Early Decision and Early Action Acceptance Rates at Top Schools
What’s Covered:
- Does Early Decision Improve Your Chances?
- ED and EA Acceptance Rates 2022-23
- How Have Early Acceptance Rates Changed Over Time?
- Should You Apply Early Decision or Early Action?
There’s a lot to think about when applying to college. As you’re gearing up to start the process, you’re probably weighing your options and making a plan for completing your applications. One consideration is whether you’ll apply early decision or early action.
When you apply early decision (ED), you submit your application well before the regular decision (RD) deadline and commit to attending that school if accepted. Today, some colleges also offer early decision II plans, a binding option with a deadline closer to that of RD plans.
Early action (EA) follows a similar timeline—students usually apply around November and find out whether they’ve been accepted, denied, or deferred to the regular pool. This plan, however, is not binding, meaning you’re not required to attend that school if accepted. A third plan, restricted or single-choice early action (REA), is non-binding, but you can only apply to that school early if you apply REA.
Some students choose to apply ED or EA because there is an admissions advantage to doing so. But just how much of a boost does ED or EA really give you?
Does Early Decision Improve Your Chances?
While at first glance it may appear that students who apply early have a substantial advantage over those who apply regular decision, it’s important to keep other factors that affect these numbers in mind. For example, students who apply ED are more likely to fit the profile of students who attend the school since they have named it their first choice.
Another important factor to colleges is being able to accurately predict their yield—the percent of accepted students who end up enrolling. Having accurate yield predictions is relevant to the school’s finances as well as its standing in national ranking. Early decision applicants have essentially committed to the school before even receiving an acceptance letter, which helps the school more accurately predict its yield. This is one of the reasons colleges often accept so many early decision applicants.
Taking into account the theories above, as well as others not stated here, the fact remains that students who apply early do have an advantage. On average, students applying ED see a 1.6x (or 60%) increase in their chances of admission to very selective schools. This effect is lessened the less selective the school is.
Early action doesn’t offer as significant a boost as early decision, but it still does provide some admissions advantage. Single-choice or restrictive early action generally has more benefits than regular early action. For example, Harvard’s restrictive early action acceptance rate for the class of 2027 was 7.56%, compared to the overall acceptance rate of 3.41%.
As you can see in the tables below, the difference between early and regular admission rates vary by school. For example, at MIT, which has a nonrestrictive EA plan, the difference in admissions rates is much less than that of Yale, which has a restrictive EA plan—MIT’s differential is 0.9% whereas Yale’s is 5.6%.
Early Decision and Early Action Acceptance Rates 2022-23
Not all schools publish their early decision and early action acceptance rate data. Below are the national universities and liberal arts colleges (LACs) that the U.S. News & World Report ranked the top 30 best schools. The data includes acceptance rates for the 2022-23 admissions cycle.
Universities
|
School |
ED Acceptance Rate |
EA Acceptance Rate |
Overall Acceptance Rate |
|
Brown University |
13.0% |
N/A |
5.1% |
|
Columbia University |
11.3% |
N/A |
3.9% |
|
Dartmouth College |
19.2% |
N/A |
6.2% |
|
Duke University |
16.4% |
N/A |
6.0% |
|
Emory University |
25.5% |
N/A |
16.2% |
|
Georgetown University |
N/A |
11.8% |
12.8% |
|
Harvard University |
N/A |
7.6% |
3.4% |
|
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
N/A |
5.7% |
4.8% |
|
Northwestern University |
20.0% |
N/A |
7.0% |
|
Rice University |
15.2% |
N/A |
7.7% |
|
University of Notre Dame |
N/A |
15.2% |
12.0% |
|
University of Pennsylvania |
15.0% |
N/A |
2.4% |
|
University of Southern California |
N/A |
5.9% |
9.9% |
|
University of Virginia |
24.5% |
16.7% |
16.3% |
|
Washington University in St. Louis* |
27.0% |
N/A |
11.0% |
|
Yale University |
N/A |
10.0% |
4.4% |
*The statistics provided for Washington University in St. Louis are from the 2021-22 admissions cycle.
LACs
|
School |
ED Acceptance Rate |
EA Acceptance Rate |
Overall Acceptance Rate |
|
Amherst College |
25.3% |
N/A |
9.0% |
|
Barnard College |
28.2% |
N/A |
6.5% |
|
Bates College |
60.0% |
N/A |
12.3% |
|
Colorado College* |
26.0% |
15.0% |
11.6% |
|
Grinnell College |
53.0% |
N/A |
14.0% |
|
Macalester College |
49.0% |
N/A |
27.0% |
|
Middlebury College |
38.9% |
N/A |
5.5% |
|
Soka University of America |
30.0% |
N/A |
53.0% |
|
University of Richmond |
48.0% |
N/A |
21.3% |
|
Wellesley College |
30.0% |
N/A |
7.7% |
|
Wesleyan University |
40.8% |
N/A |
15.7% |
|
Williams College |
27.0% |
N/A |
9.8% |
*The statistics provided for Colorado College are from the 2021-22 admissions cycle.
How Have Early Acceptance Rates Changed Over Time?
In many cases, overall acceptance rates are declining simply because there are more applicants year after year. This often extends to ED and EA, too. However, as you can see from the table below, this is not true for all schools.
|
School |
Early Acceptance Rate 2022–23 |
Early Acceptance Rate 2021–22 |
Early Acceptance Rate 2020–21 |
|
Amherst College |
25.3% |
32.0% |
35.0% |
|
Brown University |
13.0% |
21.9% |
16.0% |
|
Dartmouth University |
19.2% |
20.1% |
21.0% |
|
Duke University |
16.4% |
21% |
16.7% |
|
Harvard University |
7.6% |
7.9% |
7.4% |
|
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
5.7% |
4.7% |
4.8% |
|
Middlebury College |
38.9% |
15.7% |
34.2% (ED I only) |
|
University of Pennsylvania |
15.0% |
15.6% |
15.0% |
|
Williams College |
27.0% |
23.1% |
33% |
|
Yale University |
10.0% |
10.9% |
10.5% |
Should You Apply Early Decision or Early Action?
There are advantages and disadvantages to applying ED or EA. One perk of applying early is that you’ll be able to learn your admissions decision much earlier than if you apply RD—usually in December! But on the flip side, if it’s bad news, you’ll have to deal with that disappointment while you’re finalizing your RD applications.
Moreover, since ED/EA applications are due earlier, you won’t have as much time to determine which school is the best fit for you. In short, applying early is not the right plan for everyone.
We advise students to apply early if their dream school is a reach because doing so may just inch them into the acceptance pool. However, recognize that this advantage has its limitations. If the school is a far reach for you, then you’re probably better off saving your ED or REA application for another school, rather than wasting it on a college where you’re unlikely to be admitted. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bother applying at all—but you should consider applying to another REA school or to a handful of unrestricted EA schools instead.
Wondering which of your desired schools are safeties, targets, and reaches? That depends on your profile. CollegeVine’s free chancing engine will factor in your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and more, to calculate your odds of admission at the schools on your list. Plus, this tool will offer tips to help you improve your profile!
