On Monday evening, the University of Virginia announced that 1,282 students were accepted Early Decision to the historic school out of a record pool of 4,971 applicants — an 11% increase in the applicant pool size over last year. The result? A 25.8% acceptance rate breaks down into 29.5% for Virginia residents and 21% for non-residents, reflecting UVA’s admissions priority for domestic applicants.

While this is merely the second-lowest ED acceptance rate in the school’s history, UVA is likely breathing a sigh of relief that the year of terrible press in the wake of eruptions of campus antisemitism at other elite schools did not adversely impact their numbers.

A Brief History of Early Decision at UVA

This prestigious public university phased out its binding Early Decision round in 2006 due to the pool’s perceived lack of socioeconomic diversity, from which roughly 30% of the incoming class was drawn. This decision followed that of Harvard University and Princeton University, which eliminated their Early programs for the same reason.

A non-binding Early Action program was implemented by the university after Early Decision was put on the chopping block to service applicants intent on getting into UVA as early as possible, or as the Office of Undergraduate Admission puts it, for those who “feel they can present a strong application without senior grades being reviewed.” 

In 2019, UVA let go of these diversity scruples and brought Early Decision back, alongside Early Action, citing high demand from enthusiastic students seeking to express that UVA was their first choice. Unsurprisingly, this new policy — once again — was only implemented following Harvard and Princeton’s decision to bring back their Early round. So much for trailblazing!

Today, UVA offers high school seniors three admissions rounds: Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision. Early Decision applications are due by November 1st, and the decisions are released by December 15th. Early Action applications are due by November 1st, and the decisions are released by February 15th. Regular Decision applications are due by January 5th, and the decisions are released by April 1st.

Early Decision and Early Action UVA Admission Rates (Class of 2029 – Class of 2023)

Let’s look at UVA’s Early Decision and Early Action admission rates over the last few admission cycles.

UVA Class Year	Number of Early Decision Applications	Number of Early Decision Acceptances	Early Decision Acceptance Rate	Number of Early Action Applications	Number of Early Action Acceptances	Early Action Acceptance Rate
Class of 2029	4,971	1,282	25.79%	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
Class of 2028	4,465	1,133	25.37%	37,665	N/A	N/A
Class of 2027	4,243	1,038	24.46%	~36,000	~5,943	~16.51%
Class of 2026	2,462	1,112	45.17%	~31,087	6,243	20.08%
Class of 2025	2,197	960	43.70%	28,897	6,541	22.64%
Class of 2024	2,157	748	34.68%	25,160	5,219	20.74%
Class of 2023	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	25,126	6,550	26%

What the Data Tell Us About How UVA Conducts Admissions Today

One of the most significant differences between admission to UVA in the 2000s, before the short-lived elimination of Early Decision, and today, with the most admissions rounds in the university’s history, is the sheer number of students who enroll through one of the Early rounds. The percentage hovered around 30% two decades ago but has since shot up to around 75% with the reintroduction of Early Decision. In other words, the vast majority of students admitted to UVA nowadays apply via one of their Early rounds. For example, 7,355 of the 9,503 students admitted to the Class of 2026 applied during one of the Early rounds. That’s 78%!

But where does Virginia residency come into play? As a public university funded, in part, by the state of Virginia, UVA admits two-thirds of its student body from within the pool of applicants who reside there. Early Action and Early Decision acceptance rates reflect this preference for Virginians. For example, 31% of Virginians who applied to the Class of 2027 via the Early Decision round were admitted, while only 17% of non-Virginians were admitted.

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with UVA Deferral

If you’ve been deferred to UVA’s Class of 2029, don’t throw in the towel just yet! A UVA deferral can be turned around into an acceptance with expert guidance and a long hard look at your application by of one of Ivy Coach’s former elite college admissions officers.

To optimize your case for admission to UVA’s Class of 2029 post-deferral, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form. We’ll then be in touch to outline our go-forward services for deferred or denied students.