It’s again that time of the year when thousands of high school kids (and parents) feel the palpitations because of the early acceptance decisions. This week we saw some of the most highly selective colleges in the US release their early action and early decision results – popularly termed as Early Admission Results for the Class of 2023. So, congrats to the high school students who applied for the Early Decision or Early Action admissions for the Class of 2023. The early acceptance trends are not too surprising. As we all expected – the competition is getting stiffer and stiffer every year. Below is the snapshot of the early admission stats for the class of 2023 and previous years.

Read Class of 2024 Early Admission Results

Class of 2023 Early Admission Rate at Harvard

Harvard again turned out to be one of the first of the Ivy schools to declare the early admit data on Thursday. Harvard invited 935 of 6,958 early applicants to join its Class of 2023, marking a 13.4% acceptance rate — and what is likely the most competitive early admissions cycle in Harvard history. This year’s admit rate decreased slightly from last year’s rate of 14.5%. The raw number of early applicants, however, increased by 328 from 2017. Below is the snapshot of Early Admission Rates at Harvard over the years.

A majority of the students admitted early to the Class of 2023 were women. Women comprised 51.3% of the admitted class this year, an increase from 47.2% last year.

The demographic profile of the incoming group remains largely consistent with previous cycles. Asian Americans comprise 26.1% of admits this year, an increase from 24.2% last year and 21.7% the year prior.

Class of 2023 Early Admission Rate at University of Pennsylvania (UPenn)

Penn admitted 1,279 students this year through the early decision to the Class of 2023, just 18% of the applicant pool — the lowest acceptance rate to date. For the Class of 2022, Penn admitted 1,312 students, 18.5%, of its early decision applicants, a significant decrease from the two prior years, whose ED rates were 22% and 23.2%, respectively.

This year, 13% of students are international, hailing from 48 different countries, compared to last year’s 54 countries. The number of states with admitted students dropped from 45 last year to 42 this year. Students from Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico were also admitted.

This year at Penn, 11% of the accepted students are first-generation college students, the same representation as each of the last two early decision rounds. While 23% are legacy kids – had a parent or grandparent who attended Penn.

Class of 2023 Early Acceptance Rate at Cornell University

Cornell admitted 1,395 out of 6,159 (22.6%) of the early decision applicants for the Class of 2023, down from the admission rates of 24.4% for the Class of 2022 and 25.8% for the Class of 2021, according to statistics provided by the University Friday morning.

Cornell saw a total of 1,512 international early decision applicants this year, 1.5% more than the Class of 2022 and 21.3% more than the Class of 2021. With 171 applicants accepted, international students make up 12.3% of this year’s early decision admits pool.

Admission decisions for another 1,493, (24.3%) of the early decision applicants are postponed, which means these students will find out whether they get into Cornell on March 28, 2019, the same day for regular decision applicants.

Class of 2023 Early Admission Rate at Brown University

On Thursday (December 13) Brown University offered admission to 769 early decision applicants (out of 4,230 applicants) to the University’s undergraduate Class of 2023. The University admitted 18.2% of early decision applicants to the class of 2023, marking the lowest early decision acceptance rate in the University’s history, according to Dean of Admission Logan Powell.

More than 50% of the prospective students admitted through early decision applied for financial aid. Brown meets 100% of the demonstrated financial need for all admitted undergraduates; among the first-year students who started at Brown this fall in the Class of 2022, 43% receive need-based aid.

The students accepted from the early decision applicant pool come from 37 nations and 46 U.S. states. The top countries represented outside the United States are China, the United Kingdom, India, Singapore and Canada.

Roughly 12% represent the first generation in their families to attend college. Additionally, 44% are students of colour, coloured as those who self-identify as African American, Latin, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or Asian. Of the accepted students, 390 are female and 379 are male.

Class of 2023 Early Acceptance Rate at Yale

Yale admitted 794 students out of a record 6,020 early action applicants to the class of 2023 on Friday. The acceptance rate of 13.19% is the lowest early applicant acceptance rate since at least 2013 and a significant drop from the 14.7% of students admitted last year through the early action program.

According to Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid Jeremiah Quinlan, 56% of students who applied were deferred to the regular decision round of admissions, while 30% were denied admission and 2% were incomplete or were withdrawn.

Class of 2023 Early Admission Rate at Princeton

Princeton offered admission to 743 students on Dec 12, from a pool of 5,335 candidates who applied through single-choice early action for the Class of 2023. The admit rate was 13.9%, compared with 14.7% last year and 21.1% in 2011, the first year that Princeton reinstated an early admission program.

Students admitted early to the Class of 2023 come from 36 countries and 49 states, in addition to the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Roughly 60% of students attend public schools, including charter schools. 51% are women. 15% are children of Princeton alumni (Legacy kids). 21% of the admitted students indicated they want to study engineering.

At Princeton, Over 60% of undergraduates receive financial aid. Financial aid at Princeton is based solely on a student’s need. Students from a broad range of socioeconomic backgrounds — from low-income to applicants with annual family incomes of $250,000 — can receive aid that meets their demonstrated need. The average annual grant for first-year students is $53,100, which covers 100% of tuition.

Class of 2023 Early Admission Rate at MIT

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) admitted 707 early action applicants to the Class of 2023. This year, 9,600 students applied for early admission to MIT. That makes the Class of 2023 acceptance rate 7.4%.

The School deferred 6,182 applicants. These students will be reconsidered without prejudice in Regular Action. Whereas 2,483 high school students have been denied admissions for the fall 2019 batch.

Class of 2023 Early Admission Rate at Dartmouth College

Dartmouth accepted 574 applicants (including 25 matched through QuestBridge) to the Class of 2023 under early decision. As per the university’s official site, Acceptances Offered to Most Diverse Early Decision Group Ever.

The total number of early admission applicants grew to 2,474 this year, up 9%. This resulted in an early admission rate of 23%. Dartmouth anticipates these early admits will account for 48% of this year’s class.

This year, Dartmouth will award more than $10 million in need-based scholarships to these first members of the class, with an average scholarship of more than $52,000. Both are all-time highs.

Class of 2023 Early Admission Rate at Duke University

Duke accepts 882 students out of record number of Early Decision applicants. 4,852 students applied under Duke’s Early Decision program, a record number and 19% more than last year. This year’s admit rate for Early Decision was 18%, making it the most selective Early Decision process in Duke’s history.

Students admitted through Early Decision this year will represent 51% of next fall’s incoming class of 1,720. Of the newest members of the Class of 2023 at Duke, 714 will become a part of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences with the other 168 enrolling in the Pratt School of Engineering.

Class of 2023 Early Admission Rate at Johns Hopkins

641 high school students offered early admissions from a record applicant pool of 2,068 this year. So, that makes the acceptance rate 31% – the highest among the elite schools. The 2,068 applicants represent a slight increase from the then-record number who applied early decision last year. Of the 641 admitted students, 32% plan to study in the Whiting School of Engineering and 68% plan to study in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.

Class of 2023 Early Admission Rate at Columbia

Columbia University also released Early Decision notifications on Thursday. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions (Columbia College and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science) received 4,461 early decision applications for the Class of 2023.

At Barnard College, the women’s liberal arts college of Columbia University, Early Decision applications were up by a margin of 24% this year. A total of 1,235 students applied under Barnard’s binding Early Decision policy. This marked an increase from 993 students last year. Admitted Early Decision candidates to Barnard hail from 35 states and 31 nations.

Class of 2023 Early Admission Rate at Notre Dame

Out of 7,334 Restrictive Early Action (REA) applicants, Notre Dame admitted 1,534 applicants to the Class of 2023. The school deferred 1,375 applicants (19%) to the regular decision pool and remain under consideration. Admitted students were of exceptional academic merit, with impressive records of service and demonstrated leadership.

Profile of Restrictive Early Action Admitted Students:

Students hail from a diverse cross-section of high schools and geographic areas.

Students attend 1,055 high schools around the world

43% attend public schools; 40% attend Catholic schools; 17% attend private or charter schools

48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam are represented

53 different nations of citizenship are represented

34% are U.S. students of color or international students

193 (13%) are citizens of other nations, dual citizens, or U.S. students studying abroad

21% of students come from the Northeast, 17% from the Southeast, 18% from the Midwest, 21% from the Central Midwest, 17% from the West/Southwest, and 6% attend high schools outside the U.S.

Notre Dame reviews applications in a holistic process, evaluating students on their records of achievement and significant attributes revealed through essays, letters of recommendation, and extensive discussions of extracurricular activities, along with the students’ determination and motivation for their success.

Class of 2023 Early Admission Trends

Female applicants are showing more interest in attending college, and especially in subjects like natural sciences and computer science.

Diversity continues to be a key priority in the selection process. Schools (like Yale, Columbia, Duke, Brown etc.) are working actively to build more diversity into their applicant pools through targeted outreach and partnerships with organizations like Questbridge.

Many schools with binding early decision programs will admit around 50% of their incoming class through the early admission process. This will ensure the schools reduce the yield volatility.

Early Admission Stats: Class of 2023 vs 2022 vs 2021

As you can from the above chart, there is a clear advantage of applying early to the highly-selective schools.

For those who are not too familiar with the rules at the Ivy Schools. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are restrictive early acting schools. It means, applicants can apply to one school at the early action round but can decide whether they want to join or not by the summer (May). On the other hand, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Pennsylvania (UPenn) are strictly early decision schools. If accepted, applicants must enroll. Learn more about Early Decision Vs Early Action: Pros and Cons.

Candidates who got deferred in the early admission or early decision round will be eagerly waiting for the regular round decision. Getting deferred from the top choice college is obviously disappointing. But, the deferred candidates can take the following steps:

Find out what the college is asking from you

Compose a deferral letter

Reach out and arrange additional letters of recommendation

Visit the college in person, if possible

Continue to apply to other colleges for the regular decision round. You can have a look at the application deadlines for top colleges for Fall 2019 (Class of 2023) here

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