While Princeton hasn’t published Early Action admissions statistics since 2022, Ivy Coach has the tea on this unorthodox decision, which should shine some light on this most recent EA admissions cycle for the Class of 2029. This year was tumultuous for many elite schools in America due to rising antisemitic sentiment and subsequent donor backlash, but Princeton was able to weather the storm and come out relatively unscathed. 

Our Ivy Coach crystal ball predicts that when Princeton’s statistics finally do arrive, as they eventually will when reported in the federally-mandated Common Data Set, they will give Princeton a reason to gloat over most of its Ivy League counterparts because they will not have been as impacted by dwindling applicant pools as at places like Harvard. We also predict that there will be a slight dip — but not as big of a dip as some expected, thanks to the Affirmative Action workaround of the Roberts Loophole — in the representation of underrepresented minority students accepted onto campus.

Until then, speculation is all we can do — and calling Princeton out for misleading applicants!

The Real Reason Why Princeton Refuses to Share Admissions Data

According to a 2022 press release from Princeton Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, Karen Richardson, Princeton stopped sharing admissions data because “neither prospective students nor the University benefit from the admission process being boiled down in headlines to a single statistic like the admission rate.” 

Richardson continues, “We know from our interactions with prospective students, families, and counselors that highlighting an admission rate and framing the admissions process through a list of statistics instills anxiety and fear. We do not want to discourage prospective students from applying to Princeton because of its selectivity.”

“Anxiety and fear?” Really Princeton? We call malarkey. Princeton stopped sharing data because they don’t want to discourage students from applying, adversely affecting the size of its applicant pool and thus increasing its acceptance rate. This chain reaction could affect Princeton’s #1 crown on the US News ranking, so does it come as any surprise that they want to avoid discouraging applicants from applying at all costs? It’s not about applicant well-being; it’s all about the numbers!

Princeton Early Action Admissions Statistics Over 20+ Years

The last time Princeton published its EA admissions statistics was for the Class of 2024, with an EA acceptance rate of 15.8%. This figure has likely dwindled in the last five years, but Princeton has sneakily withheld this statistic from even the Common Data Set! What do you have to hide, Princeton? We at Ivy Coach would like to know!

Still, we’ve compiled all the available admissions data from the Class of 2007 to the present day for your viewing pleasure. Let’s take a look:

Princeton University	Overall Accept. Rate	Regular Decision Accept. Rate	Regular Decision Apps Accepted	Regular Decision Apps Received	Early Decision / Action Accept. Rate	Percent of Class Filled by Early Apps	Early Decision / Action Apps Received	Early Decision / Action Apps Accepted	Expected Number of Students to Enroll	Total Apps Received	Total Apps Accepted
2029	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP
2028	4.62%	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	n/a*	NYP	NYP	1,400	40,468	1,868
2027	4.59%	NYP	1,032	NYP	NYP	n/a*	NYP	791	1,366	39,644	1,823
2026	4.33%	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	NYP	1,499	38,019	1,647
2025	4.00%	4.00%	1,498	37,601	n/a#	n/a#	n/a#	n/a#	1,308	37,601	1,498
2024	5.60%	3.70%	1,032	27,838	15.80%	n/a*	4,998	791	1,308	32,836	1,823
2023	5.80%	4.20%	1,152	27,469	13.90%	n/a*	5,335	743	1,296	32,804	1,895
2022	5.50%	3.80%	1,142	29,968	14.80%	n/a*	5,402	799	1,296	35,370	1,941
2021	6.10%	4.30%	1,120	26,053	15.40%	n/a*	5,003	770	1,308	31,056	1,890
2020	6.50%	4.70%	1,177	25,074	18.60%	n/a*	4,229	785	1,308	29,303	1,894
2019	7.00%	4.90%	1,141	23,440	19.90%	n/a*	3,850	767	1,310	27,290	1,908
2018	7.3 %	5.4 %	1,225	22,787	18.50%	n/a*	3,854	714	1,308	26,641	1,939
2017	7.30%	5.40%	1,234	22,688	18.30%	n/a*	3,810	697	1,290	26,498	1,931
2016	7.90%	5.90%	1,369	23,221	21.10%	n/a*	3,443	726	1,300	26,664	2,095
2015	8.40%	8.40%	2,282	27,189	n/a*	n/a*	n/a*	n/a*	1,300	27,189	2,282
2014	8.20%	8.20%	2,148	26,247	n/a*	n/a*	n/a*	n/a*	1,300	26,247	2,148
2013	9.80%	9.80%	2,150	21,964	n/a*	n/a*	n/a*	n/a*	1,300	21,964	2,150
2012	9.30%	9.30%	1,976	21,262	n/a*	n/a*	n/a*	n/a*	1,245	21,262	1,976
2011	9.50%	7.20%	1,194	16,605	25.50%	48%	2,337	597	1,245	18,942	1,791
2010	10.20%	7.80%	1,193	15,327	26.80%	49%	2,236	599	1,222	17,563	1,792
2009	10.90%	8.40%	1,214	14,477	29.10%	48.60%	2,039	593	1,220	16,516	1,807
2008	11.90%	8.80%	1,050	11,875	32%	50%	1,815	581	1,162	13,690	1,631
2007	10%	7.30%	979	13,375	25.10%	49.50%	2,350	591	1,195	15,725	1,570

Ivy Coach’s Assistance Moving Forward for Deferred or Denied Princeton Applicants

Congratulations to Ivy Coach’s students who earned admission to Princeton this year! Your hard work paid off!

If you were deferred or denied by Princeton in the Early Decision round to the Class of 2029, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form. We’ll be in touch to outline our comprehensive go-forward services for seniors, including out PostMortem for denied candidates and PostMortem followed by Letter of Continued Interest assistance for deferred candidates to Princeton. We do indeed help with Regular Decision applications, but the cart must come before the horse. First, our team of former elite college admissions officers needs to assess the Early application to figure out what went wrong before we can pivot to your remaining applications, leaving you with a highly competitive strategy oriented around a singular admissions hook!