Thinking of getting your foot in the door as soon as possible in the next admissions cycle by applying Early Decision to Washington University in St. Louis? We don’t blame you: this highly selective school, ranked #20 in the nation in the 2026 US News list of top national universities, has been drawing more and more from its pool of Early Decision I and Early Decision II applicants in the last few years (but more on that in a bit!).

With the Class of 2030 Early Decision I deadline behind us, students want to understand how competitive WashU’s Early Decision process has become. Here’s a clear look at the latest admissions data.

A Look Back at the WashU Class of 2028

Unfortunately, WashU admissions officials have yet to publish any data covering the ED admits to the Class of 2030 (or the Class of 2029, for that matter!). The most recent data we have to go off of is therefore for the Class of 2028.

About two years ago, 4,817 students applied to one of WashU’s two Early Decision rounds (ED I and ED II). When the dust finally settled, 1,217 applicants, or 25.26% of those who applied, earned admission, the lowest combined Early Decision acceptance rate in the school’s 172-year history. It sounds like an impressive feat, right?

Well, temper your amazement. The data we do have doesn’t stretch back that far (nor does it account for the two most recent cycles). In fact, a combined Early Decision acceptance rate can be calculated for only three admissions cycles out of dozens.

Washington University Combined Early Decision I & II Statistics Over Six Years

Three years ago, for admission to the Class of 2027, WashU admitted 26% of its 4,517 applicants. We don’t have data for the Class of 2026, and for the Class of 2025, all we know is that 713 ED I applicants were admitted (out of a total applicant pool that WashU hasn’t shared publicly). The Class of 2024 has no publicly available data, and all we know about the Class of 2023 is that 38% of it, all told, earned admission in one of the two Early rounds.

Below is a breakdown of WashU’s Early Decision I & II admissions statistics over six years:

WashU Class Year	Number of Early Decision Applications	Number of Early Decision Acceptances	Early Decision Acceptance Rate (Combined ED I + ED II)
Class of 2030	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
Class of 2029	Not Published	Not Published	Not Published
Class of 2028	4,817	1,217	25.26%
Class of 2027	4,517	Not Published	26%
Class of 2026	Not Published	Not Published	Not Published
Class of 2025	Not Published	713 (ED I only)	Not Published
Class of 2024	Not Published	Not Published	Not Published
Class of 2023	Not Published	Not Published	38%

Breakdown of the WashU Class of 2030 Applicants

We might not know the specific Early Decision acceptance rate for the Class of 2030, but we do know, thanks to the student-run Student Life newspaper, a smattering of data covering the Class of 2029 admits. All told, 1,197 of the Class of 2029’s total cohort of 1,963 admitted students applied Early Decision. In other words, 61% of the Class of 2029 was culled from the pool of Early Decision admits, which reflects a growing shift in WashU admissions officers’ preference for admitting more Early Decision applicants over Regular Decision ones.

Ivy Coach’s Assistance Moving Forward for Deferred or Rejected Washington University in St. Louis Applicants

Congratulations to Ivy Coach’s students who earned admission to the Washington University in St. Louis Class of 2030! If you’re a student who applied Early Decision to WashU and were deferred or rejected for admission, keep your head up and remember the fight is not over.

Reach out to us today to schedule a complimentary consultation and learn about the next steps. 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.

And while we do offer assistance with Regular Decision applications, the cart must come before the horse. We first need to dissect the Early application on Ivy Coach’s operating table to figure out what went wrong before Ivy Coach’s very own Charis Ralko, a former Washington University in St. Louis admissions officer, helps you pivot to a new, highly competitive strategy.