Ivy League Colleges |
Overall Accept. Rate |
Regular Decision Accept. Rate |
Regular Decision Apps Accepted |
Regular Decision Apps Received |
Early Decision / Action Accept. Rate |
% of Class Filled by Early Apps |
Early Decision / Action Apps Rcvd |
Early Decision / Action Apps Accepted |
Expected Number of Students to Enroll |
Total Apps Received |
Total Apps Accepted |
Brown |
8.6% |
7.4% |
2,036 |
27,344 |
18.9% |
37.4% |
3,088 |
583 |
1,560 |
30,432 |
2,619 |
Columbia |
7.0% |
5.5% |
1,641 |
29,654 |
19.7% |
46.8% |
3,298 |
650 |
1,390 |
32,952 |
2,291 |
Cornell | 14.0% |
12.3% |
4,689 |
38,266 |
27.7% |
41.5% |
4,775 |
1,325 |
3,190 |
43,041 |
6,014 |
Dartmouth |
11.5% |
9.9% |
1,751 |
17,618 |
27.9% |
42.3% |
1,678 |
469 |
1,110 |
19,296 |
2,220 |
Harvard |
5.9% |
3.5% |
1,031 |
29,603 |
21.1% |
n/a* |
4,692 |
992 |
1,660 |
34,295 |
2,023 |
Penn |
9.9% |
7.3% |
2,252 |
30,719 |
25.2% |
53.7% |
5,149 |
1,299 |
2,420 |
35,868 |
3,551 |
Princeton |
7.3% |
5.4% |
1,225 |
22,787 |
18.5% |
n/a* |
3,854 |
714 |
1,308 |
26,641 |
1,939 |
Yale |
6.3% |
4.6% |
1,200 |
26,182 |
15.5% |
n/a* |
4,750 |
735 |
1,360 |
30,932 |
1,935 |
* n/a = not applicable since an Early Action policy was in place
The graph below of the 2018 Ivy League admissions statistics shows a comparison between the Early Decision / Early Action acceptance rates and the Regular Decision acceptance rates:
Brown University
For the Class of 2018, Brown University had a total applicant pool of 30,432, marking the second largest applicant pool in Brown’s history (the Class of 2015 had the largest pool in Brown’s history with 30,946 applicants). Out of those 30,432 applicants, 2,619 students were accepted to the Class of 2018.
In the Early Decision round, Brown received 3,088 applications and accepted 583 students. In terms of admission rates, for the Class of 2018, Brown had an 8.6% overall admission rate (down from 9.2% from the Class of 2017), a 7.4% Regular Decision admit rate, and a 37.4% Early Decision admit rate. While the Early and Regular Decision admit rate percentages were already down from the Class of 2017, the difference is even more significant considering that Brown planned for a larger class. For the Class of 2018, Brown expects 1,560 students to enroll. For the Class of 2017, Brown had expected 1,515 students to enroll. In addition, 37% of the Class of 2018 was filled with Early Decision candidates.
Highlights of Brown’s Class of 2018
The admitted students hailed from all 50 states and 88 countries. In the U.S., California, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Florida had the most applicants. China, India, Canada, the U.K., and Korea had the most international applicants.
63% of the admitted class attended public schools, while 37% attended private or parochial schools or were home-schooled.
For those high schools that ranked its students, 95% of the admitted students were ranked in the top 10% of their class.
67% of the admitted students checked the box that they intended to apply for financial aid.
Read the complete article on Brown’s admissions statistics for the Class of 2018: Class of 2018 Brown admits 583 early decision applicants and Brown admits Class of 2018.
Columbia University
For the Class of 2018, out of a total applicant pool of 32,952 to Columbia College and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, Columbia University admitted 2,291 students. This marks a drop in the total number of applications from the Class of 2017 when Columbia received 33,531.
In the Early Decision round, 3,298 students applied (the largest Early Decision pool in Columbia’s history) and approximately 650 of those applicants were accepted. For an anticipated class of 1,390 freshmen, 46.8% of the class was filled in the early round – before the Regular Decision applications were read.
Overall, Columbia experienced a 7% overall admissions rate (this was the same as for the Class of 2017), a 5.5% Regular Decision admissions rate (for the Class of 2017, this figure stood at 5.6%) and a 19.7% Early Decision admissions rate (for the Class of 2017, it was 19.2%).
Highlights of Columbia’s Class of 2018
Admitted students hailed from all 50 states and nearly 80 countries.
Read the complete articles on the Columbia University admissions stats: Congratulations to the Early Decision class of 2018 and Class of 2018 applicant numbers released.
Cornell University
Of the 43,041 applicants who applied for admission to the Class of 2018, a total of 6,014 were accepted. Of those admitted students, 1,325 (or 27.7%) were accepted during the Early Decision round and another 4,689 (or 12.3%) were admitted through Regular Decision. For the Class of 2017, Cornell’s Early Decision admit rate was 29.5% and its Regular Decision admit rate was 13.5%. With an overall admissions rate of 14.0%, this was the lowest admit rate in Cornell University’s history. And with over 3,000 more candidates than last year, this year also marked the highest number of applicants in Cornell’s history.
Highlights of Cornell’s Class of 2018
25.7% or 1,543 candidates of the Class of 2018 identified themselves as under-represented minorities. For the Class of 2017, these numbers were 1,512 and 24.9%, respectively. When minority applicants who are not underrepresented (i.e., Asian Americans) are accounted for, approximately 46% of the class is comprised of students of color.
Females represented 52.7% of the class while males represented 47.3%.
The admitted American students hailed from all 50 states, including Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, while international students hailed from 78 countries.
A total of 3,133 applicants were waitlisted.
Read the complete articles on Cornell’s admissions statistics: Accepted Early, First Members of Class of 2018 Express Joy and Diversity increases in new freshman class.
Dartmouth College
For the Class of 2018, in the Early Decision round, Dartmouth admitted 469 students out of an applicant pool of 1,678. This was an admit rate of 27.9%. With a targeted freshman class of 1,110, applicants who were accepted Early Decision comprise 42.3% of the Class of 2018. Compared with the Class of 2017, one hundred more students applied Early Decision to Dartmouth College this year. However, in the Regular Decision round, Dartmouth received 3,224 fewer applications than for the Class of 2017.
In total, Dartmouth received 19,296 applications (Early Decision and Regular Decision) and accepted 2,220 students. While the Regular Decision admit rate was 9.9%, the overall admit rate (including Early Decision applicants) was 11.5%.
Highlights of Dartmouth’s Class of 2018
For the Class of 2018, the mean SAT was 722 (critical reading), 726 (math), and 730 (writing), marking a composite of 2,178. For the Classes of 2017, 2016, and 2015 the mean SATs were 2,141, 2,146 and 2,144, respectively. The mean ACT for the Class of 2018 was 32.1.
For high schools that ranked their students, 34% of admitted students were ranked first in their class and 94% were ranked in the top 10% of their class. This was a significant increase from the Class of 2017 in which 86% were ranked in the top 10%. In addition, 38.5% of the class were named valedictorians and 9.9% were salutatorians.
While 8.8% of the admitted students were international, 14% were from New England, 24.5% from the Mid Atlantic, 9.2% from the Midwest, 20.7% from the South, and 22.7% from the West.
Almost 48% (47.9%) identified themselves as students of color.
Over 12% (12.4%) were first in their families to attend college.
Over 8% (8.3%) were legacies – the children of Dartmouth alumni.
46% qualified for need-based aid with the average scholarship $41,069.
Read the article on Dartmouth’s admission stats: Early acceptance rate drops nearly two percent.
Harvard College
In its Single Choice Early Action round (SCEA), Harvard College accepted 992 out of the 4,692 candidates who applied, or 21.1% of the applicant pool. This marked the highest Early Action acceptance rate since the Class of 2011 (7 years ago) when the Early Action admit rate was 21.8%. For the four years thereafter – until the Class of 2016, Harvard had suspended its Early Action program. However in the past two years, for the Class of 2017 and 2016, the Single Choice Early Action admit rates were 18.4% and 18.2%, respectively.
In addition to the 992 students who were admitted in the SCEA round, 3,197 were deferred, 366 were denied, 18 withdrew, and 119 applicants had incomplete files.
Overall (in the SCEA and Regular Decision rounds) out of 34,295 applicants, 2,023 students were accepted at an admit rate of 5.9%. And while a 5.9% admit rate may appear low, the Regular Decision admit rate was a mere 3.5%. For the Class of 2017, Harvard College received a total of 35,923 applications, which made its overall admit rate 5.8% and its Regular Decision admit rate 3.8%.
Highlights of Harvard’s Class of 2018
23% hailed from the Mid Atlantic states, 17% from New England, 17% from the South, 10% from the Midwest, and 11% from U.S. territories. International citizens comprised 11.5%. Of those, 7.7% hailed from other countries but were U.S. citizens.
55% of the admitted students are male and 45% are female, an unusual mix at today’s liberal arts universities.
African-Americans comprised 11.9% of the accepted students, Latino students comprised 13%, Asian Americans made up for 19.7%, and Native American and Native Hawaiian students were another 1.9% of the class.
Of the 34,295 students who applied for admission, roughly 13,500 students scored 700 or above on the critical reading portion of the SAT, 16,400 scored 700 or above on the math section, and 14,200 scored 700 or higher on the SAT writing section.
For high schools that rank its students, 3,400 of those who applied were ranked first in their classes.
Approximately 60% of admitted students were promised need-based financial aid at an average of more than $40,000 per year.
Read the complete articles on the Harvard admission statistics: 992 admitted under Early Action and College admits Class of ’18.
University of Pennsylvania
With 5,149 applications in the Early Decision round – the largest number of Early Decision applications in the University of Pennsylvania’s history – and 337 more Early Decision applications than for the Class of 2017, 1,299 students were offered admission to Penn’s Class of 2018. What’s more striking is that with a targeted class of 2,420 freshmen, 54% of the Class of 2018 was filled with its Early Decision candidates. Penn always loves its Early Decision applicants!
In the Regular Decision round, 30,719 students applied and 2,252 were accepted at a 7.3% admit rate. With a total of 35,868 applications and 3,551 students accepted, this 9.9% admit rate was the lowest in the University of Pennsylvania’s history. For the Class of 2017, the overall admit rate was 12.3%.
Highlights of Penn’s Class of 2018
The average SAT score for the admitted class was 2,199, a figure that included the converted ACT scores.
52% were female, and 48% were male.
45% (U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents) of the Class of 2018 identified themselves as students of color.
Keeping with Ben Franklin’s belief in giving preference to Pennsylvania residents, 526 of the 3,551 admitted students hailed from Pennsylvania, with 168 of these students from Philadelphia.
States with the next highest numbers of applications were New York and California, with 416 and 378 admitted students, respectively.
Canada was the country outside of the United States best represented, with 57% of Canadian students accepted.
Korea, with 39 admitted students, had the second greatest number of acceptances. India and the U.K. each had 34 admitted students.
The sons and daughters of Penn alumni – legacies – comprised 13% of the class.
12% of admitted students were first in their families to attend college.
Read the complete articles on Penn’s admission statistics: Early decision admission rate increases by less than one percent and The class of 2018 is the most competitive class in Penn’s history.
Princeton University
Of the 3,854 applicants in Princeton University’s Single Choice Early Action round, 714 students received the happy news in December that they were accepted to the Class of 2018. Princeton’s Early Action admit rate was 18.5%. For the Class of 2017, 4,520 students applied SCEA and 649 were admitted at an 18.3% admit rate.
In the Regular Decision round, Princeton University admitted a total of 1,939 students out of an applicant pool of 26,641, the second highest in the university’s history. For the Class of 2016, Princeton received 26,664 applications. While the overall admit rate was 7.28%, the Regular Decision admit rate was 5.4%. Another 1,141 candidates were waitlisted.
Highlights of Princeton’s Class of 2018
Among the high schools that factor in rank, 97% of the admitted students were in the top 10% of their class.
Admitted students hailed from 48 states, plus Washington, D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico. States with the largest representation were California, then New Jersey, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida. International students hailed from 68 countries including Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, India, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Tanzania, Vietnam, and the U.K. and comprised 11.4% of the Class of 2018.
The male to female admit rate was 51.6% male to 48.4% female.
Students of color comprised 49.2% of the class.
61% of admitted students attended public schools.
First generation students made up 13.8%.
The children of Princeton alumni – legacies – comprised 9.4% of the class.
Read the complete articles on the Princeton admission statistics: Princeton offers early-action admission to 714 students for Class of 2018 and Princeton offers admission to 7.28 percent of applicants.
Yale University
Out of a Single Choice Early Action pool of 4,750, Yale College admitted 735 students to the Class of 2018. This marked a significant rise of both Early Action applications and Early Action acceptances compared with the previous year when 4,520 students applied SCEA and 649 were admitted.
Also in the SCEA round 2,735 applicants were deferred, 1,225 were rejected, and 55 either withdrew or had incomplete applications. Yale’s admit rate for this year’s Early Action round was 15.5%.
In the Regular Decision applicant pool, Yale accepted an additional 1,200 students. With a total of 1,935 admitted students out of a combined applicant pool of 30,932 – marking the highest pool in Yale’s history – the overall admissions rate for the Class of 2018 was 6.26%, the lowest in the university’s history. For the Class of 2017, Yale accepted 1,991 applicants out of a total applicant pool of 29,610.
Out of those 1,935 admitted students for the Class of 2018, 1,361 students are expected to matriculate.
Read the complete articles on Yale’s admissions statistics: Yale admits 735 early action applicants, including highly qualified, low-income students and 6.26 percent of applicants admitted to class of 2018.
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