College & Ivy League early Admissions Statistics for the Class of 2021

© 2017 Top Tier Admissions

Ivy League – Early Action and Early Decision Acceptance Rates – Entering Fall 2017

EARLY ROUNDS 2021 2020 2019
Admit Applied % Admit Applied % Admit Applied %
Brown ED 695 3,170 21.92 669 3,030 22.08 617 3,016 20.46
Columbia ED 650 4,086 15.91 620 3,520 17.61 600 3,373 17.79
Cornell ED 1,378 5,384 25.59 1,338 4,866 27.41 1,196 4,560 26.23
Dartmouth ED 555 1,999 27.76 494 1,927 25.64 483 1,859 25.98
Harvard SCEA 938 6,473 14.49 918 6,173 14.87 977 5,919 16.51
Penn ED 1,354 6,147 22.03 1,332 5,762 23.12 1,316 5,489 23.98
Princeton SCEA 770 5,003 15.39 785 4,229 18.56 767 3,850 19.92
Yale SCEA 871 5,086 17.13 795 4,662 17.05 753 4,693 16.05
Total Ivies 7,211 37,348 19.31 6,951 34,185 20.33 6,713 32,999 20.34

Brown University: Brown accepted 695 students out of 3,170 early applications received for the Class of 2021. Last year, Brown received 3,030 applications for early decision and accepted 669 applicants. Brown accepted 22 percent of early applicants to the Class of 2020, 20 percent to the Class of 2019 and 18.9 percent to the Class of 2018.

Columbia University: Columbia received 4,086 early applications compared to 3,520 last year. Inasmuch as Columbia declined to release the exact number of admissions, the rate of admission should have remained similar with an estimated admission of about 650 students.

Cornell University: Cornell reported a record number of 5,384 early decision applicants for admission to Cornell’s Class of 2021 with 1,378 acceptances representing an increase from last year’s 1,340 admitted students. This year’s numbers broke the record set last year by the early decision Class of 2020. Cornell’s early decision pool has increased by 78 percent within the past decade.

Dartmouth College: Dartmouth received 1,999 Early Decision applications for the Class of 2021. This number represents a 3.7 percent increase over last year’s early decision pool of 1,927 applicants. Dartmouth accepted 555 ED applications –61 more than last year’s 494 students. The 555 students will compose approximately 47 percent of the Class of 2021 estimated at 1175 students. This year’s 27.8 percent acceptance rate is an increase from last year’s 25.6 percent.

Harvard University: Harvard accepted 938 or 14.5 percent of the 6,473 early applicants to the Class of 2021. The size of the early action pool increased by about 5 percent and the acceptance rate fell 0.3 percent. Last year, Harvard’s Early Action program admitted 918 students or 14.8 percent of the 6,173 early applicants to the Class of 2020.

The University of Pennsylvania: Penn received 6,147 early decision applications for the Class of 2021 and reported an increase from last year’s 5,762 early decision applications. Penn admitted 1,354 students under the Early Decision program for a 22 percent admit rate. These students make up 55.4 percent of the target class of 2,445 students for the Class of 2021. The 2021 percentage is very close to the percentage of early decision applicants who were accepted in the Class of 2020, which was at 54.6 percent.

Princeton University: Princeton has offered admission to 770 students from a pool of 5,003 candidates who applied through single-choice early action for the Class of 2021. Last year Princeton offered admission to 785 students from a pool of 4,229 candidates who applied through single-choice early action for the Class of 2020. Princeton forecasts a total admission of just above 1300 students for the Class of 2021 to be chosen from a record number of applicants. The pool was the largest in the last six years, representing an 18.3 percent increase over last year’s early applicant pool. The admission rate was 15.4 percent. In 2015, the early admit rate was 18.6 percent.

Yale University: Yale reported a total of 5,086 applications, a large increase from last year’s 4,662 applications for its SCEA program. The school offered admission to 871 Early Action applicants for the Class of 2021, up from 795 applicants for its Class of 2020.

Stanford and MIT – Early Action Ivy League Admissions

EARLY ROUNDS 2021 2020 2019
Admit Applied % Admit Applied % Admit Applied %
Stanford SCEA 721 7,822 9.22 745 7,822 9.52 743 7,297 10.18
MIT EA 657 8,394 7.83 656 7,767 8.45 625 6,519 9.59
Total Ivies 1,378 16,216 8.53 1,401 15,589 8.99 1,368 13,816 9.90

MIT:  The Massachusetts Institute of Technology received 8,394 early action applications (up from the 7,767 received last year) and accepted 657 students for an acceptance rate of 7.83 percent. Last year, MIT accepted 656 students for an acceptance rate of 8.45 percent.

Stanford: Stanford declined to release early decision data for Class of 2021.

More Selective Schools – Early Action and Early Decision College Admissions

EARLY ROUNDS 2021 2020 2019
Admit Applied % Admit Applied % Admit Applied %
Duke ED 861 24.49 813 3,455 23.53 815 3,180 25.63
Georgetown EA 931 7,822 11.90 892 7,027 12.69 907 6,840 13.26
J. Hopkins ED 591 1,934 30.56 584 1,929 30.27 539 1,865 28.90
Northwestern ED 1,100 3,736 29.44 1,061 3,022 35.11 1,011 2,793 36.20
Notre Dame REA 1,470 6,020 24.42 1,610 5,321 30.26 1,400 4,700 29.79

Boston College: Boston College’s Office of Undergraduate Admission admitted 2,900 students early to the Class of 2021 in December 2016, ~33 percent from a pool of 9,000. The previous year’s early action acceptance rate was 32 percent, with a pool of about 8,500 applicants, marking a 5 percent increase in early applications. Accepted students in the EA round come from 46 states and 30 countries with underrepresented students (including Asian students though) making up 27 percent of admits. BC aims to fill 30 percent of the Class of 2021 with its EA admits.

Duke: Duke accepted 861 of the 3,516 students who applied under its Early Decision program to the Class of 2021. Last year, Duke reported that 3,455 students applied under its Early Decision program and admitted 813 to the Class of 2020. Early decision applicants will make up 50 percent of Duke’s Class of 2021.

Georgetown: Georgetown accepted less than 12 percent (931) of its 7,822 early action applicants to the Class of 2021, a record-low rate being about 1 percent lower than last year’s 13 percent when the school received 7,027 applications and admitted 892 students for an admission ratio of 12.69 percent.

Johns Hopkins: Johns Hopkins accepted 591 students of the 1,934 who applied for the Class of 2021. This represents a modest increase of 5 applications from last year. Last year, the university reported that 1,929 applied early for the Class of 2020 with 584 successful applicants.

Northwestern: Northwestern University reported a record 3,736 applications to its Class of 2021. In 2016, the school had 3,022 applications and admitted 1,061 students to its Class of 2020. Northwestern University did not release official admittance numbers but we estimate that about 1,100 were admitted to the Class of 2021.

Notre Dame: Notre Dame admitted 1,470 early action applicants to the Class of 2021. 6,020 students applied for consideration under the Restricted Early Action program reflecting a 24.4 percent acceptance rate. Early applications were up 13 percent over last year when Notre Dame admitted 1,610 Early Action applicants to the Class of 2020 from a pool of 5,321 students.

Expected Percentage of Early Admissions in the Class of 2021

The tables below present the percentages of early applicants in the projected enrollment.

Early % of Class 2021 2020 2019
Ivies Admit Enroll Est % Early Admit Enroll Est % Early Admit Enroll Est % Early
Brown ED 695 1,500 46.33 669 1,500 44.60 617 1,500 41.13
Columbia ED 650 1,400 46.43 620 1,400 44.29 600 1,400 42.86
Cornell ED 1,378 3,200 43.06 1,338 3,200 41.81 1,200 3,200 37.50
Dartmouth ED 555 1,175 47.23 494 1,175 42.04 483 1,175 41.11
Harvard SCEA 938 1,700 55.18 918 1,700 54.00 772 1,700 45.41
Penn ED 1,354 2,445 55.38 1,332 2,445 54.48 1,316 2,420 54.38
Princeton SCEA 770 1,300 59.23 785 1,300 60.38 1,316 2,420 54.38
Yale SCEA 871 1,360 64.04 795 1,360 58.46 753 1,360 55.37
Total Ivies 7,211 14,080 51% 6,951 14,080 49% 6,508 14,055 46%
Other Schools Admit Enroll Est % Early Admit Enroll Est % Early Admit Enroll Est % Early
Duke ED 861 1,705 50.50 813 1,705 47.68 815 1,705 47.80
Northwestern ED 1,100 2,025 54.32 892 2,025 44.05 1,011 2,025 49.93
Notre Dame REA 1,470 2,040 72.06 1,610 2,000 80.50 1,400 2,000 70.00
MIT EA 657 1,050 62.57 656 1,050 62.48 625 1,050 59.52
J. Hopkins ED 591 1,300 45.46 584 1,300 44.92 539 1,300 41.46

Liberal Arts Colleges – Early Decision College Admissions – Class of 2021

Liberal Arts Colleges 2021 2020 2019
Admit Applied % Admit Applied % Admit Applied %
Dickinson ED1 N/A N/A 220 251 87.65% 188 373 50.40%
Middlebury ED1 343 673 50.97% 338 636 53.14% 280 667 41.98%
Williams ED 257 728 35.30% 246 585 42.05% 244 593 41.15%

Dickinson: Data not available for the Class of 2021 at this time.

Middlebury: Middlebury College has offered 343 students early admission to the Class of 2021. There were 673 applicants—an increase of 6.5 percent over last year—which represent about 51 percent of a class that is expected to total about 705.

Pomona: Pomona received a record breaking 9,046 first-year applications for the Class of 2021. Of these applications, Pomona admitted 741 students, showcasing a selective 8.2 percent admit rate.

Williams: Williams College has offered admission to 257 students under Early Decision, nearly 47 percent of the incoming Class of 2021. 728 students applied, a 25 percent increase over last year and a record number for Early Decision.