Early Decision 2026: Acceptance Rates for 18 Top Colleges

Applying to a college through Early Decision is an excellent choice for many students, especially if they are applying to Ivy League institutions or other highly-selective colleges such as MIT or Vanderbilt University. Whether Early Decision or Early Action are offered varies between institutions and is liable to change over the years. You need to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information.

In this article, we will review key differences between Early Action and Early Decision applications as well as discuss Early Decision 2026 application trends. Read on to see Class of 2026 Early Decision dates and learn everything you need to know to have a successful college application season.

What does early action and early decision mean?

Colleges that allow Early Action and Early Decision programs allow applicants to submit their college applications at a much earlier date. You can usually apply Early Action to multiple schools — unless the school specifies that they offer restrictive Early Action, also known as Single Choice Early Action or SCEA. In contrast, you can only apply to one school through Early Decision. Early Decision is binding for admitted students. If accepted, the student must attend that school.

Because of the benefits offered by applying early, any high school student going through the admissions process — especially minority students such first-generation students and students of color — should understand and consider Early Decision.

What is Early Decision II?

Schools that offer Early Decision may also offer Early Decision II. Early Decision II applications are binding decisions submitted either near or on the Regular Decision deadline. With Early Decision II, you get more time to work on your application than for Early Decision I, and it may increase your chances of being accepted over Regular Decision. You lose the benefits, however, of Early Decision I: Early Decision II will have a lower acceptance rate, and you will still have to apply to other schools through Regular Decision.

Class of 2026 early decision statistics

It’s important to stay current with Early Decision statistics, especially in regards to how they compare to last year’s statistics and the less specified Class of 2026 college acceptance rates. This will help you prepare and plan ahead for your anticipated admissions cycle. Look at the chart below for important information concerning:

• Number of Early Decisions applicants
• Number of accepted Early Decision applicants
• 2026 college acceptance rate for Early Decision
• 2025 college acceptance rate for Early Decision
• Link to each college’s website

Early decision acceptance rates 2026: List of 18 top colleges

Below are the top 14 universities that offer Early Decision and Early Action application options. Review the Early Decision Class of 2026 statistics below to gauge the size of each school’s applicant pool, admission rates, as well as your probability of admittance.

College	Number of early applicants	Number of early applicants accepted	Early acceptance rate for class of 2026	Early acceptance rate for class of 2025	Link to college website
Brown University	6,146	896	15%	16%	Brown’s website
Columbia University	6,305	650	10%	10%	Columbia’s website
Cornell University	TBD	TBD	TBD	21%	Cornell’s website
Dartmouth College	2,633	530	20%	21%	Dartmouth’s website
Harvard University	9,406	740	7.9%	7.4%	Harvard’s website
University of Pennsylvania	7,795	1,218	16%	15%	UPenn’s website
Princeton University	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Princeton’s website
Yale University	7,288	800	11%	10.5%	Yale’s website
Boston College	4,443	1,250	28%	39%	Boston College’s website
Duke University	4,015	855	21%	17%	Duke’s website
Emory University	2,205	804	37%	39%	Emory’s website
Georgetown University	8,832	881	10%	11%	Georgetown’s website
John Hopkins University	2,500	520	21%	N/A	John Hopkins’ website
Northwestern University	N/A	N/A	25%	N/A	Northwestern’s website
Rice University	N/A	440	N/A	16%	Rice’s website
Tulane University	N/A	N/A	10%	N/A	Tulane’s website
Vanderbilt University	2,700	650	24%	18%	Vanderbilt’s website
University of Virginia	3,466	1,097	32%	33%	University of Virginia’s website

Brown University

The total number of applicants for Brown Early Decision 2026 increased by 11% from last year. Of the admitted Early Decision students, 51% identify as students of color, 17% identify as first-generation college students, and 57% applied for financial aid.

Columbia University

A total of 6,305 students applied to Columbia ED in 2026, compared to 6,435 applicants from its previous admissions cycle. The admit rate increased slightly to 10.3%.

Cornell University

Cornell has opted not to disclose its Cornell Early Decision Class of 2026 statistics until the end of the admissions cycle. The university disclosed, however, that there are approximately 9,500 Cornell Early Decision 2026 applicants.

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth’s ED acceptance rate for 2026 decreased slightly from last year, falling from 21% to 20%. They accepted 530 Early Decision students this year. This will account for about 46% of the incoming class of 2026.

Harvard University

Harvard’s Early Decision acceptance rate increased slightly to 7.9% this year. They accepted 740 of 9,406 Harvard Early Decision applicants.

University of Pennsylvania

Penn received 7,795 Early Decision applications this year, a slight decrease from last year’s Early Decision applicant pool of 7,962. Of these students, Penn admitted 1,218, which will account for approximately 50% of Penn’s incoming Class of 2026.

Princeton University

Princeton University has chosen not to release any Class of 2026 admissions statistics at this time.

Yale University

Yale University admitted 800 Early Action applicants, 11% of a total of 7,288 applicants.

Boston College

Of the 4,443 Boston College Early Decision 2026 applicants, only 1,250 students were offered admission, giving Boston College an 2026 Early Decision acceptance rate of 28%.

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Duke University

Of the 4,015 Duke Early Decision 2026 applicants, only 855 were admitted. This gives Duke a 2026 Early Decision acceptance rate of 21%, an increase from its 2025 Early Decision acceptance rate of 17%.

Emory University

Emory’s 2026 Early Decision acceptance rate decreased slightly from the year before. Their 39% acceptance rate dropped to 37% this year. In total, they accepted 804 Early Decision applicants.

Georgetown University

Georgetown University’s Early Decision acceptance rate dropped from 11% to 10% this year. Of 8,832 Early Decision applicants, 881 gained admission.

John Hopkins University

John Hopkins University admitted 520 of 2,500 Early Decision applicants this year, giving them an overall Early Decision acceptance rate of 21%.

Northwestern University

Northwestern University admitted 25% of their Early Decision applicants during the Class of 2026 college admissions cycle.

Rice University

Rice University accepted 440 Early Decision applicants during this year’s college admissions cycle.

Tulane University

Due to over-admittance last year, Tulane ED acceptance rate for 2026 has decreased significantly to 10%.

Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt’s Early Decision 2026 acceptance rate increased this year from 18% to 24%. There were a total of 2,700 Vanderbilt ED 2026 applicants; of these, 650 applicants were offered admission.

University of Virginia

Of 3,466 Early Decision applicants, 1,097 students were offered admission, granting the University of Virginia a 2026 Early Decision acceptance rate of 32%, a slight decrease from its 33% acceptance rate from the year before.

Early decision 2026 trends

College acceptance rates are currently at a record low. This includes 2026 Early Decision statistics. With the rise of test-optional admission policies, more and more students are applying to top universities, especially Ivy League institutions. Overall, students with average test scores are widening their application reach. This has caused serious applicants to consider early admission programs at higher rates than in previous application Cycles.

Other Class of 2026 college application trends include:

• Higher rates of college deferrals
• Longer waitlists
• An increase in international student recruitment.

Many of these admissions statistics concerning the 2026 incoming class are largely reflective of the social and financial effects of the pandemic. This is important to keep in mind as you review admissions decisions and statistics.

Key takeaways about early decision class of 2026

An essential part of well-planned college admissions is prioritizing and planning out your applications. Starting

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applications early and periodically working on them will ensure a polished product when the deadlines approach. Overall, it is inefficient to work on all your applications around the same time. You want to be able to focus and finish one set of applications so you can fully apply yourself to another.

Then, you need to decide which applications to start early so that some will be ready by the early deadlines. Even if you decide that Early Decision is not the best idea, you may want to still complete some applications by the Early Action deadline. This is a way to pace yourself so you don’t have to scramble during December. If you get accepted through Early Decision or Early Action, you are done dealing with college admissions before the New Year! This will help alleviate some stress as you continue to prepare for college by completing financial aid documents before your enrollment.

Make sure to check the Early Decision deadlines for all colleges you have on your list. As with regular decision deadlines, Early Action and Early Decision vary between schools.

Here are Early Decision Dates for the class of 2026 for some of the top schools in the US:

November 1st Early Decision	November 15th Early Decision	Top Schools without Early Decision
Barnard College	American University	California Institute of Technology
Boston College	Amherst College	Clemson University
Boston University	Bowdoin College	Florida State University
Brown University	Carleton College	Georgetown University
Carnegie-Mellon University	Colgate University	Georgia Institute of Technology
Columbia University	Hamilton College	Harvard University
Cornell University	Haverford College	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dartmouth College	Harvey Mudd College	Pennsylvania State University
Duke University	Middlebury College	Princeton University
Emory University	Swarthmore College	Loyola Marymount University
Fordham University	Syracuse University	Southern Methodist University
George Washington University	Tulane University	Stanford University
Johns Hopkins University	University of Colorado – Boulder	University of California Schools
New York University	Wake Forest University	University of Florida
Northeastern University	Wesleyan University	University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
Northwestern University	Williams College	University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Rice University		University of Wisconsin – Madison
Santa Clara University		Washington and Lee University
Tufts University		Yale University
University of Chicago
University of Miami
University of Notre Dame
University of Pennsylvania
University of Richmond
University of Rochester
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University
Villanova University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College
William & Mary

Remember, this list is not exhaustive. Add the relevant Early Decision Date to your calendar, and good luck!