Across the Ivy League, during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle for the Class of 2028, applications increased at Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, and the University of Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, applications dropped at Brown University, Harvard University, and Columbia University. Cornell University has not yet released enough admissions data for the Class of 2028 to know whether they have reason to celebrate or mourn this admissions cycle.

This year is comparable to the Class of 2027 — some of the Ivies improved their numbers, and some performed more poorly than last year (and some of the ones that were up last year were down this year, and vice versa). But this year also marks the first admissions cycle conducted after the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed the practice of Affirmative Action.

The 2022-2023 admissions cycle marked the last before the ruling against Harvard University in the Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College v. Students for Fair Admissions case. How has this dramatic change in the admissions landscape impacted the Ivy League stronghold? No one knows for sure yet, as this decision prevented most of these schools from releasing data on their incoming classes’ race and ethnicity breakdown. Until this data is released in the federally mandated Common Data Set, we will all wonder how demographics have shifted — with the exception of Princeton University.

With that being said, considering Chief Justice John Roberts’ loophole allowing students to write about their race and college admissions officials to consider the impact of their race on their experiences, penned in the majority opinion, the most dramatic consequences of this decision have been mitigated.

For Harvard University, however, the damage has already been done. Want to find out how this SCOTUS ruling impacted the admissions statistics to the most prestigious university in the world? Read on!

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the admissions statistics across the Ivy League for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle:

Brown University

In the Early Decision round, Brown University offered admission to 898 out of 6,244 applicants, producing an ED admission rate of 14.38%. 64 of this year’s Early Decision admits were through QuestBridge. The 6,244 ED applicants marked a decline for the Providence, Rhode Island-based university, short of last year’s historic tally of 6,770 ED applicants by around 8%. The 14.38% ED admission rate is the second-lowest of all time but still doesn’t beat last year’s 12.98% ED admission rate.

In the Regular Decision round, 1,623 students earned admission to Brown’s Class of 2028, the fewest RD admits in the school’s history. Thus, the total number of admits to Brown’s incoming class stands at 2,521, drawn from a total pool of 48,898 applicants, marking a decline in the overall pool compared with the last two years. The overall admission rate for Brown’s Class of 2028 thus settled at 5.16%, the highest of the last three admissions cycles but certainly nothing to be ashamed of!

Highlights of the Brown University Class of 2028

Early Decision admits hail from 45 states in our union, including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. They also hail from 52 nations worldwide, with the most represented nations being Canada, China, India, Peru, South Korea, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. 19% of ED admits are first-generation college students — the largest percentage in the last five years.

Among the total admits to Brown’s Class of 2028, all 50 states are represented in addition to Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. International admits hail from 96 nations worldwide, with China, Canada, India, the United Kingdom, and South Korea the most represented.

Brown, somewhat suspiciously, did not publish the number of veterans admitted to the Class of 2028. 76 students earned admission to Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) and 20 earned admission to the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program.

Read more about the Brown Class of 2028 Early Decision round and the Brown Class of 2028 Regular Decision round.

Columbia University

In the Early Decision round, Columbia University received 6,008 applications — a 5% increase from last year’s 5,733 ED applications. This marked a low point after Columbia was caught with its hands in the cookie jar, manipulating its rank in US News & World Report. Columbia has yet to release the ED acceptance rate and the number of students who earned admission to the Class of 2028, but we will share these figures when they become publicly available.

Does this cycle mark Columbia’s recovery from the US News scandal? It may be too soon to say. Columbia misreported data to US News, and, as such, the school was harshly penalized by the publication — plummeting from the 2nd to 18th position in the annual ranking last year. It is currently tied for #13 on this list, which parallels the slight rebound in applications the New York City-based school has reported this time around.

Between the Early Decision and Regular Decision rounds of admission, 60,248 students applied to Columbia’s Class of 2028 — with 6,008 applications in Early Decision and 54,240 applications in Regular Decision. The overall admission rate stood at 3.86%, a figure lower than last year’s acceptance rate of 3.99% but not as low as the Columbia Class of 2026.  

Highlights of the Columbia University Class of 2028

Admitted students to Columbia’s Class of 2028 hail from all 50 states. International applicants represent 93 countries worldwide, with top representation from Canada, South Korea, China, Italy, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Mexico, India, Germany, and France. 20% of students in the Class of 2028 are low-income, and 51% are women.

Read more about the Columbia Class of 2028 Early Decision round and the Columbia Class of 2028 Class Profile.

Cornell University

Cornell University has, over the last few years, kept its admissions statistics sealed away from the prying eyes of the public. It opts to release most of these numbers only through the federally mandated Common Data Set rather than through the kind of press releases that most universities publish — and this year marked no exception for Cornell.

Between the Early Decision and Regular Decision rounds of admission, 5,139 students earned admission to Cornell’s Class of 2028. That’s the only metric they’ve published so far.

Without application figures for Cornell’s Early Decision and Regular Decision rounds, we do not yet know Cornell’s Early Decision, Regular Decision, and overall acceptance rates for the Class of 2028. Rest assured, we will publish this data when it becomes available through The Common Data Set.

Highlights of the Cornell University Class of 2028

Despite Cornell’s coyness, they’ve published some data on the incoming class. For example, students hail from all 50 states in our union, including Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam. International admits hail from 93 nations around our globe, and 16.5% of the class will be the first in their families to attend college.

Read more about Cornell’s Class of 2028.

Dartmouth College

In the Early Decision round, 606 students earned admission to Dartmouth College. These students were drawn from a record Early Decision applicant pool of 3,550 candidates (up 18% from last year’s record and 33% in the previous three ED cycles). The ED acceptance rate for Dartmouth’s Class of 2028 thus stood at 17.07%, shattering the previous benchmark of 19.21% for the ED pool of the Dartmouth Class of 2027. Additionally, a record 74 students earned admission to Dartmouth’s Class of 2028 by matching through QuestBridge.

In the Regular Decision round, 1,104 students earned admission to Dartmouth, drawn from a record-setting pool of 28,106 RD candidates. Thus, the Regular Decision admission rate for Dartmouth stood at 3.93%, the lowest in the College on the Hill’s history.

Overall, excluding students who matched with Dartmouth through QuestBridge, 1,710 students earned admission to Dartmouth’s Class of 2028 out of a total pool of 31,656 applicants (which breaks yet another record). The overall admission rate for the Dartmouth Class of 2028 stood at 5.41%, the lowest the Big Green has ever recorded, thus putting the school into competition with some of its Ivy brethren for the fastest-shrinking acceptance rate.

Highlights of the Dartmouth College Class of 2028

Early Decision admits hail from 47 of the 50 states along with Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. International admits hail from 47 nations worldwide (up from 44 countries last year).

22% of admits come from low-income families, and 22% will be the first in their families to attend college. Dartmouth did not publish data concerning the proportion of legacy applicants or the ethnic breakdown of the incoming ED admits.

As far as the overall pool of admits to the Dartmouth Class of 2028, combining the ED and RD admits, they hail from all 50 states in our union in addition to Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, while international admits come from 68 nations worldwide, down from last year’s 75.

Additionally, 56% of admits come from public or charter schools. And, for those admits hailing from high schools that rank students, 93% of students ranked in the top decile.

Read more about the Dartmouth Class of 2028 Early Decision round and the Dartmouth Class of 2028 Regular Decision round.

Harvard University

In the Early Action round, 692 students earned admission to Harvard University’s Class of 2028, selected from an EA applicant pool of 7,921 applicants. Harvard’s EA acceptance rate thus stood at 8.74% this year, the highest recorded in the last four admissions cycles. Might this reflect the nightmare PR year Harvard has faced over its handling of campus antisemitism and its loss in the recent SCOTUS case on Affirmative Action? Quite likely.

Of those students who did not earn EA admission to Harvard’s Class of 2028, 83.06% received deferrals and 7.7% received denials. 40 applicants withdrew their applications.

Between the Early Action and Regular Decision rounds of admission, 1,937 students earned admission to Harvard’s Class of 2028 (692 in the Early Action round and 1,245 in the Regular Decision round). The overall admission rate stood at 3.49%, which is undoubtedly a disappointment to the Crimson — it’s the highest acceptance rate since the Class of 2024 accepted 4.9% of applicants! Harvard received 54,008 applications to its Class of 2028, the lowest application tally since the Harvard Class of 2024.

Highlights of Harvard’s Class of 2028

This admissions cycle marks the first since the Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College v. Students for Fair Admissions case outlawed the consideration of race in the college admissions process.

Harvard has thus decided to withhold all race and ethnicity data on the Class of 2028. We likely won’t know how the ruling impacted the school until this data is released with the federally mandated Common Data Set.

International students comprise 15% of Harvard’s EA admits to the Class of 2028, up slightly from the 14.1% who earned admission during the last Early cycle.

Approximately 15% of EA admits will be the first in their families to attend college — up from around 12% last year.

Among the total number of admits to Harvard’s Class of 2028, they hail from all 50 states and 94 nations worldwide. The most represented nations include Italy (18 students), Brazil (18 students), Canada (78 students), China (24 students), the United Kingdom (42 students), India (15 students), Germany (20 students), Mexico (15 students), and South Korea (21 students).

Concerning gender, 53.1% of Harvard’s Class of 2028 admits identify as women, the seventh consecutive year women have been in the majority.

Additionally, 21 veterans earned admission, down from 23 vets who secured spots in Harvard’s Class of 2027.

Read more about the Harvard Class of 2028 Early Action round and the Harvard Class of 2028 Regular Decision round.

University of Pennsylvania

In the Early Decision round, over 8,500 students made binding commitments to attend the University of Pennsylvania, up 500 students from last year.

This year, UPenn’s admissions committee has opted to withhold the number of students accepted through Early Decision and the ED acceptance rate (as they did last year). But we’ll publish these figures when they become publicly available through The Common Data Set.

Between the Early Decision and Regular Decision rounds of admission, 65,235 students applied to UPenn’s Class of 2028, eclipsing last year’s record-setting 59,465. 3,508, or 5.4% of these applicants, were accepted; yet another record-setting statistic for the Philadelphia-based university suggests that last year’s turmoil did not adversely impact all Ivies.

Highlights of the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 2028

Among Early Decision admits, they hail from 41 of the 50 states in our union: Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. International admits hail from 68 nations worldwide (an increase from last year’s 65 countries). Unsurprisingly, Penn did not release demographic data about this Early Decision admissions round.

Among the 2,420 students who chose to enroll in UPenn’s Class of 2028, they hail from 47 states in addition to Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico. International students come from 95 nations around the world.

19% will be the first in their families to attend college. 21% are Pell Grant eligible, meaning they come from low-income families. 

57% identify as students of color, though only 23% are considered underrepresented minorities (Asian Americans are considered an overrepresented minority in elite college admissions). 53% identify as female, while 46% identify as male.

Under the school’s test-optional admissions policy, for those who submitted scores, the middle 50% of ACT scores stood at 34-36, while the middle 50% of SAT scores stood at 1510-1560.

Read more about the UPenn Class of 2028 Early Decision round and the UPenn Class of 2028 Regular Decision round.

Princeton University

Two years ago, Princeton University ceased reporting admissions data, though all such data eventually finds its way into the school’s Common Data Set, which is available to the public. Yet we at Ivy Coach are unperturbed. We’re still here to give you the inside scoop on Princeton’s Class of 2028.

Between the two rounds of admission, 40,468 students applied to Princeton’s Class of 2028, the largest pool in the school’s history. Of these applicants, 20,563 identified as men and 19,883 identified as women. 9,960 of these students hailed from nations other than the United States.

Of these applicants, 1,868 earned admission to Princeton’s Class of 2028. 903 admitted students identified as men, while 965 identified as women. 217 admitted students were international students.

Among the admits, 1,411 of the 1,868 students chose to enroll at Princeton for a 75.43% yield, slightly lower than last year’s 76.66%. 694 students who decided to enroll were men, while 717 were women. 169 matriculants were international students.

Highlights of the Princeton University Class of 2028

Among the students who enrolled in Princeton’s Class of 2028, they hail from 48 out of the 50 states in addition to Washington, D.C. International students hail from 56 nations worldwide. 11.2% are the children of alumni (a.k.a. legacies). On the other end of the spectrum, 21.7% of matriculants are Pell Grant-eligible — meaning they come from low-income families. And 16.3% of them are the first in their families to attend college.

Princeton is the only Ivy thus far to have released demographic data on the Class of 2028, giving us crucial insight into what the post-Affirmative Action landscape could look like across the Ivy League. Asian Americans comprise 23.8% of the incoming class, down over two percent from last year’s 26%. Black representation has remained roughly the same, with 8.9% of the incoming class compared to 9% last year. Latino enrollment saw a 1% drop from last year’s 10%, while multiracial representation has remained relatively constant at 7.2%.

Read more about the Princeton Class of 2028.

Yale University

In the Early Action round, 709 students earned admission to Yale University’s Class of 2028, drawn from a pool of 7,856 applicants. The 7,856 applicants marked Yale’s second-largest EA applicant pool, eclipsed only by the 7,939 EA applicants to Yale’s Class of 2025. The EA admission rate for Yale’s Class of 2028 settled at 9.02%, a historic low for the Ivy League institution. In addition, 72 students matched with Yale through QuestBridge this year.

Of those students who did not earn Early Action admission to Yale’s Class of 2028, 70% were denied admission outright, 20% were deferred to the Regular Decision round, and 1% either withdrew their applications or were marked incomplete.

In the Regular Decision round, 1,437 students earned admission from a pool of 49,609 applicants. The RD application tally eclipsed last year’s record of 44,506 applicants. Thus, the RD admission rate stood at 2.9%, the lowest in the university’s history.

Between the Early Decision and Regular Decision rounds, 2,146 students earned admission to Yale’s Class of 2028. These students were selected from a record applicant pool of 57,465 applicants, a tally that eclipsed last year’s benchmark of 52,250 applicants. Yale’s overall admission rate for the Class of 2028 thus settled at 3.73%, besting last year’s all-time low overall admit rate of 4.34% and giving the Bulldogs reason to boast.

Highlights of Yale’s Class of 2028

Admits to Yale’s Class of 2028 come from over 1,500 secondary schools. They hail from all 50 states in our union, Washington, D.C., and two U.S. territories. International admits hail from 62 nations worldwide, down 16 countries from last year. Admits have expressed interest in 83 of Yale’s majors.

Read more about the Yale Class of 2028 Early Action round and the Yale Class of 2028 Regular Decision round.