Amherst College has been relatively cagey about its Early Decision acceptance rate data in recent years. The most recent cycle for which we have up-to-date data happened two years ago, in which Amherst College didn’t set any new records for its Class of 2028 Early Decision acceptance rate (that distinction is held by the Class of 2025, a year in which many elite schools saw record-low acceptance rates). It did, however, continue to admit Early Decision applicants at a much higher rate than their Regular Decision counterparts. When all was said and done, 735 students chose to take advantage of the Early round admission boost by applying to Amherst’s Class of 2028, but only 216 of them, or 29.38%, were admitted.

We’re still awaiting data for the Class of 2029 and the Class of 2030. Let’s review the Early Decision data over the last two decades to assemble a picture of what it takes to earn admission to the proud home of the Mammoths.

Amherst Early Decision Admissions Statistics Over 20+ Years

To put the Amherst Class of 2028 data into perspective, let’s review over two decades’ worth of Early Decision admissions statistics:

Admissions Cycle	Amherst College Class Year	Early Decision Acceptance Rate
2025-26	Class of 2030	Not Yet Published
2024-25	Class of 2029	Not Yet Published
2023-24	Class of 2028	29.38%
2022-23	Class of 2027	27.13%
2021-22	Class of 2026	31.79%
2020-21	Class of 2025	24%
2019-20	Class of 2024	32%
2018-19	Class of 2023	36%
2017-18	Class of 2022	38%
2016-17	Class of 2021	34%
2015-16	Class of 2020	40%
2014-15	Class of 2019	36%
2013-14	Class of 2018	35%
2012-13	Class of 2017	39%
2011-12	Class of 2016	37%
2010-11	Class of 2015	33%
2009-10	Class of 2014	34%
2008-09	Class of 2013	32%
2007-08	Class of 2012	34%
2006-07	Class of 2011	39%
2005-06	Class of 2010	31%
2004-05	Class of 2009	34.89%
2003-04	Class of 2008	37.79%
2002-03	Class of 2007	34.76%

Breakdown of the Amherst College Class of 2030 Early Decision Admits

Unfortunately, Amherst admissions officers haven’t released all that much about the Early Decision admits for us to chew on. We don’t know how many of these students came from private versus public schools, how many will be the first in their families to attend college, or whether the racial composition of the cohort differs from that of the Regular Decision admits or the class as a whole.

In fact, the most recent ED cohort data we have covers the Class of 2029, not 2030. According to a press release straight from the source on the Class of 2029, “Forty-three percent of this year’s class was accepted under the early decision process.” Amherst goes on to say that the “college does not want to hold a student’s decision on applying early or regular against them,” although we at Ivy Coach know this to be a lie. Of course, Amherst prefers Early Decision applicants to Regular Decision applicants! Why? Because they’ve demonstrated greater interest in attending! 

We’ll back up and explain how we’ve caught Amherst in an untruth. Amherst, like other elite schools, absolutely tracks Demonstrated Interest. Yes, they do care whether you’ve toured campus, they do care that you actually intend on matriculating if admitted, and, naturally, they do prefer to admit students who have foregone the opportunity to attend any other school for the sake of getting in Amherst (A.K.A. Early Decision applicants!). They don’t want to say so outright, but Regular Decision applicants are indeed at a disadvantage relative to their ED counterparts.

Ivy Coach’s Assistance Moving Forward for Deferred or Rejected Amherst College Applicants

If you’re a student or parent of a student who applied Early Decision to Amherst’s Class of 2030 and were deferred or rejected for admission, it’s time you make some lemonade out of these lemons you’ve been dealt!

Reach out to us today and schedule a complimentary consultation to learn about the next steps to optimize your odds of admission to Amherst’s Class of 2030 (in the event you were deferred or other universities in the event you were rejected). The sooner you wait, the less time we’ll have to reverse course on your application.For deferred candidates, we offer a PostMortem application review and assistance in crafting a powerful Letter of Continued Interest. For rejected candidates, we provide a PostMortem application review. We’ll even help with recrafting your Regular Decision applications, but only after we’ve taken a microscope to the Early application to figure out what went wrong. Our team of former elite college admissions officers is here to help you make the most of this setback, so don’t delay in contacting us!