The Numbers: Early Decision vs. Regular Decision
By ALYSSA PARSONS
We've done the math. How much of a difference does applying early make? We compare Early Decision vs. Regular Decision acceptance rates.
Based on admission rate data from the top universities, we’ve calculated the exact advantage of applying early.
Not sure what ‘Early Decision’ and ‘Early Action’ mean? Check out our explanation here.
There is a wide range of just how much applying early matters. Find your dream school in the list below.
So now for the good stuff….
Early Decision vs. Regular Decision Admission Rates
| Institution | Early Action Admission Rate | Early Decision Admission Rate | Regular Decision Admission Rate | Difference between Early vs. Regular Decision |
| American University | 84.50% | 26.60% | 57.90% | |
| Amherst College | 34.50% | 11.70% | 22.80% | |
| Babson College | 23.80% | 37.70% | 23.00% | 14.70% |
| Barnard College | 30.90% | 13.30% | 17.60% | |
| Bates College | 48.40% | 17.80% | 30.60% | |
| Boston College | 33.60% | 31.90% | 1.70% | |
| Boston University | 29.60% | 24.80% | 4.80% | |
| Bowdoin College | 28.30% | 11.60% | 16.70% | |
| Brandeis University | 41.00% | 33.70% | 7.30% | |
| Brown University | 21.00% | 7.10% | 13.90% | |
| Bryn Mawr College | 52.50% | 36.50% | 16.00% | |
| Bucknell University | 55.10% | 29.20% | 25.90% | |
| California Institute of Technology | 12.00% | 6.10% | 5.90% | |
| Carleton College | 29.70% | 20.00% | 9.70% | |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 25.00% | 22.00% | 3.00% | |
| Case Western Reserve University | 43.60% | 37.50% | 23.30% | 20.30% |
| Claremont McKenna College | 31.00% | 7.90% | 23.10% | |
| Colby College | 39.00% | 14.20% | 24.80% | |
| Colgate University | 43.90% | 26.40% | 17.50% | |
| College of the Holy Cross | 77.50% | 36.90% | 40.60% | |
| College of William and Mary | 51.90% | 34.70% | 17.20% | |
| Colorado College | 18.10% | 33.10% | 8.10% | 25.00% |
| Columbia University | 14.40% | 4.70% | 9.70% | |
| Connecticut College | 66.80% | 36.10% | 30.70% | |
| Cornell University | 25.80% | 11.00% | 14.80% | |
| Dartmouth College | 28.30% | 8.50% | 19.80% | |
| Davidson College | 44.60% | 16.70% | 27.90% | |
| Duke University | 24.70% | 8.10% | 16.60% | |
| Emory University | 27.40% | 21.40% | 6.00% | |
| Georgetown University | 17.90% | 14.40% | 3.50% | |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | 33.30% | 15.10% | 18.20% | |
| Hamilton College | 40.60% | 22.20% | 18.40% | |
| Harvard University | 14.30% | 3.40% | 10.90% | |
| Harvey Mudd College | 16.10% | 15.30% | 0.80% | |
| Haverford College | 42.00% | 17.70% | 24.30% | |
| Johns Hopkins University | 30.40% | 10.30% | 20.10% | |
| Kenyon College | 66.40% | 31.70% | 34.70% | |
| Lehigh University | 59.90% | 22.10% | 37.80% | |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 7.80% | 6.70% | 1.10% | |
| Middlebury College | 48.30% | 13.90% | 34.40% | |
| New York University | 34.20% | 26.70% | 7.50% | |
| Northeastern University | 37.90% | 27.30% | 10.60% | |
| Northwestern University | 26.90% | 7.20% | 19.70% | |
| Oberlin College | 48.70% | 32.70% | 16.00% | |
| Ohio State University | 62.40% | 29.10% | 33.30% | |
| Pitzer College | 30.30% | 12.00% | 18.30% | |
| Pomona College | 19.30% | 6.90% | 12.40% | |
| Princeton University | 15.40% | 4.70% | 10.70% | |
| Reed College | 57.40% | 34.40% | 23.00% | |
| Rice University | 20.50% | 15.40% | 5.10% | |
| Scripps College | 38.70% | 32.80% | 5.90% | |
| Sewanee: University of the South | 58.20% | 64.40% | 24.80% | 33.40% |
| Skidmore College | 54.80% | 22.50% | 32.30% | |
| Smith College | 54.50% | 29.40% | 25.10% | |
| Stanford University | 9.50% | 3.50% | 6.00% | |
| Swarthmore College | 27.90% | 9.30% | 18.60% | |
| Trinity College | 57.10% | 31.60% | 25.50% | |
| Trinity University | 66.00% | 38.10% | 27.90% | |
| Tufts University | 36.80% | 11.90% | 24.90% | |
| Tulane University | 32.10% | 35.90% | 2.70% | 33.20% |
| University of Miami | 50.40% | 63.80% | 24.40% | 39.40% |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 31.70% | 11.50% | 20.20% | |
| University of Notre Dame | 29.90% | 15.20% | 14.70% | |
| University of Pennsylvania | 22.00% | 7.00% | 15.00% | |
| University of Richmond | 49.40% | 31.80% | 17.60% | |
| University of Rochester | 50.80% | 34.30% | 16.50% | |
| University of Virginia | 28.90% | 25.50% | 3.40% | |
| Vanderbilt University | 24.00% | 9.20% | 14.80% | |
| Vassar College | 41.70% | 22.10% | 19.60% | |
| Wake Forest University | 44.20% | 24.80% | 19.40% | |
| Washington and Lee University | 46.30% | 19.10% | 27.20% | |
| Washington University | 38.30% | 14.60% | 23.70% | |
| Wellesley College | 34.70% | 20.30% | 14.40% | |
| Wesleyan University | 38.10% | 14.00% | 24.10% | |
| Williams College | 35.40% | 12.70% | 22.70% | |
| Yale University | 14.70% | 4.70% | 10.00% | |
- Data is from 2017 from https://www.collegetransitions.com/early-actiondecision-vs-regular-decision-admission-rates/