Early Decision Enrollment
When weighing the pros and cons of applying Early Decision, most applicants focus primarily on the differential between the admissions rates of the early and regular rounds. Early Decision admit rates are typically higher, even when accounting for the fact that many athletes, legacy, and other “special” candidates are brought aboard via ED. However, another important factor that should be informing applicants’ decisions is the percentage of the total freshman class being admitted through Early Decision. For example, elite liberal arts schools Middlebury and Davidson have already filled over 60% of their incoming classes by December. On the other end of the spectrum, Carnegie Mellon only fills 22% of their class through ED; Northeastern sits at a mere 17%. The rub is that if you are applying to a school like Tufts, there are not many seats left at the table by the regular round. Below is College Transitions’ list of Early Decision enrollment data that will help you make a more informed choice about when to apply to your dream school. Data was collected each institution's Common Data Set.
Table Updated August 2019
| Institution | Total Admits | Yield (Incoming Class) | Early Decision Admits | Regular Decision Admits | Early Decision Admits (as % of Total Admits) | Early Decision Admits (as % of Incoming Class) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yeshiva University | 909 | 531 | 96 | 813 | 10.6% | 18.1% | |
| Wofford College | 2,238 | 465 | 111 | 2,127 | 5.0% | 23.9% | |
| Williams College | 1,240 | 533 | 258 | 982 | 20.8% | 48.4% | |
| Wheaton College (MA) | 2,565 | 495 | 108 | 2,457 | 4.2% | 21.8% | |
| Wesleyan University | 2,218 | 802 | 406 | 1,812 | 18.3% | 50.6% | |
| Wellesley College | 1,296 | 614 | 248 | 1,048 | 19.1% | 40.4% | |
| Washington University | 4,708 | 1,785 | 772 | 3,936 | 16.4% | 43.2% | WashU |
| Washington and Lee University | 1,239 | 474 | 276 | 963 | 22.3% | 58.2% | |
| Washington & Jefferson College | 2,311 | 351 | 12 | 2,299 | 0.5% | 3.4% | |
| Wake Forest University | 3,803 | 1,420 | 795 | 3,008 | 20.9% | 56.0% | WFU |
| Wabash College | 868 | 274 | 27 | 841 | 3.1% | 9.9% | |
| Virginia Tech | 20,709 | 6,285 | 1,341 | 19,368 | 6.5% | 21.3% | |
| Villanova University | 6,645 | 1,685 | 409 | 6,236 | 6.2% | 24.3% | |
| Vassar College | 2,043 | 685 | 297 | 1,746 | 14.5% | 43.4% | |
| Vanderbilt University | 3,298 | 1,601 | 852 | 2,446 | 25.8% | 53.2% | |
| Ursinus College | 2,382 | 378 | 68 | 2,314 | 2.9% | 18.0% | |
| University of San Francisco | 11,885 | 1,541 | 46 | 11,839 | 0.4% | 3.0% | USF |
| University of Richmond | 3,585 | 832 | 319 | 3,266 | 8.9% | 38.3% | |
| University of Puget Sound | 5,060 | 653 | 98 | 4,962 | 1.9% | 15.0% | |
| University of Pennsylvania | 3,740 | 2,518 | 1,312 | 2,428 | 35.1% | 52.1% | UPenn |
| University of Miami | 11,020 | 2,342 | 685 | 10,335 | 6.2% | 29.2% | UM |
| University of Denver | 11,563 | 1,464 | 145 | 11,418 | 1.3% | 9.9% | DU |
| Union College | 2,598 | 571 | 227 | 2,371 | 8.7% | 39.8% | |
| Tulane University | 6,724 | 1,909 | 535 | 6,189 | 8.0% | 28.0% | |
| Tufts University | 3,143 | 1,484 | 957 | 2,186 | 30.4% | 64.5% | |
| Trinity University | 2,956 | 690 | 114 | 2,842 | 3.9% | 16.5% | |
| Trinity College | 2,045 | 579 | 299 | 1,746 | 14.6% | 51.6% | |
| The College of Wooster | 3,383 | 569 | 101 | 3,282 | 3.0% | 17.8% | |
| The College of New Jersey | 6,785 | 1,550 | 412 | 6,373 | 6.1% | 26.6% | TCNJ |
| Texas Christian University | 8,210 | 2,187 | 400 | 7,810 | 4.9% | 18.3% | TCU |
| Syracuse University | 17,443 | 3,599 | 1,167 | 16,276 | 6.7% | 32.4% | |
| Swarthmore College | 1,020 | 414 | 226 | 794 | 22.2% | 54.6% | |
| Susquehanna University | 4,116 | 619 | 71 | 4,045 | 1.7% | 11.5% | |
| SUNY, Geneseo | 6,836 | 1,338 | 253 | 6,583 | 3.7% | 18.9% | |
| SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 1,239 | 386 | 131 | 1,108 | 10.6% | 33.9% | |
| Stonehill College | 4,598 | 650 | 73 | 4,525 | 1.6% | 11.2% | |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | 3,838 | 1,009 | 384 | 3,454 | 10.0% | 38.1% | |
| St. Olaf College | 2,743 | 809 | 279 | 2,464 | 10.2% | 34.5% | |
| St. Lawrence University | 2,975 | 643 | 253 | 2,722 | 8.5% | 39.3% | |
| Spelman College | 3,718 | 571 | 84 | 3,634 | 2.3% | 14.7% | |
| Southwestern University | 2,049 | 442 | 33 | 2,016 | 1.6% | 7.5% | |
| Southern Methodist University | 6,457 | 1,526 | 285 | 6,172 | 4.4% | 18.7% | SMU |
| Smith College | 1,789 | 613 | 286 | 1,503 | 16.0% | 46.7% | |
| Skidmore College | 2,907 | 678 | 358 | 2,549 | 12.3% | 52.8% | |
| Siena College | 5,907 | 745 | 106 | 5,801 | 1.8% | 14.2% | |
| Sewanee: University of the South | 2,258 | 477 | 143 | 2,115 | 6.3% | 30.0% | |
| Scripps College | 766 | 252 | 90 | 676 | 11.7% | 35.7% | |
| Sarah Lawrence College | 1,857 | 425 | 121 | 1,736 | 6.5% | 28.5% | |
| Santa Clara University | 8,107 | 1,390 | 238 | 7,869 | 2.9% | 17.1% | |
| Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame | 1,525 | 396 | 74 | 1,451 | 4.9% | 18.7% | |
| Rollins College | 3,635 | 549 | 197 | 3,438 | 5.4% | 35.9% | |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | 12,765 | 2,847 | 954 | 11,811 | 7.5% | 33.5% | RIT |
| Rice University | 2,328 | 960 | 370 | 1,958 | 15.9% | 38.5% | |
| Rhodes College | 2,269 | 543 | 97 | 2,172 | 4.3% | 17.9% | |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 8,770 | 1,778 | 560 | 8,210 | 6.4% | 31.5% | RPI |
| Reed College | 2,087 | 363 | 123 | 1,964 | 5.9% | 33.9% | |
| Ramapo College of New Jersey | 4,368 | 922 | 179 | 4,189 | 4.1% | 19.4% | |
| Providence College | 5,593 | 1,121 | 365 | 5,228 | 6.5% | 32.6% | |
| Pomona College | 780 | 412 | 207 | 573 | 26.5% | 50.2% | |
| Pitzer College | 581 | 273 | 135 | 446 | 23.2% | 49.5% | |
| Occidental College | 2,716 | 566 | 182 | 2,534 | 6.7% | 32.2% | |
| Oberlin College | 2,725 | 805 | 248 | 2,477 | 9.1% | 30.8% | |
| Northwestern University | 3,422 | 1,931 | 1,077 | 2,345 | 31.5% | 55.8% | |
| Northeastern University | 12,042 | 2,746 | 454 | 11,588 | 3.8% | 16.5% | |
| New York University | 14,359 | 6,160 | 3,628 | 10,731 | 25.3% | 58.9% | NYU |
| Muhlenberg College | 2,562 | 548 | 237 | 2,325 | 9.3% | 43.2% | |
| Mount Holyoke College | 1,883 | 628 | 206 | 1,677 | 10.9% | 32.8% | |
| Morehouse College | 2,057 | 604 | 61 | 1,996 | 3.0% | 10.1% | |
| Middlebury College | 1,542 | 628 | 399 | 1,143 | 25.9% | 63.5% | |
| Miami University | 22,459 | 3,925 | 691 | 21,768 | 3.1% | 17.6% | |
| Marlboro College | 94 | 38 | 5 | 89 | 5.3% | 13.2% | |
| Marist College | 5,181 | 1,299 | 273 | 4,908 | 5.3% | 21.0% | |
| Macalester College | 2,468 | 621 | 161 | 2,307 | 6.5% | 25.9% | |
| Loyola Marymount University | 8,411 | 1,510 | 117 | 8,294 | 1.4% | 7.7% | |
| Lewis & Clark College | 4,528 | 562 | 39 | 4,489 | 0.9% | 6.9% | |
| Lehigh University | 3,488 | 1,275 | 710 | 2,778 | 20.4% | 55.7% | |
| Lawrence University | 2,188 | 396 | 20 | 2,168 | 0.9% | 5.1% | |
| Lake Forest College | 2,402 | 392 | 11 | 2,391 | 0.5% | 2.8% | |
| Lafayette College | 2,715 | 733 | 398 | 2,317 | 14.7% | 54.3% | |
| Knox College | 2,032 | 345 | 19 | 2,013 | 0.9% | 5.5% | |
| Kenyon College | 2,204 | 539 | 233 | 1,971 | 10.6% | 43.2% | |
| Kalamazoo College | 2,454 | 408 | 50 | 2,404 | 2.0% | 12.3% | |
| Johns Hopkins University | 3,089 | 1,316 | 610 | 2,479 | 19.7% | 46.4% | JHU |
| Ithaca College | 10,472 | 1,666 | 132 | 10,340 | 1.3% | 7.9% | |
| Hollins University | 2,344 | 199 | 10 | 2,334 | 0.4% | 5.0% | |
| Hobart and William Smith Colleges | 2,576 | 611 | 289 | 2,287 | 11.2% | 47.3% | HWS |
| High Point University | 7,770 | 1,423 | 536 | 7,234 | 6.9% | 37.7% | |
| Haverford College | 878 | 357 | 196 | 682 | 22.3% | 54.9% | |
| Harvey Mudd College | 594 | 224 | 88 | 506 | 14.8% | 39.3% | HMC |
| Hampshire College | 1,440 | 286 | 68 | 1,372 | 4.7% | 23.8% | |
| Hamilton College | 1,328 | 481 | 244 | 1,084 | 18.4% | 50.7% | |
| Grinnell College | 1,792 | 463 | 204 | 1,588 | 11.4% | 44.1% | |
| Goucher College | 2,536 | 432 | 32 | 2,504 | 1.3% | 7.4% | |
| Gettysburg College | 2,847 | 748 | 310 | 2,537 | 10.9% | 41.4% | |
| George Washington University | 11,101 | 2,838 | 908 | 10,193 | 8.2% | 32.0% | GWU |
| Furman University | 3,339 | 711 | 101 | 3,238 | 3.0% | 14.2% | |
| Franklin & Marshall College | 2,316 | 611 | 347 | 1,969 | 15.0% | 56.8% | |
| Fordham University | 21,313 | 2,285 | 157 | 21,156 | 0.7% | 6.9% | |
| Fairfield University | 6,851 | 1,091 | 142 | 6,709 | 2.1% | 13.0% | |
| Emory University | 5,104 | 1,429 | 698 | 4,406 | 13.7% | 48.8% | |
| Elon University | 7,740 | 1,697 | 334 | 7,406 | 4.3% | 19.7% | |
| Earlham College | 1,382 | 271 | 44 | 1,338 | 3.2% | 16.2% | |
| Duke University | 3,189 | 1,745 | 879 | 2,310 | 27.6% | 50.4% | |
| Drexel University | 23,267 | 3,353 | 268 | 22,999 | 1.2% | 8.0% | |
| Drew University | 2,622 | 420 | 90 | 2,532 | 3.4% | 21.4% | |
| Dickinson College | 3,070 | 635 | 266 | 2,804 | 8.7% | 41.9% | |
| DePauw University | 3,435 | 564 | 50 | 3,385 | 1.5% | 8.9% | |
| Denison University | 2,727 | 654 | 328 | 2,399 | 12.0% | 50.2% | |
| Davidson College | 1,116 | 515 | 335 | 781 | 30.0% | 65.0% | |
| Dartmouth College | 1,925 | 1,169 | 574 | 1,351 | 29.8% | 49.1% | |
| Cornell University | 5,448 | 3,295 | 1,549 | 3,899 | 28.4% | 47.0% | |
| Cornell College | 1,545 | 296 | 27 | 1,518 | 1.7% | 9.1% | |
| Cooper Union | 392 | 216 | 76 | 316 | 19.4% | 35.2% | |
| Connecticut College | 2,429 | 508 | 226 | 2,203 | 9.3% | 44.5% | |
| Columbia University | 2,260 | 1,423 | 717 | 1,543 | 31.7% | 50.4% | |
| Colorado College | 1,283 | 544 | 307 | 976 | 23.9% | 56.4% | |
| College of William and Mary | 5,409 | 1,545 | 537 | 4,872 | 9.9% | 34.8% | |
| College of the Holy Cross | 2,681 | 868 | 383 | 2,298 | 14.3% | 44.1% | |
| College of the Atlantic | 309 | 82 | 25 | 284 | 8.1% | 30.5% | |
| College of Charleston | 9,254 | 2,197 | 243 | 9,011 | 2.6% | 11.1% | |
| Colgate University | 2,422 | 815 | 392 | 2,030 | 16.2% | 48.1% | |
| Colby College | 1,608 | 580 | 294 | 1,314 | 18.3% | 50.7% | |
| Clark University | 4,565 | 583 | 34 | 4,531 | 0.7% | 5.8% | |
| Claremont McKenna College | 584 | 324 | 193 | 391 | 33.0% | 59.6% | CMC |
| Christopher Newport University | 5,035 | 1,228 | 353 | 4,682 | 7.0% | 28.7% | |
| Chapman University | 7,605 | 1,656 | 140 | 7,465 | 1.8% | 8.5% | |
| Centre College | 1,795 | 358 | 55 | 1,740 | 3.1% | 15.4% | |
| Catholic University | 5,101 | 833 | 112 | 4,989 | 2.2% | 13.4% | |
| Case Western Reserve University | 7,794 | 1,393 | 238 | 7,556 | 3.1% | 17.1% | |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 4,170 | 1,572 | 346 | 3,824 | 8.3% | 22.0% | CMU |
| Carleton College | 1,407 | 529 | 225 | 1,182 | 16.0% | 42.5% | |
| Bucknell University | 3,352 | 974 | 400 | 2,952 | 11.9% | 41.1% | |
| Bryn Mawr College | 1,079 | 391 | 177 | 902 | 16.4% | 45.3% | |
| Bryant University | 5,475 | 867 | 126 | 5,349 | 2.3% | 14.5% | |
| Brown University | 2,718 | 1,650 | 737 | 1,981 | 27.1% | 44.7% | |
| Brandeis University | 3,675 | 895 | 333 | 3,342 | 9.1% | 37.2% | |
| Bowdoin College | 932 | 510 | 250 | 682 | 26.8% | 49.0% | |
| Boston University | 14,247 | 3,611 | 1,267 | 12,980 | 8.9% | 35.1% | BU |
| Birmingham Southern College | 2,069 | 328 | 15 | 2,054 | 0.7% | 4.6% | |
| Bentley University | 3,998 | 1,014 | 244 | 3,754 | 6.1% | 24.1% | |
| Bennington College | 852 | 202 | 44 | 808 | 5.2% | 21.8% | |
| Beloit College | 2,369 | 266 | 19 | 2,350 | 0.8% | 7.1% | |
| Bates College | 1,367 | 522 | 334 | 1,033 | 24.4% | 64.0% | |
| Barnard College | 1,099 | 602 | 297 | 802 | 27.0% | 49.3% | |
| Bard College | 3,319 | 459 | 41 | 3,278 | 1.2% | 8.9% | |
| Babson College | 1,558 | 539 | 170 | 1,388 | 10.9% | 31.5% | |
| Austin College | 2,120 | 435 | 19 | 2,101 | 0.9% | 4.4% | |
| Amherst College | 1,246 | 492 | 181 | 1,065 | 14.5% | 36.8% | |
| American University | 5,988 | 1,752 | 791 | 5,197 | 13.2% | 45.1% | |
| Allegheny College | 3,485 | 470 | 70 | 3,415 | 2.0% | 14.9% | |
| Alfred University | 2,693 | 437 | 27 | 2,666 | 1.0% | 6.2% | |
| Agnes Scott College | 1,144 | 324 | 29 | 1,115 | 2.5% | 9.0% |
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