Class of 2029 Early Decision Trends
Although there has been some variability, the trends are showing that highly selective colleges who reinstated standardized test reporting in their application requirements are seeing less Early Decision or Restrictive Early Action applications. Here is a summary of early admissions statistics for the Class of 2029.
Ivy League Universities
Brown University
907 Early Decision students were admitted out of 5,055 applicants for an 18% admission rate.
Among the admitted students, 65% applied for financial aid, and 19% will be the first in their families to attend college.
10% of students were admitted through Brown’s partnership with QuestBridge, a non-profit organization that assists low-income families in accessing top colleges and universities.
These changes reflect Brown’s robust financial aid packages and efforts to reach students who come from rural, first-generation, and low-income backgrounds.
The number of Early Decision applicants decreased last year following Brown’s decision to reinstate required standardized test scores. Read full release here.
Dartmouth
Out of the 28,230 applicants, 3,550 were Early Decision applicants. Unlike prior years, Dartmouth declined to release the number of Early Decision applicants.
Of the accepted Early Decision students, 18% are the first in their families to attend college, and 10% come from a high school where less than half of graduates attend a four-year college.
Total applications decreased by 11% from the previous year, following the reinstatement of requiring standardized test scores and a 4.75% increase in tuition. Read the full release here.
Yale
728 Early Action students were admitted out of 6,729 applications. With an acceptance rate of 10.82%, it is a slight increase from the previous year.
Early Action applicants dropped by 14% following the requirement of submitting standardized test scores.
This admission cycle continued a trend in which Yale rejected more Early Action applicants than it deferred.
Admitted students during Early Action displayed a wide array of achievements, experiences, interests, and ambitions. Read the full release here.
Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Penn, and Princeton do not release ED admission statistics.
Other Notable Early Decision Results
Duke
Duke admitted 849 Early Decision students out of 6,714 applications, making this the highest number of Early Decision applicants in the university’s history.
Another 220 students were admitted during the Early Decision Deferral process. Read the full release here.
Emory
995 Early Decision students were admitted out of 3,311 applicants.
From the 995 accepted students, 210 were admitted to both Emory College and Oxford College, 805 were admitted to Emory College, and 400 were admitted to Oxford College.
Early Decision applications increased by 21% from the previous year. Read the full release here.
MIT
Admitted 721 Early Action students out of 12,052 applicants for a 6% admittance rate.
MIT deferred 7,486 applicants and rejected 3,039. Read the full article here.
UVA
UVA saw an increase in Early Decision applications from last year for a total of 4,971 (2,795 in-state and 2,176 OOS).
1,282 students were admitted (825 in-state and 457 OOS). Residency continues to be a major part of UVA’s application process. Read the blog here.
Boston University
59% of all applications were Early Decision. Read the full admissions results here.
As students research and visit colleges, they should consider whether they have a college that is their first choice and think about whether applying Early Decision makes sense.
If you would like help in your college admissions process, please visit Excelsior Admissions Consulting Excelsior Admissions Consulting to find out more information, or click here to schedule a free 30-minute consultation.
