UPDATED: Class of 2023 Admissions Statistics

Our stats gurus have been hard at work compiling the most up to date Class of 2023 admissions statistics. Many schools disclosed their stats much later than normal so we took advantage of the delays to verify all numbers and provide you top-notch data. These stats are as comprehensive as it gets and provide this past year’s admissions rates for top universities and top liberal arts colleges plus historical trends.

CLASS OF 2023: COLLEGE ADMISSIONS BY THE NUMBERS

The Ivies plus Stanford/MIT experienced a 10% overall increase in their number of applications, about 6,000 more applications than the year before. Over the past eight years, the number of applicants has increased by over 100,000 students to this selective group of colleges. This year was not as dramatic an increase compared to the last few years as it appears the number of applicants is topping out somewhat. Out of the eight Ivies plus Stanford and MIT, seven of the schools showed a slight increase from the prior year while three schools (Cornell, Princeton, MIT) showed a slight decrease (from previous historic highs).

Stanford led the pack as the most selective top school with a 4.2% admit rate followed by Harvard (4.5%), Columbia (5.1%), Yale (5.4%) and Princeton (5.8%). The biggest change this year in admissions has more to do with the actual numbers colleges are reporting. Almost all top colleges are now reporting “first generation,” “low/middle income families” and “people of color” emphasizing economic diversity over measures like legacies and athletes. After the admissions scandal, legacy numbers are slightly down across the board as colleges react to the negative press.

CLOSING THE ACCEPTANCE RATE GAP

There was once a distinct disparity in acceptance rates at the likes of HYPS and what were once considered second tier schools. In today’s college admissions world, not so much! 15 top universities have an acceptance rate under 10% including schools like Chicago (6%), Vanderbilt (6%), Northwestern (9%), Johns Hopkins (9%) and Rice (8%). These numbers are almost unbelievable. Vanderbilt for example, once thought of as second tier, has gone from a 40% acceptance rate in 2005 to a 6% acceptance rate in 2019, almost as tough to get into as Yale!

THE KEY

It is imperative students understand the reality of these acceptance statistics simply because they must be pragmatic and strategic with how they employ an admissions strategy. We work with students to leverage the advantages of early admissions and strong applications to stand out and present as a unique scholar versus one of many.