schools among 30 similarly ranked public universities. At the graduate level, the international proportion increased slightly to 13.2% in 2025. Among graduating students, international scholars are heavily concentrated in advanced professional curricula rather than general undergraduate studies. At the master's level, International Law and Legal Studies recorded an 84.9% international share, while quantitative business disciplines also drew notable shares. In comparison, international graduates comprised smaller portions of bachelor's degree programs, with the highest concentration appearing in computing and business subjects. For prospective international applicants, Temple offers a moderate international presence at the undergraduate stage, paired with deeply specialized graduate cohorts in legal and technical fields.

Prospective students considering Temple University can explore several other higher education options within the greater Philadelphia area. Just 2.2 kilometers away, Thomas Jefferson University was ranked 133rd among National Universities in 2027. Nearby in the city, Drexel University sits 2.5 kilometers from campus and held the 80th spot among National Universities in the same year. A short distance farther, University of Pennsylvania is located 2.8 kilometers away, ranked 7th among National Universities in 2027. Across the Delaware River, Rutgers University-Camden is positioned 2.9 kilometers away and was ranked 95th among National Universities in 2027. These institutions provide a broad range of national university alternatives within three kilometers of Temple's campus.

Campus safety data for Temple University indicates an overall reduction in reported offenses over the past decade. In 2025, the university registered a weighted crime rate per 1,000 students of 4.9, down from earlier reporting. When reviewing incident categories from 2023 to 2025, administrative infractions accounted for the largest share of records, led by 447 alcohol disciplinary referrals and 83 drug disciplinary referrals. Among criminal offenses logged across those three years, motor vehicle theft was the most common category with 59 incidents, followed by robbery and assault. The data demonstrates that internal alcohol conduct violations constitute the vast majority of documented campus safety matters, while serious crimes occur in much smaller volumes. For families assessing the university, these figures reflect an active campus environment where substance policy enforcement represents the primary category of safety reports alongside a decreasing overall rate.