The University of Notre Dame has notified Early Action applicants to its Class of 2026 of their decisions. In all, an all-time record 9,683 students applied Early Action to Notre Dame this fall. Last year, this same figure stood at 7,744. EA applications were thus up over 25% year-over-year, an impressive feat indeed! And of the 9,683 applicants this Early Action cycle, 1,675 were offered admission, marking an approximate 17% EA admission rate. Last year, Notre Dame’s EA admit rate stood at 22%. What a difference a year makes! When many elite colleges saw the second largest applicant pools in their history — but not quite as large as last year — some elite universities bucked the trend. Count Notre Dame among these institutions.

Breakdown of Early Action Admits to Notre Dame Class of 2026

According to Notre Dame’s admissions office, 11% of Early Action admits to Notre Dame’s Class of 2026 will be the first in their families to attend college. 12% hail from countries outside of the United States. 12% are Asian/Pacific Islander, 10% are Black, 17% are Hispanic/Latino, and 1% are Native American. 1,204 high schools are represented among the admits: 43% from public schools, 40% from Catholic schools, and 18% from private schools. 21% of admits hail from domestic admits hail from the Northeast, 14% from the Midwest, 15% from the Southeast, 20% from the Central Midwest, and 20% from the West/Southwest. Additionally, of the 9,683 Early Action applicants to Notre Dame’s Class of 2026, 1,599 were deferred admission. Their fates will be decided in the spring along with all Regular Decision candidates.

A Salute to Notre Dame for Releasing Test-Optional Statistics

But we saved the most interesting data points for last. 46% of students who applied Early Action to Notre Dame’s Class of 2026 did so without test scores. Of all Early Action applicants, 30% earned admission to Notre Dame’s Class of 2026 without a test score. Based on our math, this means that 70% of admits submitted test scores (compared to 46% of applicants). So do students who submit great test scores enjoy an advantage over students who don’t submit test scores, as we’ve argued all along? You bet! We salute Notre Dame for releasing these key figures. In a sea of so many elite universities that conceal this important data, Notre Dame made chose to disclose the information. We applaud the institution’s transparency and candor.