Early admission results for the Class of 2013 are in.  Many selective colleges and universities reported significant increases in early applications despite the poor economy.  Acceptance percentages were at a record low at several top schools, including several with non-binding Early Action options.  

MIT:    MIT accepted 540 of 5,019 (10.8%) applicants for non-binding Early Action admission. Early Action applications to MIT increased 28% from last year. Nearly the same number of students were accepted. MIT expects at least regular 15,000 applications, a significant increase over the 13,396 regular applications last year. Nearly 600 students applied early to MIT through Questbridge (a College Match Program that helps low-income students apply to prestigious colleges) of which 36 of were accepted. Over 25 top U.S. colleges and universities participate in Questbridge including Princeton, Yale, Caltech, Stanford, Northwestern and Penn.

YALE: Yale admitted just over 13% of its Early Action applicants for the class of 2013, a significant drop from last year’s 18% early admission rate, according to the Yale Daily News. 742 early applicants were admitted from a record applicant pool of 5,557.  In addition, the admissions office reported to have sent rejection letters to more than twice as many early applicants as they did last year, denying 38% applicants and deferring 47% of the students who applied. Insiders believe that Yale admitted fewer students this year because more students admitted early from the class of 2012 chose to enroll. 

STANFORD: Stanford accepted 689 of the Early Action 5,363 applicants to the Class of 2013, according to the Office of Undergraduate Admission.  Early Action applications to the Class of 2013 were at a record level – 18% higher than last year, the largest in the school’s history. More than 25,000 students are expected to apply to Stanford through the regular admission process. The overall admit rate is expected to be less than 9%, the lowest rate in Stanford's history.

PENN: Early Decision applications to Penn dropped almost 8% from 2007. According to the Daily Pennsylvanian approximately 30% of this year's Early Decision applicants were accepted. At Penn, Early Decision candidates typically comprise nearly half of the freshman class.    This year, 3,610 students applied early to the University of Pennsylvania.

BROWN:   Early Decision applications were down 4.5% for the class of 2013.   Brown received 2,343 applications, slightly down from the 2,453 early applications last year. Part the decline was attributed to an 80 application decrease to the Program in Liberal Medical Education. The class of 2013 is the first to use the common application in applying to Brown. 

DARTMOUTH: Dartmouth accepted 401 students to the Class of 2013 through its Early Decision admissions program. Dartmouth’s Early Decision applicants are expected to comprise about 35% of incoming class. 1,550 Early Decision applications were received, a 9% increase from last year. 

CORNELL: Cornell reported a 10% increase in the number of Early Decision applications. Of the 3,405 applications received to the Class of 2013, 1,249 applicants (36.7%) were offered admission.

DUKE: Duke University accepted 547 Early Decision students to the Class of 2013. This year, 1,539 high school seniors applied through the Early Decision admission process, an increase of 291 (23%) over last year and the second largest number in school’s history. Students accepted through Early Decision will comprise about 33% of the incoming class.

COLUMBIA:   The 2013 Early Decision application pool was the largest in Columbia's history. According the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, "Early Decision applications to Columbia College increased 16% over last year and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science saw a 20% increase."

NORTHWESTERN: The Daily Northwestern reported a 15 percent increase in Early Decision applicants (1,712 applications, including 548 through Questbridge) for the Class of 2013 compared to 1,484 for the Class of 2012.