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

InstitutionTotal AdmitsYield (Incoming Class)Early Decision AdmitsRegular Decision AdmitsEarly Decision Admits (as % of Total Admits)Early Decision Admits (as % of Incoming Class)
Agnes Scott College1,144324291,1152.5%9.0%
Alfred University2,693437272,6661.0%6.2%
Allegheny College3,485470703,4152.0%14.9%
American University5,9881,7527915,19713.2%45.1%
Amherst College1,2464921811,06514.5%36.8%
Austin College2,120435192,1010.9%4.4%
Babson College1,5585391701,38810.9%31.5%
Bard College3,319459413,2781.2%8.9%
Barnard College1,09960229780227.0%49.3%
Bates College1,3675223341,03324.4%64.0%
Beloit College2,369266192,3500.8%7.1%
Bennington College852202448085.2%21.8%
Bentley University3,9981,0142443,7546.1%24.1%
Birmingham Southern College2,069328152,0540.7%4.6%
Boston University14,2473,6111,26712,9808.9%35.1%
Bowdoin College93251025068226.8%49.0%
Brandeis University3,6758953333,3429.1%37.2%
Brown University2,7181,6507371,98127.1%44.7%
Bryant University5,4758671265,3492.3%14.5%
Bryn Mawr College1,07939117790216.4%45.3%
Bucknell University3,3529744002,95211.9%41.1%
Carleton College1,4075292251,18216.0%42.5%
Carnegie Mellon University4,1701,5723463,8248.3%22.0%
Case Western Reserve University7,7941,3932387,5563.1%17.1%
Catholic University5,1018331124,9892.2%13.4%
Centre College1,795358551,7403.1%15.4%
Chapman University7,6051,6561407,4651.8%8.5%
Christopher Newport University5,0351,2283534,6827.0%28.7%
Claremont McKenna College58432419339133.0%59.6%
Clark University4,565583344,5310.7%5.8%
Colby College1,6085802941,31418.3%50.7%
Colgate University2,4228153922,03016.2%48.1%
College of Charleston9,2542,1972439,0112.6%11.1%
College of the Atlantic30982252848.1%30.5%
College of the Holy Cross2,6818683832,29814.3%44.1%
College of William and Mary5,4091,5455374,8729.9%34.8%
Colorado College1,28354430797623.9%56.4%
Columbia University2,2601,4237171,54331.7%50.4%
Connecticut College2,4295082262,2039.3%44.5%
Cooper Union3922167631619.4%35.2%
Cornell College1,545296271,5181.7%9.1%
Cornell University5,4483,2951,5493,89928.4%47.0%
Dartmouth College1,9251,1695741,35129.8%49.1%
Davidson College1,11651533578130.0%65.0%
Denison University2,7276543282,39912.0%50.2%
DePauw University3,435564503,3851.5%8.9%
Dickinson College3,0706352662,8048.7%41.9%
Drew University2,622420902,5323.4%21.4%
Drexel University23,2673,35326822,9991.2%8.0%
Duke University3,1891,7458792,31027.6%50.4%
Earlham College1,382271441,3383.2%16.2%
Elon University7,7401,6973347,4064.3%19.7%
Emory University5,1041,4296984,40613.7%48.8%
Fairfield University6,8511,0911426,7092.1%13.0%
Fordham University21,3132,28515721,1560.7%6.9%
Franklin & Marshall College2,3166113471,96915.0%56.8%
Furman University3,3397111013,2383.0%14.2%
George Washington University11,1012,83890810,1938.2%32.0%
Gettysburg College2,8477483102,53710.9%41.4%
Goucher College2,536432322,5041.3%7.4%
Grinnell College1,7924632041,58811.4%44.1%
Hamilton College1,3284812441,08418.4%50.7%
Hampshire College1,440286681,3724.7%23.8%
Harvey Mudd College5942248850614.8%39.3%
Haverford College87835719668222.3%54.9%
High Point University7,7701,4235367,2346.9%37.7%
Hobart and William Smith Colleges2,5766112892,28711.2%47.3%
Hollins University2,344199102,3340.4%5.0%
Ithaca College10,4721,66613210,3401.3%7.9%
Johns Hopkins University3,0891,3166102,47919.7%46.4%
Kalamazoo College2,454408502,4042.0%12.3%
Kenyon College2,2045392331,97110.6%43.2%
Knox College2,032345192,0130.9%5.5%
Lafayette College2,7157333982,31714.7%54.3%
Lake Forest College2,402392112,3910.5%2.8%
Lawrence University2,188396202,1680.9%5.1%
Lehigh University3,4881,2757102,77820.4%55.7%
Lewis & Clark College4,528562394,4890.9%6.9%
Loyola Marymount University8,4111,5101178,2941.4%7.7%
Macalester College2,4686211612,3076.5%25.9%
Marist College5,1811,2992734,9085.3%21.0%
Marlboro College94385895.3%13.2%
Miami University22,4593,92569121,7683.1%17.6%
Middlebury College1,5426283991,14325.9%63.5%
Morehouse College2,057604611,9963.0%10.1%
Mount Holyoke College1,8836282061,67710.9%32.8%
Muhlenberg College2,5625482372,3259.3%43.2%
New York University14,3596,1603,62810,73125.3%58.9%
Northeastern University12,0422,74645411,5883.8%16.5%
Northwestern University3,4221,9311,0772,34531.5%55.8%
Oberlin College2,7258052482,4779.1%30.8%
Occidental College2,7165661822,5346.7%32.2%
Pitzer College58127313544623.2%49.5%
Pomona College78041220757326.5%50.2%
Providence College5,5931,1213655,2286.5%32.6%
Ramapo College of New Jersey4,3689221794,1894.1%19.4%
Reed College2,0873631231,9645.9%33.9%
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute8,7701,7785608,2106.4%31.5%
Rhodes College2,269543972,1724.3%17.9%
Rice University2,3289603701,95815.9%38.5%
Rochester Institute of Technology12,7652,84795411,8117.5%33.5%
Rollins College3,6355491973,4385.4%35.9%
Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame1,525396741,4514.9%18.7%
Santa Clara University8,1071,3902387,8692.9%17.1%
Sarah Lawrence College1,8574251211,7366.5%28.5%
Scripps College7662529067611.7%35.7%
Sewanee: University of the South2,2584771432,1156.3%30.0%
Siena College5,9077451065,8011.8%14.2%
Skidmore College2,9076783582,54912.3%52.8%
Smith College1,7896132861,50316.0%46.7%
Southern Methodist University6,4571,5262856,1724.4%18.7%
Southwestern University2,049442332,0161.6%7.5%
Spelman College3,718571843,6342.3%14.7%
St. Lawrence University2,9756432532,7228.5%39.3%
St. Olaf College2,7438092792,46410.2%34.5%
Stevens Institute of Technology3,8381,0093843,45410.0%38.1%
Stonehill College4,598650734,5251.6%11.2%
SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry1,2393861311,10810.6%33.9%
SUNY, Geneseo6,8361,3382536,5833.7%18.9%
Susquehanna University4,116619714,0451.7%11.5%
Swarthmore College1,02041422679422.2%54.6%
Syracuse University17,4433,5991,16716,2766.7%32.4%
Texas Christian University8,2102,1874007,8104.9%18.3%
The College of New Jersey6,7851,5504126,3736.1%26.6%
The College of Wooster3,3835691013,2823.0%17.8%
Trinity College2,0455792991,74614.6%51.6%
Trinity University2,9566901142,8423.9%16.5%
Tufts University3,1431,4849572,18630.4%64.5%
Tulane University6,7241,9095356,1898.0%28.0%
Union College2,5985712272,3718.7%39.8%
University of Denver11,5631,46414511,4181.3%9.9%
University of Miami11,0202,34268510,3356.2%29.2%
University of Pennsylvania3,7402,5181,3122,42835.1%52.1%
University of Puget Sound5,060653984,9621.9%15.0%
University of Richmond3,5858323193,2668.9%38.3%
University of San Francisco11,8851,5414611,8390.4%3.0%
Ursinus College2,382378682,3142.9%18.0%
Vanderbilt University3,2981,6018522,44625.8%53.2%
Vassar College2,0436852971,74614.5%43.4%
Villanova University6,6451,6854096,2366.2%24.3%
Virginia Tech20,7096,2851,34119,3686.5%21.3%
Wabash College868274278413.1%9.9%
Wake Forest University3,8031,4207953,00820.9%56.0%
Washington & Jefferson College2,311351122,2990.5%3.4%
Washington and Lee University1,23947427696322.3%58.2%
Washington University4,7081,7857723,93616.4%43.2%
Wellesley College1,2966142481,04819.1%40.4%
Wesleyan University2,2188024061,81218.3%50.6%
Wheaton College (MA)2,5654951082,4574.2%21.8%
Williams College1,24053325898220.8%48.4%
Wofford College2,2384651112,1275.0%23.9%
Yeshiva University9095319681310.6%18.1%