Early Decision
Early Decision Acceptance Rates by College
Early decision applicants and admits at 56 colleges, next to the overall rate, sorted by the size of the gap.
| College | ED applicants | ED admits | ED rate | Overall rate | ED admits as share of class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulane | 2,077 | 1,209 | 58.2% | 14.5% | 65% |
| Howard | 430 | 363 | 84.4% | 42.2% | 15% |
| Southern Methodist University | 528 | 424 | 80.3% | 47.6% | 25% |
| Villanova | 1,680 | 1,005 | 59.8% | 28.1% | 56% |
| Northeastern | 5,404 | 1,910 | 35.3% | 5.6% | 70% |
| Baylor | 566 | 453 | 80% | 52.2% | 13% |
| Miami | 2,395 | 1,062 | 44.3% | 17.6% | 40% |
| Wesleyan | 1,220 | 522 | 42.8% | 16.4% | 63% |
| Middlebury | 1,179 | 460 | 39% | 12.8% | 73% |
| Barnard College | 1,437 | 476 | 33.1% | 10.1% | 68% |
| Tufts | 3,344 | 1,071 | 32% | 10.8% | 61% |
| Texas Christian University | 1,373 | 935 | 68.1% | 48.1% | 34% |
| Grinnell College | 828 | 283 | 34.2% | 14.5% | 65% |
| Haverford | 702 | 229 | 32.6% | 13.3% | 58% |
| Vermont | 396 | 363 | 91.7% | 73% | 13% |
| Bates | 949 | 318 | 33.5% | 14.8% | 65% |
| Boston University | 6,907 | 2,165 | 31.3% | 12.8% | 63% |
| Lehigh | 2,040 | 966 | 47.4% | 29% | 63% |
| Colgate | 1,342 | 477 | 35.5% | 17.5% | 59% |
| Williams | 964 | 256 | 26.6% | 8.6% | 45% |
| Vassar | 1,046 | 402 | 38.4% | 20.9% | 58% |
| Boston College | 4,288 | 1,434 | 33.4% | 16.2% | 60% |
| Davidson | 1,232 | 358 | 29.1% | 12.6% | 67% |
| Dartmouth | 3,552 | 768 | 21.6% | 6% | 64% |
| WashU | 4,934 | 1,333 | 27% | 11.9% | 68% |
| Wellesley | 1,023 | 301 | 29.4% | 14.8% | 52% |
| Hamilton | 1,120 | 315 | 28.1% | 13.6% | 66% |
| Amherst | 971 | 216 | 22.2% | 7.7% | 45% |
| Northwestern | 5,939 | 1,212 | 20.4% | 7.5% | 57% |
| Carleton | 760 | 263 | 34.6% | 21.8% | 51% |
| Claremont McKenna | 978 | 216 | 22.1% | 9.4% | 64% |
| College of William & Mary | 1,477 | 727 | 49.2% | 37% | 44% |
| Emory | 4,728 | 1,049 | 22.2% | 10.3% | 73% |
| Brown | 5,062 | 907 | 17.9% | 6.3% | 53% |
| Cornell | 10,057 | 1,889 | 18.8% | 8.4% | 49% |
| Swarthmore | 1,281 | 228 | 17.8% | 7.5% | 54% |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 2,680 | 553 | 20.6% | 11.1% | 31% |
| Columbia | 5,868 | 819 | 14% | 4.9% | 46% |
| Vanderbilt | 6,202 | 874 | 14.1% | 5.4% | 53% |
| Miami University-Oxford | 521 | 438 | 84.1% | 75.4% | 10% |
| Penn | 9,503 | 1,266 | 13.3% | 4.9% | 52% |
| Drexel | 299 | 234 | 78.3% | 69.9% | 12% |
| Bowdoin | 1,985 | 296 | 14.9% | 6.8% | 57% |
| Syracuse University | 2,654 | 1,478 | 55.7% | 48.8% | 37% |
| Pomona | 1,656 | 227 | 13.7% | 7.1% | 54% |
| Oberlin | 668 | 263 | 39.4% | 33% | 34% |
| Harvey Mudd | 594 | 109 | 18.4% | 12.3% | 46% |
| Johns Hopkins | 7,639 | 835 | 10.9% | 6.1% | 61% |
| Rice | 5,748 | 647 | 11.3% | 8% | 51% |
| RPI | 317 | 219 | 69.1% | 67.3% | 16% |
| Rochester | 1,129 | 472 | 41.8% | 41.9% | 38% |
| Rhode Island | 202 | 150 | 74.3% | 74.6% | 4% |
| Denver | 273 | 231 | 84.6% | 85.4% | 20% |
| UConn | 1,442 | 672 | 46.6% | 54.4% | 14% |
| Brandeis | 680 | 242 | 35.6% | 45.4% | 33% |
| Case Western | 1,053 | 263 | 25% | 35.3% | 16% |
Frequently asked questions
Does applying early decision improve your chances?
The early decision rate is higher than the overall rate at most colleges here; the widest gap is at Tulane, 58.2% against 14.5% overall. But early pools include recruited athletes and other students with a strong tie to the college, so the gap overstates the boost for an ordinary applicant.
How much of the class is filled through early decision?
The last column divides early decision admits by the size of the entering class. Because early decision is binding, nearly all of those admits enroll, so a high figure means fewer seats are left for the regular round.
Each college's own Common Data Set, Section C (first-time, first-year admission). Last checked 2026-10-08. Colleges that do not offer early decision, or left the counts blank, are left out. The overall rate includes early decision applicants.
