There is perhaps no college admissions office in America that has benefited more from the success of one of the school’s athletic coaches than Duke University has benefited over the last two plus generations from Coach K, Duke’s longtime basketball coach who retired this spring. Coach K put Duke on the map and helped cement the institution as one of the most selective universities in America. And, so, it is fitting that Duke would receive more applications than ever before during Coach K’s final year as the head men’s basketball coach of the Blue Devils. Of course, we expect the application tally to jump even higher next year, thanks again to Coach K, since Duke tends to receive lots of applications after deep March Madness runs — and Duke did advance to the Final Four in Coach K’s Last Dance.

So just how many applications did Duke receive this year? 50,002, eclipsing last year’s record tally by about 1%. Of these applicants, between Early Decision and Regular Decision, 3,085 ultimately earned admission (855 through Early Decision, 2,120 through Regular Decision, and 110 ED deferrals who got in this spring). Duke’s overall admission rate for the Class of 2026, however, did not set a new benchmark. Between Early Decision and Regular Decision, 6.2% of applicants to Duke’s Class of 2026 got in (21.3% of ED applicants and 4.6% of RD applicants). Also of note, Duke admitted about 200 more students this year as compared to last year. And why? Because, last year, the school had about 160 fewer seats due to students admitted to the Class of 2024 who opted to take gap years. The trickle-down effects of the pandemic!

And which states are most represented among admitted students to Duke’s Class of 2026? Look no further than North Carolina, Florida, Texas, California, and New York. Congratulations to all of Ivy Coach’s students — from these states and beyond — who earned admission to Duke’s Class of 2026. We’re so proud of you. Go Blue Devils!