2026 Ivy League & College Admission Statistics

The admissions statistics for the Class of 2026 reveal yet another round of record-low acceptance rates and record-high applicant numbers. The majority of colleges and universities continued their “score optional” policy this admissions cycle, which (yet again) led thousands of students to flood top tier schools. 

A few trends emerge from the data right away: 1–students had a clear advantage if they applied in the early admissions round (see Class of 2026 early admissions statistics here) 2–application numbers (though often higher than last year) have started to level off and 3–colleges have made it a priority to meet diversity targets.

This year, UPenn joined other top universities (Stanford, Princeton, Cornell) that are beginning to withhold detailed admissions statistics in an effort to “reduce anxiety.” We expect that this trend will continue and contribute to the problematic lack of transparency in college admissions. At Top Tier Admissions, we believe that knowledge is power. By collecting and sharing the admissions statistics each year, we hope to help students create an informed application strategy. 

*Note: When ‘total number of students’ is referenced on our site, technically this refers to the total number of applications submitted.

Ivy League + MIT and Stanford — Class of 2026

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Review of the Ivy League + MIT and Stanford Class of 2026 — Entering Fall 2022

Brown University

The University offered admission to 5.03 percent of its applicants to the Class of 2026, down from last year’s acceptance rate of 5.45 percent for the Class of 2025. Out of the 50,649 students who applied—the largest pool in Brown’s history —2,546 students were admitted. The 1,651 students accepted through the regular decision process joined the 896 students admitted in December. The rate of admission for the ED round stood at 14.58 percent.  Last year, Brown offered admission to 5.45 percent of its applicants to the Class of 2025, down from the acceptance rate of 6.88 percent for the Class of 2024. 2,537 students were admitted out of the 46,568 students who applied. For the Class of 2025, 1,652 students were accepted through the regular decision process and 885 students admitted in December in the ED round. 

Columbia University

For the Class of 2026, Columbia accepted 2,253 students from 60,377 applications, representing a very slight decrease from last year. The acceptance rate of 3.73 percent is slightly above last year’s 3.66 percent when Columbia admitted 2,218 applicants from 60,551 applications. For this admission cycle, we estimate that Columbia received 6,305 early decision applications and accepted 650 students for an admission rate just above 10 percent. For the Class of 2025, Columbia received 60,551 applications, a 51 percent increase from the previous year. The acceptance rate of 3.66 percent was below the Class of 2024’s 6.15 percent when Columbia admitted 2,465 applicants from 40,084 applications. 

Cornell University

Cornell did not release the full statistics for the Class of 2026 but we do know that 4,908 students were admitted to the class and there were 71,000 overall applicants, leading to a 6.91 percent acceptance rate. Last year, Cornell admitted 5,852 applicants from a pool of 67,380 to the Class of 2025. In previous years, Cornell received 51,500 applications for admission to the Class of 2024 and 49,118 applications for the Class of 2023.

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College offered admission to 1,767 students for the Class of 2026 for an overall acceptance rate of 6.24 percent, up from last year’s 6.17 percent. Last year Dartmouth College extended offers of admission to 1,749 applicants for its Class of 2025. The Class of 2026 saw a stable pool of applications of 28,336 after last year’s record of 28,357. The total number of accepted students to the Class of 2026 includes the 560 admitted through the early decision process in December. Last year, Dartmouth College offered early admission to 591 students in December. 

Harvard University

Harvard accepted 3.19 percent of applicants to its Class of 2026. This year, Harvard received a total of 61,220 applications compared to 57,435 for the Class of 2025. With 1,968 admitted students to the Class of 2025, the rate of admission decreased from 3.43 percent to just 3.19 percent for the Class of 2026’s combined SCEA and regular decision. Harvard’s SCEA admit rate of 7.87 percent for the early round only is substantially higher than the regular decision acceptance rate of 2.34 percent. In the Class of 2026 early round, Harvard University received 9,406 applications and accepted 740 for an admit rate of 7.87 percent, slightly up from 7.41 percent the previous year.  

Penn – The University of Pennsylvania

Of the announced 55,000 students who applied to Penn’s Class of 2026 in the early and regular rounds, we estimate that about 3,300 were admitted, leading to an overall acceptance rate of about 6 percent. The 3,300 admitted students to the Class of 2026 includes 1,218 students (out of 7,795) who were admitted through the early decision round. The admission rate for the ED round was 15.63 percent. 

Last year, 56,332 students applied to Penn’s Class of 2025 in the early and regular rounds and 3,304 were admitted, leading to an overall acceptance rate of 5.87 percent. Out of the total 3,304 admitted to the Class of 2025, 1,194 students were admitted through the early decision round.  The admission rate for the ED round was 15 percent. 

Princeton University

Princeton University did not release the statistics for the Class of 2026. According to its released Common Data Sets, Princeton offered admission to 1,647 students, or 4.38 percent of the 37,601 applicants to the Class of 2025. In the previous year, Princeton University offered admission to 1,848 students, or 5.63 percent of the 32,835 applicants to the Class of 2024. 

Yale University

Yale’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions accepted 2,234 students or 4.47 percent of the 50,015 students who applied to the Class of 2026. This represents a decrease from last year’s rate of 5.31 percent. The SCEA round accounted for 800 acceptances out of a pool of 7,288 applications. Last year Yale accepted 2,509 students or 5.31 percent of the 47,240 students who applied to the Class of 2025. The SCEA round accounted for 837 acceptances out of a pool of 7,939 applications. 

MIT – The Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology admitted 1,337 students out of 33,767 applicants for the Class of 2026 for an acceptance rate of 3.94 percent. In its early round, MIT admitted 697 students out of 14,781 applications, yielding 4.72 percent which is the lowest rate of acceptance in an early round among its peer group composed of the Ivy League and Stanford. Last year, MIT admitted 1,457 students out of 33,240 applicants to the Class of 2025 for an acceptance rate of 7.26 percent. In its early round, MIT admitted 719 students out of 15,036 applications for an admission rate of 4.78 percent. 

Select Universities – Classes of 2024-2026

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Selective Liberal Arts Colleges – Classes of 2024-2026

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