Editing Early decision (section)

== Admit rates and enrollment statistics ==
Applying early decision brings a greater statistical chance of being accepted,<ref name="twsL122">{{cite magazine |author1=Diana Hanson |author2=Esther Walling |author3=Craig Meister |author4=Kristen Tabun |date=November 16, 2011 |title=Which College Admissions Deadline Should You Choose? |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-admissions-experts/2011/11/16/which-college-admissions-deadline-should-you-choose |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |accessdate=December 12, 2011}}</ref><ref name="tws2ZB48" /><ref name="tws2ZG113">{{cite news |author=Peter Van Buskirk |date=September 19, 2011 |title=The College Admissions Insider: Decide if an Early Decision College Application is the Right Choice |work=U.S. News & World Report |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-college-admissions-insider/2011/09/19/decide-if-an-early-decision-college-application-is-the-right-choice |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}</ref><ref name="tws2C37">{{cite web |date=July 7, 2012 |title=Financial Aid and Early Decision |url=http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000198.htm |work=College Confidential |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}</ref><ref>Christopher Avery; Andrew Fairbanks, Richard Zeckhauser (2004). ''The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|0-674-01620-3}}.</ref><ref name="tws2ZG312">{{cite news |author=Margaret Loftus |date=September 12, 2011 |title=Know if Applying to College Early is Right for You: Getting in could be easier, but a search for financial aid might suffer |work=U.S. News & World Report |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/09/12/know-if-applying-to-college-early-is-right-for-you?page=2 |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}</ref><ref name="twsNYT8859" /> possibly doubling or tripling the chances of an acceptance letter.<ref name="twsL24">{{cite news |author=Steve Cohen |date=September 23, 2011 |title=Top 10 myths of college admissions |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/top-10-myths-of-college-admissions/2011/09/22/gIQAEn8XoK_blog.html |accessdate=December 12, 2011}}</ref> This is usually attributed to three factors: first, candidates who apply "early" can only present colleges with their transcripts until the end of junior year of high school and therefore must be particularly strong applicants with very persuasive transcripts;{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} second, candidates who apply "early" have dedicated themselves to an institution and are more likely to match the institution's admission standards; third, student athletes sometimes apply "early" to their top choice school to demonstrate their commitment to a college varsity coach who, in turn, can push their applications in the admissions process. Some advisors suggest that early decision is the best choice for students who have clearly settled on one particular college.<ref name="twsL12" />

In 2009, the average early acceptance rate according to one estimate was 15% greater than regular decision applicants.<ref name="tws2ZG114" /> There is less agreement, however, whether it will help a borderline student win acceptance to a competitive college. Early decision candidates tend to have stronger educational credentials than regular decision candidates,<ref name="tws2ZG311" /><ref name="tws2ZG312" /><ref name="tws2ZB43" /> and as a result, these candidates would have been admitted whether they applied by early or regular methods, and therefore the greater statistical likelihood of acceptance may have been explained by membership in the stronger applicant pool.<ref name="tws2ZG311" /> But the commitment of an early decision application demonstrated by a borderline student can still be beneficial; "colleges really want qualified students who want them" and are more likely to offer acceptances to students ready to make a full commitment.<ref name="tws2ZB48" />

Most institutions include data on the number of ED applicants and ED admits in their annual [[Common Data Set]] (a few institutions do not release a Common Data Set at all), and trends for an individual institution can be readily complied. At the most competitive schools, the number of ED applicants has increased at a more rapid pace than regular decision applicants. Although the ED admit rate has declined at these schools in recent years, the ''absolute'' number of ED admits has managed to ''increase'' while the absolute number of regular decision admits has fallen rapidly and all the admit rates have also fallen.

A few schools have seen ED applicants more than double in the 2012–2019 period, including [[Rice University|Rice]] (2,628 ED apps in 2019–20<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Acceptance rate hits record low 8.7 percent |url=https://www.ricethresher.org/article/2019/03/acceptance-rate-hits-record-low-of-8-7-percent |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328213627/http://www.ricethresher.org/article/2019/03/acceptance-rate-hits-record-low-of-8-7-percent |archive-date=2019-03-28 |access-date=Sep 21, 2019 |website=ricethresher.org}}</ref> compared to 1,230 ED apps in 2012–13), Emory, NYU (13,842 ED I and ED II apps in 2019–20;<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Applications to NYU Exceed 84,000 |url=https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2019/january/Applicationsrelease.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107210718/https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2019/january/Applicationsrelease.html |archive-date=2019-01-07 |access-date=Sep 21, 2019 |website=nyu.edu}}</ref> 5,778 in 2012–13), and Boston University (4,700 ED I and ED II apps in 2019–20;<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Early Decision Applications to BU Surge, Matching National Trend |url=http://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/early-decision-applications/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706184450/http://www.bu.edu:80/articles/2019/early-decision-applications/ |archive-date=2019-07-06 |access-date=Sep 20, 2019 |website=bu.edu}}</ref> 1,069 in 2012–13). The number of ED admits has also doubled at NYU and Boston University over this period, and although the increase of ED admits at other schools has been less dramatic, that increase has nonetheless reduced the number of RD admits meaningfully because half the class or more is now being filled by ED admits. At WashU and NYU, about 60% of the class is now taken up at the ED stage.<ref name="admissions.blog">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Washington University in St. Louis sees 70 percent increase in applications |url=https://admissions.blog/washington-university-in-st-louis-sees-70-percent-increase-in-applications/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921113041/https://admissions.blog/washington-university-in-st-louis-sees-70-percent-increase-in-applications/ |archive-date=2019-09-21 |access-date=Sep 20, 2019 |website=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=NYU Common Data Set 2018–19 |url=https://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/institutionalResearch/documents/CDS_2018-2019.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923145740/https://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/institutionalResearch/documents/CDS_2018-2019.pdf |archive-date=2019-09-23 |access-date=Sep 21, 2019 |website=nyu.edu}}</ref>

In recent years, there has been a marked trend in the number of ED applicants, and in the proportion of the class being admitted via the ED process.<ref name=":1" /> As of 2019–20, almost every highly selective college (where admission rates are below 25%) admits more students through ED than it did a decade ago, but among them, there has been a remarkable shift in the admission strategy of a few schools resulting in as much as 60% of the class being selected from the ED pool compared to 30–35% only a few years ago.<ref name="admissions.blog" />

A similar trend exists across the most competitive [[liberal arts college]]s in early decision application and admission numbers, with over 50% of the class being filled at these schools from ED admits compared to only about 44% in 2012–13. Notably, the absolute number of ED admits has increased, even though the number of RD admits, the RD admit rate, the ED admit rate and the overall admit rate have all gone down.
{| class="wikitable align=right"
|+Admission statistics for early decision{{Efn|Numbers include both ED I and ED II when a school offers more than one ED plan.|name=with-ed2}} at US [[Research university|research universities]] with admit rate averaging <25% in Fall 2019–2022<br />
16 universities:{{Efn|Schools which changed admission strategies in the 2012–2020 period have not been included: Northeastern, Tulane, Chicago, all of which currently use a combination of EA and ED but did not use ED in the earlier part of this period. Other selective schools with admit rates below 22% have versions of EA plans but currently no ED option: MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Georgetown, Notre Dame. USC has neither ED nor EA admission plans.|group=}} Columbia,{{Efn|Columbia has not released ED admits from 2017–18 but it has released the number of ED applicants each year. An estimate of 700 ED admits is assumed for each year from 2017–18.|name=Columbia 2017}} Brown, Penn, Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Rice, WashU, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, NYU, Boston University (data from Common Data Set or school publications){{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}
!Freshman<br /> Year
!ED Apps<br /> (a)
!ED Admits<br /> (b)
!ED Admit<br /> Rate (b/a)
!Total <br />Enrollment (c)
!Enrollment <br />filled by <br />ED Admits (b/c)
!Total Apps<br /> (d)
!Total Admits<br /> (e)
!Overall Admit<br /> Rate (e/d)
!RD Apps{{Efn|Since ED applicants may be deferred, the pool from which RD admits are selected is larger than the RD applicant pool when these deferred applicants are included. Consequently, the RD Admit Rate is slightly below the figures presented in this table.}}<br /> (d-a)
!RD Admits<br /> (e-b)
!RD Admit<br /> Rate{{Efn|Since ED applicants may be deferred, the pool from which RD admits are selected is larger than the RD applicant pool when these deferred applicants are included. Consequently, the RD Admit Rate is slightly below the figures presented in this table.}}<br /> (e-b)/(d-a)
|-
|2012–13
| align="right" |38,840
| align="right" |11,471
| align="right" |29.5%
| align="right" |32,373
| align="right" |35.4%
| align="right" |438,455
| align="right" |90,978
| align="right" |20.7%
| align="right" |399,615
| align="right" |79,507
| align="right" |19.9%
|-
|2013–14
| align="right" |41,668
| align="right" |11,965
| align="right" |28.7%
| align="right" |32,246
| align="right" |37.1%
| align="right" |461,805
| align="right" |89,149
| align="right" |19.3%
| align="right" |420,137
| align="right" |77,184
| align="right" |18.4%
|-
|2014–15
| align="right" |44,535
| align="right" |12,887
| align="right" |28.9%
| align="right" |33,325
| align="right" |38.7%
| align="right" |489,518
| align="right" |90,153
| align="right" |18.4%
| align="right" |444,983
| align="right" |77,266
| align="right" |17.4%
|-
|2015–16
| align="right" |48,104
| align="right" |13,281
| align="right" |27.6%
| align="right" |33,150
| align="right" |40.1%
| align="right" |506,421
| align="right" |89,428
| align="right" |17.7%
| align="right" |458,978
| align="right" |76,363
| align="right" |16.6%
|-
|2016–17
| align="right" |51,466
| align="right" |14,003
| align="right" |27.2%
| align="right" |33,546
| align="right" |41.7%
| align="right" |527,239
| align="right" |88,129
| align="right" |16.7%
| align="right" |476,490
| align="right" |74,373
| align="right" |15.6%
|-
|2017–18
| align="right" |55,128
| align="right" |14,800
| align="right" |26.8%
| align="right" |33,702
| align="right" |43.9%
| align="right" |545,256
| align="right" |84,015
| align="right" |15.4%
| align="right" |490,857
| align="right" |69,471
| align="right" |14.2%
|-
|2018–19
| align="right" |62,598
| align="right" |16,328
| align="right" |26.1%
| align="right" |33,843
| align="right" |48.2%
| align="right" |595,711
| align="right" |77,476
| align="right" |13.0%
| align="right" |533,482
| align="right" |61,287
| align="right" |11.5%
|-
|2019–20
| align="right" |71,776
| align="right" |16,787
| align="right" |23.4%
| align="right" |32,899
| align="right" |51.0%
| align="right" |624,089
| align="right" |72,266
| align="right" |11.6%
| align="right" |552,567
| align="right" |55,566
| align="right" |10.1%
|-
|2020–21
| align="right" |72,108
| align="right" |17,681
| align="right" |24.5%
| align="right" |33,495
| align="right" |52.8%
| align="right" |608,127
| align="right" |81,025
| align="right" |13.3%
| align="right" |536,019
| align="right" |63,344
| align="right" |11.8%
|-
|2021–22
| align="right" |90,193
| align="right" |18,963
| align="right" |21.0%
| align="right" |36,013
| align="right" |52.7%
| align="right" |775,015
| align="right" |74,468
| align="right" |9.6%
| align="right" |684,823
| align="right" |55,505
| align="right" |8.1%
|-
|2022–23
| align="right" |96,382
| align="right" |18.640
| align="right" |19.3%
| align="right" |34,197
| align="right" |54.5%
| align="right" |799,027
| align="right" |69,704
| align="right" |8.7%
| align="right" |702,645
| align="right" |51,064
| align="right" |7.3%
|-
|2023–24
| align="right" |103,411
| align="right" |18.818
| align="right" |18.2%
| align="right" |33,965
| align="right" |55.4%
| align="right" |807,144
| align="right" |64,815
| align="right" |8.0%
| align="right" |703,733
| align="right" |45,997
| align="right" |6.5%
|-
|2024–25 est
| align="right" |106,650
| align="right" |18.872
| align="right" |17.7%
| align="right" |34,216
| align="right" |55.2%
| align="right" |831,680
| align="right" |63,369
| align="right" |7.6%
| align="right" |725,030
| align="right" |44,497
| align="right" |6.1%
|}
{| class="wikitable align=right"
|+Admission statistics for early decision{{Efn|Numbers include both ED I and ED II when a school offers more than one ED plan.|name=with-ed2}} at [[Liberal arts colleges in the United States|US liberal arts colleges]] with admit rate averaging <25% in Fall 2019–2022<br />
23 liberal arts colleges: Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, Bates, Colby,{{Efn|Colby has not yet released the 2017–18 and 2018–2019 common data sets, and the 2016–17 figures are used as estimates for those years.|name=Colby-estimates}} Amherst, Williams, Barnard, Harvey Mudd, Colorado College, Middlebury, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Colgate, Vassar, Haverford, Carleton, Davidson, Wellesley, Washington & Lee, Grinnell

(data from Common Data Set or school publications){{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}
!Freshman<br /> Year
!ED Apps<br /> (a)
!ED Admits<br /> (b)
!ED Admit<br /> Rate (b/a)
!Total <br />Enrollment (c)
!Enrollment <br />filled by <br />ED Admits (b/c)
!Total Apps<br /> (d)
!Total Admits<br /> (e)
!Overall Admit<br /> Rate (e/d)
!RD Apps<br /> (d-a)
!RD Admits<br /> (e-b)
!RD Admit<br /> Rate<br /> (e-b)/(d-a)
|-
|2012–13
| align="right" |13,018
| align="right" |4,988
| align="right" |38.3%
| align="right" |11,275
| align="right" |44.2%
| align="right" |137,864
| align="right" |29,517
| align="right" |21.4%
| align="right" |124,846
| align="right" |24,529
| align="right" |19.6%
|-
|2013–14
| align="right" |13,908
| align="right" |5,175
| align="right" |37.2%
| align="right" |11,299
| align="right" |45.8%
| align="right" |141,246
| align="right" |28,820
| align="right" |20.4%
| align="right" |127,338
| align="right" |23,645
| align="right" |18.6%
|-
|2014–15
| align="right" |14,214
| align="right" |5,117
| align="right" |36.0%
| align="right" |11,387
| align="right" |44.9%
| align="right" |143,625
| align="right" |29,346
| align="right" |20.4%
| align="right" |129,411
| align="right" |24,229
| align="right" |18.7%
|-
|2015–16
| align="right" |15,233
| align="right" |5,355
| align="right" |35.2%
| align="right" |11,493
| align="right" |46.6%
| align="right" |153,964
| align="right" |29,853
| align="right" |19.4%
| align="right" |138,731
| align="right" |24,498
| align="right" |17.7%
|-
|2016–17
| align="right" |15,100
| align="right" |5,622
| align="right" |37.2%
| align="right" |11,467
| align="right" |49.0%
| align="right" |157,988
| align="right" |29,188
| align="right" |18.5%
| align="right" |142,888
| align="right" |23,566
| align="right" |16.5%
|-
|2017–18
| align="right" |16,247
| align="right" |5,850
| align="right" |36.0%
| align="right" |11,540
| align="right" |50.7%
| align="right" |166,967
| align="right" |29,168
| align="right" |17.5%
| align="right" |150,720
| align="right" |23,318
| align="right" |15.5%
|-
|2018–19
| align="right" |17,496
| align="right" |5,972
| align="right" |34.1%
| align="right" |11,808
| align="right" |50.6%
| align="right" |184,066
| align="right" |29,585
| align="right" |16.1%
| align="right" |166,570
| align="right" |23,613
| align="right" |14.2%
|-
|2019–20
| align="right" |18,146
| align="right" |6,058
| align="right" |33.4%
| align="right" |11,641
| align="right" |52.0%
| align="right" |195,740
| align="right" |28,613
| align="right" |14.6%
| align="right" |177,594
| align="right" |22,555
| align="right" |12.7%
|-
|2020–21
| align="right" |17,983
| align="right" |6,217
| align="right" |34.6%
| align="right" |11,006
| align="right" |56.5%
| align="right" |188,271
| align="right" |30,660
| align="right" |16.3%
| align="right" |170,288
| align="right" |24,443
| align="right" |14.4%
|-
|2021–22
| align="right" |19,138
| align="right" |6,592
| align="right" |34.4%
| align="right" |12,822
| align="right" |51.4%
| align="right" |226,249
| align="right" |29,888
| align="right" |13.2%
| align="right" |207,111
| align="right" |23,296
| align="right" |11.2%
|-
|2022–23
| align="right" |21,014
| align="right" |6,647
| align="right" |31.6%
| align="right" |11,976
| align="right" |55.5%
| align="right" |239,926
| align="right" |28,039
| align="right" |11.7%
| align="right" |218,912
| align="right" |21,392
| align="right" |9.8%
|-
|2023–24
| align="right" |23,423
| align="right" |6,568
| align="right" |28.0%
| align="right" |11,834
| align="right" |55.5%
| align="right" |237,730
| align="right" |28,403
| align="right" |11.9%
| align="right" |214,307
| align="right" |21,835
| align="right" |10.2%
|-
|2024–25 est
| align="right" |24,784
| align="right" |6,621
| align="right" |26.7%
| align="right" |11,865
| align="right" |55.8%
| align="right" |250,516
| align="right" |29,761
| align="right" |11.9%
| align="right" |225,732
| align="right" |23,140
| align="right" |10.3%
|}