Most highly selective schools — even the likes of Yale University and Princeton University — carefully manage their yield rates. For those unfamiliar with the term yield rates, it’s the percentage of admitted students in a given year who choose to enroll at the university.

Many of our nation’s most selective universities aim to enroll around 50% of the students they accept. Still, other highly selective universities, including Yale and Princeton, aim to enroll an even higher percentage of admitted students. But in the case of Harvard University, well, let’s just say they don’t spend too much time managing their yield. Why not? Because Harvard knows that most admitted students will choose to matriculate.

Harvard is Harvard.

What Is Harvard’s Yield Rate?

The following is a breakdown of Harvard’s yield rate over the last 13 admissions cycles — from the Class of 2028 through the Class of 2016. Harvard’s yield is typically over 80%, which is remarkable even among elite universities. Only twice in the last 13 years has Harvard’s yield dipped below 80%, and a worldwide pandemic impacted one such year.

Harvard Class Year	Harvard’s Yield Rate
Class of 2029	Not Yet Determined
Class of 2028	“More than 84%“
Class of 2027	“Slightly over 84%.“
Class of 2026	83%
Class of 2025	84.2%
Class of 2024	69.8% *
Class of 2023	82.1%
Class of 2022	81.7%
Class of 2021	82.8%
Class of 2020	78.8%
Class of 2019	80%
Class of 2018	82%
Class of 2017	81%
Class of 2016	80.2%

* The Class of 2024’s yield was significantly impacted by the pandemic. Many students chose to defer their admission, opting to pursue gap years.

The Yield Rates Across America’s Top 25 Universities

Below, you’ll find a breakdown of yield rates across America’s 25 most selective universities as ranked by US News & World Report in its 2025 ranking of “Best National Universities“:

College / University	2025 US News Rank (“Best National Universities”)	Yield Rate for the Class of 2028
Princeton University	#1	75.53%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	#2	85.83%
Harvard University	#3	“More than 84%“
Stanford University	#4	81.91%
Yale University	#5	69.78%
California Institute of Technology	#6	Not Yet Published
Duke University	#6	62.33%
Johns Hopkins University	#6	47.02%
Northwestern University	#6	55.00%
University of Pennsylvania	#10	67.98%
Cornell University	#11	63.91%
University of Chicago	#11	88.29%
Brown University	#13	65.16%
Columbia University	#13	64.42%
Dartmouth College	#15	69.18%
UCLA	#15	50.40%
UC Berkeley	#17	45.73%
Notre Dame	#18	61.71%
Rice University	#18	44.20%
Vanderbilt University	#18	61.23%
Carnegie Mellon University	#21	45.67%
University of Michigan	#21	47.34%
Washington University in St. Louis	#21	46.77%
Emory University	#24	Emory College: 40.37% | Oxford College: 14.80%
Georgetown University	#24	46.68%
University of Virginia	#24	39.97%

The Remarkable Yield of Harvard University

So, for the Class of 2028, the most recent year in which yield data would be available since the Class of 2029 admissions cycle is still underway, of the 25 top-ranked schools, the only schools with yield rates above 80% besides Harvard, which, according to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based institution, sits at “more than 84%,” are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (85.83%) and the University of Chicago (88.29%).

Somewhat close contenders? Stanford University (81.91%), Princeton University (75.53%), Yale University (69.78%), Dartmouth College (68.18%), and the University of Pennsylvania (67.98%).

Of course, UChicago admits tend to have applied either through ED 0 (SSEN), ED I, or ED II. So they’re bound to matriculate! Hence, the school’s yield was 88.29% for the Class of 2028 (1,726 students enrolled from a pool of 1,955 admits). On the other hand, Stanford and MIT admits are often cross-admitted to Harvard and binding Early Decision policies don’t exist at these schools. Some will choose Harvard, while others will choose Stanford or MIT. Harvard’s typical yield — around 85% — is thus rather remarkable when considering it in context.

In short, there’s Harvard and then there’s everyone else.