{"answer":"At all 24 colleges in our table that report both rates, the early decision rate beats the overall rate in the same file. The gap is smallest at Rice: 11.26 percent early against 8.01 percent overall. It is biggest at Tulane: 58.21 percent early against 14.46 percent overall.","as_of":"October 2026","date":"2026-10-15","dek":"The table holds all 30 colleges we checked. Each row shows the early and overall applicant and admit counts the college reports in its own Common Data Set. It does not say who the early applicants were.","faq":[{"a":"At all 24 colleges in our table that report both rates, the early decision rate beats the overall rate in the same file.","q":"Does early decision really improve my kid's chances?"},{"a":"An early pool is not a small copy of the regular pool. It holds recruited athletes, legacy kids, and students so sure about one college that they promise to enroll if let in.","q":"So why is the higher rate not a straight advantage?"},{"a":"Duke, New York University, the University of Chicago and Wake Forest each report an overall rate in the same file. Duke's is 5.24 percent. Chicago's is 4.48 percent. New York University's is 9.06 percent. Wake Forest's is 20.76 percent. All four leave the early decision applicant and admit fields empty.","q":"Why do some colleges have no early decision rate here?"}],"findings":[{"h":"Every college that reports both rates admits more of its early applicants.","p":"That is true at all 24 colleges with both numbers. Johns Hopkins has the lowest early rate: 10.93 percent against 6.11 percent overall. Villanova has the highest: 59.82 percent against 28.14 percent overall. Northeastern has the widest gap: 43.05 percent early against 5.22 percent overall."},{"h":"The gap is not a bump a student can count on.","p":"An early pool is not a small copy of the regular pool. It holds recruited athletes, legacy kids, and students so sure about one college that they promise to enroll if let in. Those students would look strong in any round. So the two rates in a row tell about two different groups. They are not the same kid's odds in two different months."},{"h":"Four colleges run an early decision plan but report no early numbers.","p":"Duke, New York University, the University of Chicago and Wake Forest each report an overall rate in the same file. Duke's is 5.24 percent. Chicago's is 4.48 percent. New York University's is 9.06 percent. Wake Forest's is 20.76 percent. All four leave the early decision applicant and admit fields empty. Those cells stay blank rather than carry a guess."}],"license":"CC BY 4.0 \u2014 quote with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach)","method":"Each row holds the early decision applicant and admit counts and the full first-year applicant and admit counts from one college's own Common Data Set, as posted in October 2026. The population is first-year applicants at 30 private colleges that run an early decision plan; most rows describe the fall 2025 entering class, and because some documents carry a header year that does not match the class their own figures describe, each row's cycle column names the entering class its numbers are. Duke, New York University, the University of Chicago and Wake Forest report an overall rate and leave the early decision fields blank, and Wesleyan and Pomona have no readable Common Data Set, so those six rows carry no early rate. Rows are sorted by early decision rate, lowest first, with the six that report none at the end.","question":"Does applying early decision really help my kid get in?","related":[{"label":"When applications open and close for fall 2027","url":"/research/college-application-deadlines-2027"},{"label":"Acceptance rates at the 100 most-applied-to colleges","url":"/research/acceptance-rates-100-colleges"},{"label":"Do test scores still matter?","url":"/test-scores"},{"label":"Plain-English explainers from Test Prep Gurus","url":"https://www.prepgurus.com/explainers"}],"sections":[{"h2":"What the two rates in each row actually count","paragraphs":["The early rate is the college's own count of early applicants and early admits. The overall rate is the same file's count of every first-year applicant and admit, early round included. So the early students sit inside the overall number. That is why the overall rate is not the same as a regular-round rate.","The year labels need care. Some of these files carry a header year that does not match the class their own numbers describe. Brown's early section is labeled for the fall 2024 class, but its overall totals are fall 2025. Amherst's header says 2025 to 2026, but every number in it is fall 2024. Each row's cycle column names the class its numbers are for. Trust that field over the header."]},{"h2":"Where the numbers stop","paragraphs":["Duke, New York University, the University of Chicago and Wake Forest all confirm an early decision plan and print its dates. But each one leaves the early applicant and admit fields blank. Those four have an overall rate in our table and no early rate.","Wesleyan and Pomona have no readable Common Data Set. Wesleyan's data-set listing page did not open. Pomona posts its Common Data Set as an interactive dashboard, not a file. So neither college has numbers here.","Two rows carry a warning. Middlebury's early admit count of 409 leaves out its February admits. So its 30.5 percent is lower than its true early rate. Northeastern's most recent file is a cycle older than most of the others here."]},{"h2":"What a family should do with this","paragraphs":["Start with the promise, not the rate. Early decision is binding. A student who gets in must enroll, and the family must accept that college's aid offer with no other offer to compare it to. A family that needs to compare offers should pick early action or regular instead.","Then pick the one college. Early decision works for a single first choice. A student with three equal favorites does not have one. Visit the college. Read the cost estimate from its own net price calculator. Then ask: would the answer still be yes in April?","Use the table for the college your kid wants most. Read its early rate next to its overall rate. Check which class the cycle column names. Then check the college's own page for this year's dates. A rate from last year's class is history, not a forecast."]}],"slug":"early-decision-vs-regular","sources":[{"label":"Columbia Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://opir.columbia.edu/sites/opir.columbia.edu/files/content/Common%20Data%20Set/2025-26_Columbia_College_and_Columbia_Enginnering_CDS.pdf"},{"label":"Cornell Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://irp.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Cornell-Common-Data-Set-2025-26.pdf"},{"label":"Dartmouth Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://www.dartmouth.edu/oir/pdfs/cds_2025-26.pdf"},{"label":"Penn Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://upenn.box.com/s/woo7d85yxpol6j9e2o121aucjc6dc1k5"},{"label":"Duke Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://ir.provost.duke.edu/sites/default/files/CDS_PDF_2025-2026-20260622-website-published-version.pdf"},{"label":"Tufts Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://provost.tufts.edu/institutionalresearch/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/CDS_2025-2026.pdf"},{"label":"Boston College Common Data Set 2024-25","url":"https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/bc1/offices/irp/ir/cds/Boston_College_CDS_2024-2025_Final.pdf"},{"label":"Carnegie Mellon Common Data Set 2025-26 (Section C)","url":"https://www.cmu.edu/ira/CDS/pdf/cds_2025_26/cds-2025-c-first-time-first-year-admission.pdf"},{"label":"Lehigh Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://data.lehigh.edu/sites/data.lehigh.edu/files/1302026-CDS-2025-2026-FINAL.pdf"},{"label":"Swarthmore Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-effectiveness-research-assessment/Swarthmore-CDS-2025-26.pdf"},{"label":"Pomona College Common Data Set (Tableau dashboard, not a fetchable document)","url":"https://tableau.campus.pomona.edu/views/CDS2025-26/A_GeneralInformation"},{"label":"Brown Common Data Set 2025-26 (mirrored copy; Brown's own oir.brown.edu PDF URL could not be located)","url":"https://api.collegedata.fyi/storage/v1/object/public/sources/brown/2025-26/e45da2405f678ccaf78f36640359c83b4cec8c173a1b2ca93e7aefe3d899291c.pdf"},{"label":"Northwestern Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://enrollment.northwestern.edu/data/2025-2026.pdf"},{"label":"Johns Hopkins Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://oira.jhu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025-2026-CDS-Johns-Hopkins-University-v2.pdf"},{"label":"Vanderbilt Common Data Set 2025-26 (xlsx)","url":"https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-wpfsx/wp-content/uploads/sites/70/2026/07/CDS_2025-2026.xlsx"},{"label":"Rice Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://ideas.rice.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/CDS_2025-26_WEBSITE.pdf"},{"label":"Emory Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://provost.emory.edu/planning-administration/_includes/documents/sections/institutional-data/emory-common-date-set-2025-2026.pdf"},{"label":"Washington University in St. Louis Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://washu.edu/app/uploads/2026/06/2025-2026-WashU-CDS.pdf"},{"label":"NYU Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/institutionalResearch/documents/cds-2025-2026/CDS%202025-2026%20FINAL%20(no%20G).pdf"},{"label":"Boston University Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://www.bu.edu/asir/files/2026/05/CDS-2025-2026-2.pdf"},{"label":"Northeastern Common Data Set 2024-25 (most recent posted)","url":"http://uds.northeastern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CDS-2024-25.pdf"},{"label":"University of Chicago Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://bpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/voices.uchicago.edu/dist/8/2077/files/2026/08/CDS_2025-2026_to_publish-1.pdf"},{"label":"Wake Forest Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu/sites/202/2026/06/CDS_2025-2026-PDF_Template_WFU.pdf"},{"label":"Villanova Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://www.villanova.edu/content/dam/villanova/provost/decision_support/CDS-2025-2026-v3.pdf"},{"label":"Tulane Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://tulane.box.com/s/1dgaxpa2x2ie24zgglrg0puwm1h7xrt5"},{"label":"Williams Common Data Set 2025-26 (fetched via archive.org; direct fetch blocked by Cloudflare)","url":"https://hub.williams.edu/institutional-research/files/2026/04/Williams-CDS-2025-2026-V2.pdf"},{"label":"Amherst Common Data Set, Section C (fetched via archive.org; direct fetch blocked by a bot-verification challenge)","url":"https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/C.%20First-Time%20First-Year%20Admission%202025-26_0.pdf"},{"label":"Claremont McKenna Common Data Set 2025-26","url":"https://www.cmc.edu/sites/default/files/CDS_2025-26.pdf"},{"label":"Middlebury Common Data Set 2024-25","url":"https://www.middlebury.edu/sites/default/files/2025-04/Middlebury%20CDS%202024_2025.pdf?fv=_3Gr6e2c"}],"tables":[{"columns":[{"fmt":"str","key":"college","label":"College"},{"fmt":"str","key":"cycle","label":"Entering class the figures describe"},{"fmt":"int","key":"ed_applicants","label":"Early decision applicants"},{"fmt":"int","key":"ed_admits","label":"Early decision admits"},{"fmt":"pct1","key":"ed_rate","label":"Early decision admit rate"},{"fmt":"int","key":"total_applicants","label":"All applicants"},{"fmt":"int","key":"total_admits","label":"All admits"},{"fmt":"pct1","key":"overall_rate","label":"Overall admit rate"},{"fmt":"url","key":"source_url","label":"College's own document"}],"h2":"Early decision and overall admit rates, college by college","intro":"Sorted by early decision rate, lowest first; the six colleges that report no early rate come last.","note":"First-year applicants at 30 private colleges that run an early decision plan, as each college's own Common Data Set reports them in October 2026. The early counts come from the section on early decision; the overall counts are the same document's full first-year applicant and admit totals. Most rows describe the fall 2025 entering class, but some documents carry a header year that does not match the class their own figures describe, so read each row's cycle column. Admits are not enrollees, and the two rates in a row describe two different groups of applicants. A college that reports no early counts shows a blank, not a zero.","rows":[{"college":"Johns Hopkins University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":835,"ed_applicants":7639,"ed_rate":10.93,"overall_rate":6.11,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution 7639. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan 835. ... Total first-time, first-year men who applied 21916, women 28298, unknown 45 [=50259] ... men admitted 1402, women 1659, unknown 11 [=3072]","source_url":"https://oira.jhu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025-2026-CDS-Johns-Hopkins-University-v2.pdf","total_admits":3072,"total_applicants":50259},{"college":"Rice University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":647,"ed_applicants":5748,"ed_rate":11.26,"overall_rate":8.01,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution 5,748. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan 647. ... Total first-time, first-year students who applied 36,791 ... who were admitted 2,948","source_url":"https://ideas.rice.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/CDS_2025-26_WEBSITE.pdf","total_admits":2948,"total_applicants":36791},{"college":"University of Pennsylvania","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":1266,"ed_applicants":9503,"ed_rate":13.32,"overall_rate":4.92,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution 9,503. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan 1,266. ... Total first-time, first-year (degree seeking) who applied 72,544 ... who were admitted 3,570","source_url":"https://upenn.box.com/s/woo7d85yxpol6j9e2o121aucjc6dc1k5","total_admits":3570,"total_applicants":72544},{"college":"Columbia University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":819,"ed_applicants":5868,"ed_rate":13.96,"overall_rate":4.94,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution: 5,868. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan: 819. ... Total first-time, first-year (degree-seeking) who applied: 59,611 [and admitted: men 1,419 + women 1,526 + unknown 1 = 2,946]","source_url":"https://opir.columbia.edu/sites/opir.columbia.edu/files/content/Common%20Data%20Set/2025-26_Columbia_College_and_Columbia_Enginnering_CDS.pdf","total_admits":2946,"total_applicants":59611},{"college":"Vanderbilt University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":874,"ed_applicants":6202,"ed_rate":14.09,"overall_rate":5.38,"quote":"C.2110 Number of early decision applications received by your institution => 6202. C.2111 Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan => 874. C.101/C.102 men who applied 21595, women who applied 26601 [C.116 total 48196]. C.104/C.105 men admitted 1232, women admitted 1361 [C.117 total 2593].","source_url":"https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-wpfsx/wp-content/uploads/sites/70/2026/07/CDS_2025-2026.xlsx","total_admits":2593,"total_applicants":48196},{"college":"Swarthmore College","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":228,"ed_applicants":1281,"ed_rate":17.8,"overall_rate":7.52,"quote":"Common Data Set 2025-2026 form fields (C21): AP_RECD_EDEC_N=1281, AP_ADMT_EDEC_N=228 (number of early decision applications received / admitted). C1 form fields: AP_RECD_1ST_MEN_N=5709, AP_RECD_1ST_WMN_N=7286 (total applicants); AP_ADMT_1ST_MEN_N=472, AP_ADMT_1ST_WMN_N=505 (total admits)","source_url":"https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-effectiveness-research-assessment/Swarthmore-CDS-2025-26.pdf","total_admits":977,"total_applicants":12995},{"college":"Brown University","cycle":"ED figures: Fall 2024 entering class; totals: Fall 2025 (same CDS 2025-26)","ed_admits":907,"ed_applicants":5062,"ed_rate":17.92,"overall_rate":6.34,"quote":"For the Fall 2024 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution: 5062. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan: 907. ... Total first-time, first-year men who applied 17972, women 24771, unknown 31 [=42774 total, Fall 2025] ... men admitted 1375, women 1335, unknown 0 [=2710 total]","source_url":"https://api.collegedata.fyi/storage/v1/object/public/sources/brown/2025-26/e45da2405f678ccaf78f36640359c83b4cec8c173a1b2ca93e7aefe3d899291c.pdf","total_admits":2710,"total_applicants":42774},{"college":"Cornell University","cycle":"ED figures: Fall 2024 entering class; totals: Fall 2025 (same CDS 2025-26)","ed_admits":1889,"ed_applicants":10057,"ed_rate":18.78,"overall_rate":8.38,"quote":"For the Fall 2024 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution: 10057. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan: 1889. ... Total first-time, first-year (degree-seeking) who applied [Fall 2025]: men 36,834 + women 35,687 + unknown 2; admitted: men 2,794 + women 3,282 + unknown 1","source_url":"https://irp.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Cornell-Common-Data-Set-2025-26.pdf","total_admits":6077,"total_applicants":72523},{"college":"Northwestern University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":1212,"ed_applicants":5939,"ed_rate":20.41,"overall_rate":7.47,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution: 5,939. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan: 1,212. ... Total first-time, first-year males who applied 25,258 ... females who applied 27,390 ... unknown gender who applied 28 ... males admitted 1,828 ... females admitted 2,105 ... unknown admitted 0","source_url":"https://enrollment.northwestern.edu/data/2025-2026.pdf","total_admits":3933,"total_applicants":52676},{"college":"Carnegie Mellon University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":553,"ed_applicants":2680,"ed_rate":20.63,"overall_rate":11.07,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution: 2,680. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan: 553. ... Total first-time, first-year (freshman) who applied: 34,867 ... who were admitted: 3,859","source_url":"https://www.cmu.edu/ira/CDS/pdf/cds_2025_26/cds-2025-c-first-time-first-year-admission.pdf","total_admits":3859,"total_applicants":34867},{"college":"Dartmouth College","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":768,"ed_applicants":3552,"ed_rate":21.62,"overall_rate":6.02,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution [3552]. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan [768]. ... Total first-time, first-year (degree-seeking) who applied 28230 ... who were admitted 1699","source_url":"https://www.dartmouth.edu/oir/pdfs/cds_2025-26.pdf","total_admits":1699,"total_applicants":28230},{"college":"Claremont McKenna College","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":216,"ed_applicants":978,"ed_rate":22.09,"overall_rate":9.44,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution 978. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan 216. ... Total first-time, first-year (degree-seeking) who applied 6939 ... who were admitted 655","source_url":"https://www.cmc.edu/sites/default/files/CDS_2025-26.pdf","total_admits":655,"total_applicants":6939},{"college":"Emory University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":1049,"ed_applicants":4728,"ed_rate":22.19,"overall_rate":10.3,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution 4728. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan 1049. ... Total first-time, first-year (degree-seeking) who applied [men 14990 + women 22566 + unknown 5 =] 37561 ... who were admitted [men 1764 + women 2105 =] 3869","source_url":"https://provost.emory.edu/planning-administration/_includes/documents/sections/institutional-data/emory-common-date-set-2025-2026.pdf","total_admits":3869,"total_applicants":37561},{"college":"Amherst College","cycle":"fall 2024 entering class","ed_admits":216,"ed_applicants":971,"ed_rate":22.25,"overall_rate":7.72,"quote":"For the Fall 2024 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution 971. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan 216. ... Total first-time, first-year who applied [men 7425 + women 8375 + unknown 19 =] 15819 ... who were admitted [539 + 682 + 1 =] 1222","source_url":"https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/C.%20First-Time%20First-Year%20Admission%202025-26_0.pdf","total_admits":1222,"total_applicants":15819},{"college":"Williams College","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":256,"ed_applicants":964,"ed_rate":26.56,"overall_rate":8.61,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution 964. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan 256. ... Total first-time, first-year (degree-seeking) who applied 15520 ... who were admitted 1336","source_url":"https://hub.williams.edu/institutional-research/files/2026/04/Williams-CDS-2025-2026-V2.pdf","total_admits":1336,"total_applicants":15520},{"college":"Washington University in St. Louis","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":1333,"ed_applicants":4934,"ed_rate":27.02,"overall_rate":11.92,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution: 4,934. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan: 1,333. ... Total first-time, first-year who applied 33,283 ... who were admitted 3,968","source_url":"https://washu.edu/app/uploads/2026/06/2025-2026-WashU-CDS.pdf","total_admits":3968,"total_applicants":33283},{"college":"Middlebury College","cycle":"fall 2024 entrants (CDS 2024-25)","ed_admits":409,"ed_applicants":1341,"ed_rate":30.5,"overall_rate":10.75,"quote":"For the Fall 2024 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution 1341. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan (excludes Feb admits) 409. ... Total first-time, first-year who applied [men 5539 + women 6985 =] 12540 ... who were admitted [677 + 670 =] 1348","source_url":"https://www.middlebury.edu/sites/default/files/2025-04/Middlebury%20CDS%202024_2025.pdf?fv=_3Gr6e2c","total_admits":1348,"total_applicants":12540},{"college":"Boston University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":2165,"ed_applicants":6907,"ed_rate":31.35,"overall_rate":12.83,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: [Number of early decision applications received by your institution] 6,907 [Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan] 2,165. ... Total first-time, first-year (degree-seeking) who applied 76,776 ... who were admitted 9,853","source_url":"https://www.bu.edu/asir/files/2026/05/CDS-2025-2026-2.pdf","total_admits":9853,"total_applicants":76776},{"college":"Tufts University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":1071,"ed_applicants":3344,"ed_rate":32.03,"overall_rate":10.82,"quote":"Common Data Set 2025-2026 C21-C22: Early Decision and Early Action Plans ... [ED1+ED2 combined] applications received 3344, admitted under early decision plan 1071. Total first-time, first-year applicants: men 14,444 + women 18,947 + unknown 4; admitted: men 1,568 + women 2,044","source_url":"https://provost.tufts.edu/institutionalresearch/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/CDS_2025-2026.pdf","total_admits":3612,"total_applicants":33395},{"college":"Boston College","cycle":"fall 2024 entrants (CDS 2024-25)","ed_admits":1434,"ed_applicants":4288,"ed_rate":33.45,"overall_rate":16.19,"quote":"For the Fall 2024 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution 4288. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan 1434. ... Total first-time, first-year who applied 34,779 [men 14,099 + women 20,674 + unknown 6] ... who were admitted 5,632","source_url":"https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/bc1/offices/irp/ir/cds/Boston_College_CDS_2024-2025_Final.pdf","total_admits":5632,"total_applicants":34779},{"college":"Northeastern University","cycle":"fall 2024 entrants (CDS 2024-25)","ed_admits":1492,"ed_applicants":3466,"ed_rate":43.05,"overall_rate":5.22,"quote":"For the Fall 2024 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution 3,466. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan 1,492. ... Total first-time, first-year who applied [men 42,678 + women 55,719 + unknown 28 =] 98,425 ... who were admitted [2,058 + 3,074 + 1 =] 5,133","source_url":"http://uds.northeastern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CDS-2024-25.pdf","total_admits":5133,"total_applicants":98425},{"college":"Lehigh University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":966,"ed_applicants":2040,"ed_rate":47.35,"overall_rate":28.96,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution [2040]. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan [966]. ... Total first-time, first-year (degree-seeking) who applied 19,342 [men 9,791 + women 9,542 + unknown 9] ... who were admitted 5,601","source_url":"https://data.lehigh.edu/sites/data.lehigh.edu/files/1302026-CDS-2025-2026-FINAL.pdf","total_admits":5601,"total_applicants":19342},{"college":"Tulane University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":1209,"ed_applicants":2077,"ed_rate":58.21,"overall_rate":14.46,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution 2,077. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan 1,209. ... Total first-time, first-year (degree-seeking) who applied 32,942 ... who were admitted 4,763","source_url":"https://oair.tulane.edu/common-data-set (2025-26 PDF hosted at tulane.box.com/s/1dgaxpa2x2ie24zgglrg0puwm1h7xrt5)","total_admits":4763,"total_applicants":32942},{"college":"Villanova University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":1005,"ed_applicants":1680,"ed_rate":59.82,"overall_rate":28.14,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution 1680. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan 1005. ... Total first-time, first-year (degree-seeking) who applied 25841 ... who were admitted 7272","source_url":"https://www.villanova.edu/content/dam/villanova/provost/decision_support/CDS-2025-2026-v3.pdf","total_admits":7272,"total_applicants":25841},{"college":"University of Chicago","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":null,"ed_applicants":null,"ed_rate":null,"overall_rate":4.48,"quote":"C21 Early Decision: Yes ... For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution [blank] Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan [blank] ... Total first-time, first-year men who applied 19929, women 24578, unknown 1026 [=45533] ... men admitted 1169, women 870, unknown 0 [=2039]","source_url":"https://bpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/voices.uchicago.edu/dist/8/2077/files/2026/08/CDS_2025-2026_to_publish-1.pdf","total_admits":2039,"total_applicants":45533},{"college":"Duke University","cycle":"fall 2025 totals; ED counts left blank in CDS 2025-26","ed_admits":null,"ed_applicants":null,"ed_rate":null,"overall_rate":5.24,"quote":"For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution: [blank]. Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan: [blank]. ... Total first-time, first-year men who applied 25,641, women who applied 29,900 [=55,541] ... men admitted 1,390, women admitted 1,520 [=2,910]","source_url":"https://ir.provost.duke.edu/sites/default/files/CDS_PDF_2025-2026-20260622-website-published-version.pdf","total_admits":2910,"total_applicants":55541},{"college":"New York University","cycle":"fall 2025 entrants","ed_admits":null,"ed_applicants":null,"ed_rate":null,"overall_rate":9.06,"quote":"First or only early decision plan closing date 11/1 ... notification date 12/15 ... For the Fall 2025 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution [blank] Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan [blank] ... Total first-time, first-year (degree-seeking) who applied 114125 ... who were admitted 10340","source_url":"https://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/institutionalResearch/documents/cds-2025-2026/CDS%202025-2026%20FINAL%20(no%20G).pdf","total_admits":10340,"total_applicants":114125},{"college":"Wake Forest University","cycle":"ED dates: Fall 2024; ED counts left blank in CDS 2025-26","ed_admits":null,"ed_applicants":null,"ed_rate":null,"overall_rate":20.76,"quote":"For the Fall 2024 entering class: Number of early decision applications received by your institution: [blank] Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan: [blank] ... Total first-time, first-year men who applied 8235, women who applied 11360, unknown 5 [=19600] ... men admitted 1965, women admitted 2103, unknown 0 [=4068]","source_url":"https://prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu/sites/202/2026/06/CDS_2025-2026-PDF_Template_WFU.pdf","total_admits":4068,"total_applicants":19600},{"college":"Pomona College","cycle":null,"ed_admits":null,"ed_applicants":null,"ed_rate":null,"overall_rate":null,"quote":null,"source_url":"https://tableau.campus.pomona.edu/views/CDS2025-26/A_GeneralInformation","total_admits":null,"total_applicants":null},{"college":"Wesleyan University","cycle":null,"ed_admits":null,"ed_applicants":null,"ed_rate":null,"overall_rate":null,"quote":null,"source_url":null,"total_admits":null,"total_applicants":null}]}],"title":"Early decision admit rates beat the overall rate at every college that publishes both","updated":null,"url":"https://highschoolreach.com/research/early-decision-vs-regular"}