The eight Ivy League schools have now released Regular Decision notifications to applicants to the Class of 2028. So, were applications up across the board for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle? Were they down across the board? Was it a year in which some schools were up and some were down? Let’s examine the year that was in Ivy League admissions.

Class of 2028 Ivy League Admissions Cycle Was a Mixed Bag

Ivy League Admissions Rates for the Class of 2028

Two of the eight Ivy League schools — Cornell University and Princeton University — have yet to release total application tallies, though Ivy Coach will be sure to publish them when they become available.

Of the six Ivy League schools that have thus far released data, applications rose at four of them: Columbia University (+3,119), Dartmouth College (+2,816), the University of Pennsylvania (+~6,230), and Yale University (+5,215).

Of the six reporting schools, applications were down at only two Ivies this year: Brown University (-2,404) and Harvard University (-2,929).

So, of the six schools, the application surges at four were generally much more significant than the application declines at two of them.

Below is a breakdown of the application tallies and overall acceptance rates for the Class of 2028. We’ve also included the equivalent figures for the Classes of 2027, 2026, and 2025 so our readers can see this year’s Ivy League admissions statistics from a historical perspective.

Ivy League School	Class of 2028 Total Applications	Class of 2028 Overall Admission Rates	Class of 2027 Total Applications	Class of 2027 Overall Admission Rates	Class of 2026 Total Applications	Class of 2026 Overall Admission Rates	Class of 2025 Total Applications	Class of 2025 Overall Admission Rates
Brown University	48,898	5.16%	51,302	5.09%	50,649	5%	46,568	5.4%
Columbia University	60,248	3.85%	57,129	3.93%	60,377	3.73%	60,551	3.9%
Cornell University	Not Yet Released (5,139 Admitted)	Not Yet Released	Not Reported	9.73%	67,380	6.91%	67,380	8.7%
Dartmouth College	31,657	5.3%	28,841	6.23%	28,336	6.24%	28,357	6.2%
Harvard University	54,008	3.59%	56,937	3.41%	61,220	3.19%	57,435	3.4%
University of Pennsylvania	65,230	Not Yet Released	59,000 Plus	Not Reported	56,332	5.87%	56,333	5.7%
Princeton University	Not Yet Released	Not Yet Released	Not Reported	Not Reported	37,601	4.38%	37,601	4.0%
Yale University	57,465	3.7%	52,250	4.35%	50,015	4.47%	46,935	4.6%

Brown University Admissions Statistics

Brown experienced a drop in applications this year — to its lowest level since 2025. That’s right. It was still a banner year for the Ivy League institution. The Providence, Rhode Island-based institution secured the third-highest number of applications in the school’s history and the third-lowest overall admission rate.

Columbia University Admissions Statistics

Columbia bounced back this year with its third-highest application tally in history and its third-lowest overall admission rate. The school, after getting caught with its hand in the cookie jar misreporting data to US News & World Report, subsequently plunged in the publication’s annual ranking.

And while Columbia would ultimately choose to withdraw from the ranking, US News would have none of it and ranked them anyway — significantly higher than last year. Did Columbia’s ruge in the US News rankings — from 18th to 12th — have anything to do with its uptick in applications? It’s possible but impossible to pinpoint with certainty.

Cornell University Admissions Statistics

Cornell has not yet released its total application tally, though it has published the number of students admitted to the institution’s Class of 2028. In all, 5,139 students got into Cornell during the 2023-2024 admission cycle. Without the number of total applicants, it would be impossible to discern the school’s overall acceptance rate.

Yet, from our sources within Cornell’s admissions office, we hear that the total number of applications to Cornell was up this year. We’ll be sure to confirm this scoop once the Ivy League school releases its data to The Common Data Set.

Dartmouth College Admissions Statistics

Dartmouth enjoyed a record year in admissions, setting a new benchmark for total applications and a historically low admission rate of 5.3%. Just about a month ago, after students had already submitted Regular Decision applications, the school became the first Ivy League school to reinstate an SAT/ACT mandate in admissions.

Dartmouth was also the pride of the Ivies this year — heeding the words of its own Robert Frost by “taking the road less traveled.” When its Ivy League peers struggled to combat rising antisemitism on their campuses, Dartmouth lit the way forward. But did the school’s remarkably simple and effective response to the rising tide of antisemitism on American college campuses have anything to do with the surge in applications? Who knows. Correlation does not imply causation.

Harvard University Admissions Statistics

Harvard experienced a slight drop in applications to its Class of 2028, though it still marked a strong year for the Ivy League institution. Harvard’s application tally was its fourth-highest ever, and its overall admission rate was also its fourth-lowest ever.

And while an irresponsible publication, The New York Post, attributed the drop in Early Action applications to Harvard to its horrific response to unchecked antisemitism on its campus, such conjecture was correlation without causation.

The reality? When you comb through Harvard’s historical admissions statistics, which we have dating back over two decades, drops often follow historic highs. This year’s Harvard admissions statistics are entirely consistent with that pattern.

University of Pennsylvania Admissions Statistics

UPenn has yet to release the number of students who earned admission to its Class of 2028. Thus, even though we know the tally of applications (what a record it was!), we can’t yet discern the school’s overall admission rate. But we’ll be sure to publish it as soon as it’s made available through the Ivy League institution’s release to The Common Data Set.

Princeton University Admissions Statistics

Princeton, true to its recent track record, has withheld its admissions statistics, failing to yet disclose its Class of 2028 application tally or overall acceptance rate. However, we’ll publish these figures when they’re made publicly available through The Common Data Set.

Yale University Admissions Statistics

Yale University experienced a banner year for its Class of 2028. The school smashed its application tally and set an all-time low overall admission rate. The school’s applications climbed 9.1% year-over-year, and its overall admission rate was nearly a point lower than that of the Class of 2027.

A Forecast for the 2024-2025 Ivy League Admissions Cycle

With applications up and overall acceptance rates down at four of the six Ivies that have thus far reported sufficient data (and with applications up at five Ivies if you count what we’ve learned from a source in Cornell’s admissions office), Ivy Coach’s crystal ball hereby predicts a slight drop in applications next year and a slight rise in overall acceptance rates. 

Why? Sure, with Dartmouth, Brown, and Yale now requiring test scores, fewer students — ones we’ve long deemed “Squeakers” — will seek to get in without them, likely leading to slight drops. But, notwithstanding the fact that these schools are switching back to mandating test scores, drops often follow historic highs. Such patterns are evident in the Ivy League admissions statistics, data we at Ivy Coach have been curating for over two decades. 

So, Class of 2029 applicants, you might not be part of a record year for these schools after all — and that’s a good thing!