Helps to Applying Early Students
The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List:
Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or graduate school search.
Of all the advantages applying early to college offers, students might find one particularly appealing: a better chance of getting in.
Typically, students can apply to only one school under early decision and must attend if they're admitted. That's not the case for the less-restrictive early action and regular decision options, where students can apply to several schools and decisions aren't binding.
Among the 245 ranked colleges and universities that submitted these data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the average acceptance rate for applicants who applied early decision or early action for fall 2015 was about 63.1 percent, while the average for regular applicants was about 50.2 percent – a difference of 12.9 percentage points.
But among the 10 schools where applying early is most likely to boost applicants' chances of being admitted, the gap between early and regular acceptance rates was much wider. Those schools admitted an average 83.7 percent of early applicants but just 37.8 percent under regular decision – a difference of 45.9 percentage points.
At the top of the list is American University in the District of Columbia, which accepted 87.2 percent of early applicants and 32.4 percent of regular applicants. Each of the 10 schools on the list saw a difference of at least 41.7 percentage points, with American University's at 54.8 percentage points.
One school, Meredith College in North Carolina, admitted 100 percent of early applicants compared with 58.3 percent of regular applicants.
Nine of the schools on the list are either National Universities – which offer a range of undergraduate majors plus master's and doctoral programs – or National Liberal Arts Colleges, which emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts.
Trinity University in Texas is the list's only Regional University, meaning it has many undergraduate and some master's programs but few doctoral programs.
| School (state) | Percent of early applicants admitted early* | Percent of regular applicants admitted | Difference in acceptance rates (percentage points) | U.S. News rank and category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American University (DC) | 87.2% | 32.4% | 54.8 | 74 (tie), National Universities |
| Trinity University (TX) | 77.3% | 25.5% | 51.8 | 1, Regional Universities (West) |
| University at Albany—SUNY | 94.5% | 47.6% | 46.9 | 146 (tie), National Universities |
| University of Tulsa (OK) | 79.5% | 33% | 46.5 | 86 (tie), National Universities |
| St. Lawrence University (NY) | 90.4% | 44.2% | 46.2 | 53 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| College of the Holy Cross (MA) | 78.4% | 34.2% | 44.2 | 32 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Bard College (NY) | 75% | 31.9% | 43.1 | 49, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Texas Christian University | 66.3% | 24.1% | 42.2 | 82 (tie), National Universities |
| Denison University (OH) | 88.2% | 46.3% | 41.9 | 51 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Meredith College (NC) | 100% | 58.3% | 41.7 | 154 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
