Colleges Offering Early Decision 2
Early Decision (ED I) policies afford applicants the chance to apply in the fall—typically in early-to-mid November—and receive an admissions decision by around the holiday season. In applying via Early Decision, students are making a binding commitment to a particular university; if they are accepted they are obligated to withdraw all other applications and enroll their ED school. In exchange, students generally receive a boost to their admissions odds, as ED acceptance rates tend to be higher than those in the regular round. In recent years, many selective colleges have instituted a later Early Decision option known as ED 2. Also a binding compact, ED 2 gives students a second chance to pledge their loyalty to an institution in exchange for an increased probability of acceptance. Colleges Transitions’ list of Colleges Offering Early Decision 2 will tell you 1) which schools offer this option; 2) the institution’s Early Decision (ED) acceptance rate; 3) the Regular Decision (RD) acceptance rate (excluding ED); 4) the overall admission rate; and 5) the ED 2 deadline.
* Data collected from institution websites and Common Data Set (CDS) forms.
Table updated October 2021
| Institution | ED Admission Rate | Regular Admission Rate (Excluding EA and ED) | Admission Rate Rate (Overall) | Early Decision II Deadline | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegheny College | 45% | 63% | 73% | 2/1 | |
| American University | 83% | 36% | 39% | 1/15 | AU |
| Babson College | 35% | 28% | 27% | 1/3 | |
| Bates College | 46% | 10% | 14% | 1/1 | |
| Baylor University | 86% | 68% | 69% | 2/1 | |
| Bennington College | 41% | 55% | 60% | 1/15 | |
| Bentley University | Not Reported | 56% | 58% | 1/15 | |
| Boston College | 39% | 17% | 19% | 1/1 | BC |
| Boston University | 33% | 19% | 20% | 1/4 | BU |
| Bowdoin College | 22% | 7% | 9% | 1/5 | |
| Brandeis University | 46% | 33% | 34% | 1/1 | |
| Bryant University | 86% | 57% | 76% | 1/15 | |
| Bryn Mawr College | 48% | 37% | 38% | 1/1 | |
| Bucknell University | 55% | 36% | 38% | 1/15 | |
| Carleton College | 28% | 20% | 21% | 1/15 | |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 25% | 17% | 17% | 1/3 | CMU |
| Case Western Reserve University | 38% | Not Reported | 30% | 1/15 | |
| Catholic University of America | 67% | 74% | 82% | 1/15 | |
| Claremont McKenna College | 35% | 10% | 13% | 1/11 | CMC |
| Clark University | Not Reported | Not Reported | 47% | 1/15 | |
| Colby College | Not Reported | Not Reported | 10% | 1/1 | |
| Colgate University | 45% | 25% | 27% | 1/15 | |
| College of Saint Benedict | Not Reported | 72% | 84% | 12/15 | |
| College of the Holy Cross | 76% | 35% | 38% | 1/15 | |
| College of William and Mary | 51% | 41% | 42% | 1/1 | |
| Colorado College | 24% | 10% | 14% | 1/15 | CC |
| Connecticut College | 49% | 37% | 38% | 1/15 | |
| Davidson College | 47% | 16% | 20% | 1/6 | |
| Denison University | 45% | 27% | 28% | 1/15 | |
| DePauw University | 85% | 54% | 68% | 1/15 | |
| Dickinson College | 71% | 50% | 52% | 1/15 | |
| Drew University | 92% | 73% | 73% | 1/15 | |
| Emerson College | Not Reported | Not Reported | 0% | 12/1 | |
| Emory University | 27% | 18% | 19% | 1/1 | |
| Fairfield University | 82% | 51% | 56% | 1/15 | |
| Franklin and Marshall College | 56% | 35% | 37% | 1/15 | F&M |
| Furman University | 72% | 48% | 65% | 1/15 | |
| George Washington University | 65% | 42% | 43% | 1/5 | GWU; GW |
| Gettysburg College | 62% | 0% | 48% | 1/15 | |
| Grinnell College | 65% | 17% | 19% | 1/1 | |
| Hamilton College | 46% | 16% | 18% | 1/5 | |
| Harvey Mudd College | 23% | 17% | 18% | 1/5 | HMC |
| Haverford College | 46% | 15% | 18% | 1/5 | |
| High Point University | 84% | 52% | 77% | 2/1 | |
| Hobart William Smith Colleges | 82% | 61% | 62% | 1/15 | HWS |
| Johns Hopkins University | 29% | 8% | 9% | 1/3 | JHU |
| Kenyon College | 62% | 35% | 37% | 1/15 | |
| Knox College | 58% | 60% | 71% | 12/1 | |
| Lake Forest College | 42% | 47% | 58% | 1/15 | |
| Lehigh University | 73% | 47% | 50% | 1/1 | |
| Loyola Marymount University | 42% | 42% | 50% | 1/15 | LMU |
| Macalester College | 60% | 38% | 39% | 1/1 | |
| Marist College | 84% | 52% | 55% | 2/1 | |
| McDaniel College | 54% | 81% | 81% | 1/15 | |
| Merrimack College | 85% | 82% | 82% | 1/15 | |
| Middlebury College | 47% | 20% | 22% | 1/3 | |
| Mount Holyoke College | 67% | 51% | 52% | 1/5 | MHC |
| Muhlenberg College | 80% | 61% | 62% | 2/1 | |
| New York University | Not Reported | Not Reported | 21% | 1/1 | NYU |
| Northeastern University | 38% | Not Reported | 20% | 1/1 | |
| Oberlin College | 44% | 35% | 35% | 1/2 | |
| Occidental College | 52% | 40% | 41% | 1/10 | OXY |
| Pitzer College | 37% | 14% | 17% | 1/8 | |
| Pomona College | 14% | 8% | 9% | 1/8 | |
| Providence College | 85% | 41% | 54% | 1/15 | |
| Reed College | 53% | 42% | 42% | 12/20 | |
| Rhodes College | 65% | 51% | 51% | 1/15 | |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | 87% | 73% | 74% | 1/1 | RIT |
| Rollins College | 50% | 62% | 61% | 1/5 | |
| Saint Joseph's University | 69% | 61% | 80% | 1/15 | SJU |
| Santa Clara University | 69% | 37% | 51% | 1/7 | SCU |
| Sarah Lawrence College | 79% | 46% | 55% | 1/15 | |
| Scripps College | 50% | 34% | 35% | 1/5 | |
| Skidmore College | 60% | 30% | 32% | 1/15 | |
| Smith College | 65% | 34% | 37% | 1/1 | |
| Southern Methodist University | 65% | 43% | 53% | 1/15 | SMU |
| St Olaf College | 48% | 51% | 51% | 1/15 | |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | 56% | 53% | 53% | 1/15 | Stevens Tech |
| Stonehill College | 88% | 1% | 67% | 2/1 | |
| Swarthmore College | 24% | 8% | 9% | 1/4 | |
| Syracuse University | 56% | 70% | 69% | 1/1 | SU |
| The College of New Jersey | 79% | 50% | 51% | 1/1 | |
| The College of Wooster | 63% | 48% | 65% | 1/15 | TCNJ |
| The University of the South | 65% | 35% | 56% | 1/15 | Sewanee |
| Trinity College | 60% | 34% | 36% | 1/14 | |
| Trinity University | 66% | 16% | 34% | 2/1 | |
| Tufts University | Not Reported | Not Reported | 16% | 1/4 | |
| Tulane University | 23% | 1% | 11% | 1/8 | |
| Union College | 64% | 29% | 41% | 1/15 | |
| University of Chicago | Not Reported | Not Reported | 7% | 1/4 | |
| University of Denver | 43% | 41% | 61% | 1/15 | |
| University of Miami | 52% | 22% | 33% | 1/1 | UM |
| University of North Carolina at Asheville | 82% | 79% | 79% | 1/15 | UNC Asheville; UNCA |
| University of Richmond | 58% | 23% | 31% | 1/1 | |
| University of Rochester | 37% | 35% | 35% | 1/5 | URI |
| Ursinus College | 79% | 70% | 80% | 2/15 | |
| Vanderbilt University | 21% | 10% | 12% | 1/1 | Vandy |
| Vassar College | 47% | 24% | 25% | 1/1 | |
| Villanova University | 58% | 36% | 31% | 1/15 | |
| Wake Forest University | 34% | 32% | 32% | 1/1 | WFU |
| Washington and Lee University | 53% | 21% | 24% | 1/1 | WLU |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 35% | 14% | 16% | 1/4 | WashU |
| Wellesley College | 39% | 18% | 20% | 1/1 | |
| Wesleyan University | 41% | 19% | 21% | 1/1 | |
| Wheaton College (MA) | 76% | 67% | 77% | 1/15 | |
| Whitman College | 59% | 54% | 54% | 1/15 | |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Not Reported | 32% | 59% | 1/15 | WPI |
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