For the academic year 2024/25, Trinity received 2865 applications from students from the United States, among whom 2024, or 71%, were accepted, according to Trinity’s response to a Freedom of Information Act Request by The University Times. In 2023/24, 2576 US applications were received and 1952 offers were made, meaning 76% of US applications received offers.
In the same year, 11233 Irish students preferred Trinity in the first round of the CAO, and 4059, or 36%, were offered places.
These application processes obviously differ, with American students having to meet certain test score qualifications to be considered for admission. For example, studying English at Trinity requires at least a 1400 on the American Standardised Admissions Test (SAT), which rests around the 93rd percentile for test-takers. This is coupled with a minimum 3.5/4.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) (scaled to 90/100). In 2024/25, 56 Americans applied to English with 30 receiving offers (around 53%). Other courses with the same qualifications include Psychology and Medicine, which have acceptance rates of 26% and 34% respectively.
In addition to test-based and GPA qualifications, Americans are required to write a personal statement and upload a CV.
Histories and Humanities, however, require a 1250 on the SAT, which represents the 80th percentile of test takers, and a 3.2/4.0 GPA. The acceptance rate is 57%. Other courses with the same minimum standard include Languages, Literatures, and Cultural Studies (81% acceptance), Engineering (71% acceptance), and Computer Science and Statistics (61% acceptance rate).
American Business students are required to achieve a 1350 on their SAT (90th percentile) and maintain a 3.4 GPA, and were admitted at a rate of 67%. Information on exact qualifications for specific multi-school and multi-faculty courses is not available, but multi-school courses in the arts had an 82% acceptance rate for Americans, with multi-school courses in the sciences at 75%, and multi-faculty courses with 66%.
In a statement to The University Times, a spokesperson for the college said “The comparison is not a fair one. The systems for recruiting EU and non-EU students are completely different. Non-EU students apply directly to Trinity. US students are encouraged to approach a Trinity representative before they even submit their application. This narrows the pool of applicants enormously. CAO applicants undergo no comparable process. It should be noted that applicants from 30 different countries, not just Ireland, come through the CAO route.”
With additional reporting by Charlie Hastings
