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