Early Action Acceptance Rates for the Class of 2028

Are you trying to decide if it's worth it to apply Early Action as part of your college admissions strategy? If so, you'll want to consider how Early Action acceptance rates at top schools compare to Regular Decision acceptance rates. Below you’ll discover Early Action rates for Ivy League and other highly selective schools in the US for the Class of 2028. With the admissions landscape as competitive as it has ever been, an Early Action application strategy could help give you the edge you're looking for. Use the information below to help you decide if applying EA is the right choice for your circumstances.

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With tens of thousands of motivated young scholars aspiring each year to get into top colleges, acceptance rates at Ivy League schools and top-ranked non-Ivies have been touching record lows.

Among these institutions, a good number offer Early Action admissions options, which thousands of students apply under each year, for various reasons.

One of the most prominent reasons, especially in the current admissions landscape, is to take advantage of acceptance rates that are often much higher than Regular Decision acceptance rates.

Tracking Early Action acceptance rates should help you fill in one more piece of your decision making puzzle, especially if you're seriously considering an Early Action application strategy, presumably for your top-choice school.

Below you’ll find more information about Early Action statistics for the Class of 2028.

At the end, we’ll review important features of EA policies and application strategies to help you plan your next steps. You'll also find links to posts going into more detail on related topics because we want you to be able to make the most informed decisions possible.

Class of 2028 Early Action Admissions Results

First we'll take a look at the Ivy League schools that offer an Early Action option — some do while others offer Early Decision instead.

Also, we have to accept that some schools report statistics later than others, or elect not to report them, so what follows is based on available data and estimated figures in some cases.

Ivy League Early Action Acceptance Rates

Acceptance rates at Ivy League schools have been the lowest on record over the past three years. But how much better are Early Action acceptance rates for the Class of 2028 at top schools? After all, before you commit to an EA strategy, you'll want think through the potential pros and cons.

Here's a look at recent Early Action acceptance rates for Ivy League schools that offer this admissions alternative:

Class of 2028 Early Action Acceptance Rates at Top-Ranked Universities (non-Ivies)

Admissions is also highly competitive at the universities and colleges ranking among the top 25 nationally. Of those, the ones that have Early Action admissions options include schools such as MIT, Georgetown, USC, University of Notre Dame, and more.

Applying EA and adhering to other strategies used by top applicants will typically boost your chances for admissions. The table below shows you EA acceptance rates at top schools for applicants to the Class of 2028.

Early Action results at top-ranking schools don't show much variation between this year and last year. This means students planning to apply EA to their dream college next year, as applicants to the Class of 2029, can feel fairly confident that EA acceptance rates will be in a similar range.

If you're aiming for Harvard, Yale, or Princeton, you can see that applying Early Action to an Ivy League school still puts you in a very competitive admissions arena, but with acceptance rates that are still many notches higher compared to the Regular Decision rate at the same school.

Ivy League Application Trends 2018 to 2024

Hundreds of thousands of high-achieving students apply to the Ivy League each year, and the numbers are growing! Over the past three years the number of applicants applying to Ivy League schools has topped 400,000. And, most Ivy League schools have overall acceptance rates hovering below 8%, with Harvard's dipping to a record-low 3.2% for the Class of 2026 (two years ago).

Which Ivy League receives the most applications?

Cornell University and Penn receive the most applications each year, numbering well over 60,000.

Which Ivy League receives the least number of applications?

Dartmouth University is the Ivy League school that receives the least amount of applications. This year Dartmouth received 31,657 applications.

The chart below highlights the trend in the number of applications to all eight Ivy League schools over the last ten years.

Is Applying Early Action Worth It?

Despite the stress of applying early — with EA application deadlines typically between November 1st and early December — an EA application strategy still provides lots of flexibility and the benefit of getting notified earlier as well.

Remember, applying EA or ED can also help your application get noticed, because your commitment to applying early demonstrates your genuine interest in attending the school.

And, as we've just seen, Early Action acceptance rates can be 2x or 3x higher, or more, compared to Regular Decision acceptance rates.

What Is Early Action vs. Early Decision?

Unlike Early Action, Early Decision involves a binding commitment to attend that school if you're admitted. For this reason, Early Action offers a middle ground between the Regular Decision option and the more restrictive Early Decision plans, providing some early application advantages but free from the iron-clad commitment that Early Decision plans impose.

Some Ivy Leagues and other top schools, like those featured in the tables above, offer Early Action options, but others offer Early Decision options instead.

In addition, some US colleges and universities offer multiple early application pathways, such as two ED timelines (ED1 and ED2) or two EA timelines (EA1 and EA2), or both an ED and an EA option!

What Is Single-Choice Early Action/Restrictive Early Action?

When applying Early Action, to the Ivy League especially, it's important to understand that Harvard, Yale, and Princeton use a more restrictive form of Early Action, typically called Single-Choice Early Action (SCEA) or Restrictive Early Action (REA).

While NOT binding, SCEA/REA plans prohibit students from applying EA or ED to any other school.

From the school's perspective, imposing SCEA/REA conditions will prevent a student from applying ED somewhere else. This could matter, because ED applications become binding if a student is accepted, but the SCEA/REA school wants to ensure that most students they admit will also choose to enroll, in order to boost their yield rate.

Yield rates and early application cycles...

Every time a school admits a student, and the student accepts the offer, that drives up the school's yield rate, and vice versa. Schools tend to have a strong interest in boosting their yield rates because those rates can serve as an important criterion that boosts their overall rankings.

Interests around yield rates can be one more reason why applying EA can give you an advantage: the school may be motivated to admit a greater proportion of applicants who demonstrate a genuine interest in attending their school not only on account of the intrinsic "fit" with the school culture and offerings, but also because a highly interested student will be deemed more likely to accept their admissions offer compared to other applicants.

To learn more, check out the following resources:

Your Guide to Early Applications to The Ivy League

Early Action, Early Decision, and Regular Decision Explained

How To Decide If Early Action Is Worth It?

Choosing to apply Early Action can help you stand out by highlighting your genuine interest in the school. As we've just seen, it can also put your application into a smaller pool of applicants so you're contending with a more favorable acceptance rate.

The downside of course is having to apply earlier, and well before you've finished courses, tests, or activities you're engaged in during the first semester of your senior year in high school.

We've also seen that the three top Ivies with EA options use more restrictive SCEA/REA plans, preventing students who take this approach from applying EA or ED to any other school!

With all these essential factors in mind, when applying to highly selective schools, an EA strategy can provide many students a significant admissions edge, but it should be used alongside other effective strategies that help top applicants stand out.

Want more help making important decisions for your college journey? Check out these resources:

What Is a Good SAT Score?

What Is a Good ACT Score?

US College Admissions Calculator

How Can a College Admissions Counselor Help You with Your College Application?

Final Thoughts

With university acceptance rates at their lowest and application numbers at their highest, you're smart to be keeping your eyes on other acceptance rates that may be more favorable.

You now know that several Ivy League schools and a handful of other stellar institutions in the US offer EA options, but often taking the form of the more restrictive SCEA or REA plans.

Applying EA is only a fitting strategy for some applicants, however. And when used, it should be part of a personalized plan and one component among other essential strategies, all essential to making your application stand out.

Working with a Crimson academic advisor is an optimal way to get insights into early application strategies and other important decisions points for your college journey.

If you want to learn more, it's easy to get started. Signing up for a free feedback session with a Crimson strategist is usually the best next step and an easy and convenient way to find out more about the Crimson network and our personalized approach.

Key Resources & Further Reading

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