How College Acceptance Rates Are Changing — And Why It Matters

College admission rates can tell you a lot about your chances of getting in—you just have to know how to read them. A school’s acceptance rate is the percentage of total applicants who get in during any given admissions cycle. This percentage is a quick and easy way to understand how selective a school is and how competitive your application may be. 

But why should you care? 

Think about acceptance rates as clues. When you understand how to find them and what they mean, you can make smarter choices about where to apply. 

In this guide, we’ll break down what college acceptance rates are, where you can find them, and how recent trends in admissions can give you an advantage in the application process.

Let’s jump in!

What Are College Admissions Rates And Why Do They Matter? 

We’re going to start with the basics and define what acceptance rates—also called admission rates—actually are. These rates measure how selective schools are in any given year. Acceptance rates are calculated and released annually by schools in their Common Data Sets, which we’ll explore in more detail in the next section.

To calculate a school’s acceptance rate, divide the number of admitted students by the total number of applications. It’s a pretty simple formula, but don’t overlook how useful this number can be for understanding how competitive a school really is.

Here’s a quick example. In the 2023-2024 admission cycle, NYU received a total of 110,807 applications for its first-year class. Out of those applications, 10,232 students were admitted. That gives us:

10,232 admitted students ÷ 110,807 applicants = an admission rate of about 9.23%.

This one number—9.23%—shows us just how competitive NYU was in admitting the Class of 2027. For context, that’s significantly lower than schools like the University of Pittsburgh or Baylor, who had acceptance rates of 49.69% and 50.93%, respectively, for the same admissions cycle. However, quite a few schools saw even lower rates, such as Caltech’s 3.14% and Harvard’s 3.45%.

Acceptance rates can be misleading. Kind of like how this kid definitely isn't a train conductor, no matter what his mustache implies. 

Why Acceptance Rates Can Be Misleading

Many students see a low acceptance rate like 9.23% and think they don’t stand a chance—but these numbers don’t tell the whole story. The biggest mistake is assuming that everyone who applies has a real shot at getting in. In reality, many applicants aren’t actually submitting competitive applications. 

That’s especially true for test-optional schools like NYU, where more students may apply even if their grades or coursework don’t meet the school’s standards. Add in applicants who apply on a whim (“why not?”) or those who submit last-minute or incomplete applications, and you get a massive pool of applicants who were never really in the running. 

All of these applicants still count toward the total, which drives the acceptance rate down and makes the school look even more selective, at least statistically. For a strong applicant, though, the odds may actually be better than the acceptance rate makes it seem.

That’s why understanding the context behind your schools’ acceptance rates is so important: the number alone won’t tell you everything you need to know. Once you understand how rates are calculated, who’s actually applying, and how acceptance numbers have shifted over time, you can use acceptance percentages for colleges to your advantage. A school might look more selective simply because it received more applications or admitted fewer students, even if the actual level of competition hasn’t changed. 

Undertstanding trends is as important in college admissions as it is in fashion. (This guy knows fashion, obviously.)

How to Use Acceptance Rates to Build a Smart College List

One of the best ways to use this information is by building a smart list of your top schools. You can and should factor in acceptance rates when building your list because they can help you figure out which schools might be reaches, which ones are realistic targets/matches, and which ones you have the safest bet of getting into. 

Now, along with knowing your university’s overall acceptance rate, it’s also worth looking to see if there are acceptance rates for your specific major or college. For competitive programs, like engineering, those numbers can be even lower than a university’s overall acceptance rate. 

For example, in 2023 the University of Washington had an overall acceptance rate of 45.52%, but the acceptance rate for computer science majors was 28.3% (for in-state students—and just 1.7% for out-of-staters).

That means you can't just look at a school’s acceptance rate for a single year and draw accurate conclusions. Tracking admission rate trends over time is a lot more useful for anticipating how competitive a school might be when you apply. 

For instance, many colleges saw record-low acceptance rates for the Class of 2029—like NYU and Vanderbilt—but that doesn’t mean numbers will stay this low in future cycles. Some schools could see higher acceptance rates if the spike in applications slows down or if admission policies change, while others could continue to drop if demand remains high. 

Our guide on recent college admission trends explains how factors like test-optional policies and the Common App have made it easier to apply to more schools—even as class sizes have stayed the same—pushing acceptance rates lower across many schools. 

The bottom line: admissions look different for every school, so it’s worth digging into the actual numbers for all your top choices and looking at how their rates have changed over time.

With trends, you gotta read between the lines. 

How to Read Acceptance Rate Trends

Once you understand how college acceptance rates work, you’re ready to explore how they’ve actually changed. That’s where trends come in.

Looking at the acceptance rate for a single year can give you a general idea of how selective a school is (or was), but tracking admission rates across the past two or three years can show you whether a school is becoming more or less competitive. Tracking acceptance percentages for colleges over time can help you make smarter choices about where to apply.

Small changes matter. A drop from 5.00% to 4.50% might seem tiny, but it could mean that hundreds fewer students were admitted. In the same way, an increase from 4.50% to 5.00% could mean hundreds more students got the green light. 

Let’s break it down with a few examples.

MIT admission rate dropped from 4.57% to 3.87% in just two years, but not because more students applied. Check out the numbers:

Sources: Yale University Common Data Sets

In 2024-2025, Yale accepted roughly the same number of students as it did two years earlier, though the number of applicants declined. This caused the acceptance rate to drop from 4.57% to 3.87%, which made the school appear more selective statistically. 

However, this number alone doesn’t tell us why fewer spots were offered. We don’t know if the applications were weaker, if Yale changed its enrollment goals, or if there were other policy changes that led to a reduced number of admits—schools don’t always explain why their numbers change from year to year. 

That said, you don’t need to be an expert to get a better sense of the context behind admission rate trends. University press releases—like these from Harvard and Notre Dame—are a great place to start your search, as are any university updates you can find on your chosen schools’ websites. But don't stress if you can’t track down a clear explanation. Sometimes the reasoning just isn’t public.

Back to our Yale example: 

Yale’s rate dropped with little explanation, at least based on the basic breakdown of applications and admits. But if we consider context, it’s worth noting that this drop did take place while major changes were happening across Yale’s admissions, including the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action and the university’s return to a test-flexible policy (after several years of being test-optional).

University press releases and updates show that major changes were happening behind the scenes, even if Yale hasn’t directly linked these changes to its lower admit numbers. Still, this is a good example of how policy and context can impact acceptance rates in ways that aren’t always obvious from the numbers alone.

Yale became more selective by the numbers, but Grinnell College moved in the opposite direction: rising from 10.76% to 14.51% over the same two-year span. 

Here’s the breakdown:

Sources: Grinnell College Common Data Sets

Like Yale, Grinnell saw a smaller number of applications each year. But instead of admitting fewer students, it admitted more—340 more in 2024-2025 than it had two years earlier. This increase could mean any number of things: maybe Grinnell is trying to grow its incoming class, attract a broader range of students, or make sure more admitted students actually enroll. No matter the reason, the odds of admission into Grinnell have improved significantly over the past two years. 

Yale’s and Grinnell’s numbers show just how differently admission trends can affect schools. Some are getting harder to get into, while others are opening up. The table below shows how the top 20 colleges’ acceptance rates have changed over the past few years:

*According to U.S. News’s “Best National University Rankings”  Sources: Common Data Sets

As you can see, not all college admission rates for the top 20 schools are dropping. MIT, Harvard, Northwestern, Cornell, Brown, Columbia, and UCLA have all had increasing admissions in the last few years. And they’re not alone—there are plenty of other schools whose admissions rates have also increased, some pretty dramatically.

The table below shows 11 schools that have seen increased acceptance rates in recent years. It includes a wide range in the types of schools, from large public research universities like Texas Tech and UC Santa Cruz, to nationally ranked private universities like Fordham, Villanova, and Pepperdine—as well as selective liberal arts colleges like Grinnell and Tufts. 

Sources: Common Data Sets

Now remember: these numbers matter in context. A rising acceptance rate doesn’t mean that all of these schools have simply gotten easier to get into. That could be part of the story, but it isn’t that simple. Admissions changes are usually tied to factors like policy changes (like going test-optional), fewer students applying, or new and expanding programs that are making space for a larger incoming class. 

And knowing how college acceptance rates work and how they change over time can help you build a stronger, more strategic college list, but that only works if you know where to find the numbers. 

We’re going to walk you through the best places to find accurate admission data for colleges next.

You don't have to be the world's greatest detective to find good admissions data for your favorite schools.

Where to Find Admissions Data For Colleges

At this point you know that college acceptance rates are important and you have to read them carefully, but where are you actually supposed to find them? 

Use PrepScholar's School Database Pages

Work smarter, not harder! We’ve already done all of the heavy lifting for you. Our free advice blog has hundreds of admissions pages that include everything from acceptance rates to average GPA, ACT and SAT scores, and even historical trends. These pages pull together all of the most important, up-to-date data in one place, making your admissions research easy-peasy.

To find a school’s admission page, head to our blog and search for the school’s name along with “admission requirements.”

For example, “Duke admission requirements”:

You can also use a search engine—just plug in the same phrase: [school name] + admission requirements:

Each page has tons of important information you can use to build a strong college list, including the current year’s acceptance rate.

Check Each School's Website

University websites can be a solid place to find the most direct and official data. Most schools publish their recent admissions statistics—like acceptance rates, class size, and test score ranges—on pages labeled things like:

• Class Profile 
• Facts & Figures 
• First-Year Snapshot 
• By the Numbers 
  
  

You’ll usually find these pages under the “Admissions,” “About,” or “Institutional Research” sections of a school’s website. 

Some schools are more transparent than others, but if you’re applying to a competitive university, chances are they’ve posted recent numbers for:

• Total applicants and admitted students
• Average GPA and test scores (if required and available)
• Class demographics
• Enrollment by major or program
  
  

It might take a few clicks to find it, but the information is usually there—and it’s usually the most up-to-date source available. 

And you can always use a search engine if you can’t figure out a school’s website:

Use the Common Data Set

For the most detailed and standardized admissions data (it looks the same no matter which school you’re looking for), head straight to the Common Data Set—also known as the CDS.

Most schools publish their CDS every year. It’s full of official numbers like:

• Submitted applications
• Accepted students
• Enrolled students after acceptance
• Factors the school considers in admissions 
  
  

To find a school’s Common Data Set, just use a search engine and type: 

[School Name] + Common Data Set

Most schools publish their CDS as downloadable PDF or Excel files, though some paste the information right onto pages of their website.

After you’ve either downloaded the file or pulled up the CDS on their webpage, look for Section C (First-Time, First-Year Admission). This is where the most pertinent information is, like:

• C1: Number of applicants, admitted students, waitlisted applicants, and enrolled students
• C6-C7: What the school considers important in admissions (e.g. GPA, test scores, extracurriculars)
• C9: Test score ranges (if required and available)
  
  

Like we’ve already covered, looking up Common Data Sets from the past two or three years is much more helpful than relying on a single year. Comparing different years can show you whether a school is getting more or less competitive, how acceptance percentages for colleges have shifted, whether they’ve changed which factors they consider most important in their admissions process, and how test score ranges have changed over time. 

After you gather all the numbers, compare them to your own GPA, test scores, and goals. That’s what turns raw data into a smart college list!

The Bottom Line on College Acceptance Rates

College admission rates give you an idea about your likelihood of getting accepted, but context matters—a lot. A low rate might mean more people applied, but it can also mean the school admitted fewer students or that many applicants weren’t actually competitive. That’s why trends matter more than single years. Comparing the data across two or three admission cycles can give you a better idea of which direction a school is trending.

Acceptance rates only tell you how many students applied and how many were admitted—not the reasons why. The number alone can be misleading if you don’t also look at admissions policies, the size of the applicant pool, and how many students a school typically admits. 

Changing acceptance rates can make admissions feel unpredictable. But with the right data, you can see what’s actually changing and why, which gives you a much clearer picture of your real chances of admission. 

What's Next? 

Want to get the inside scoop from the people who decide who gets in and who doesn't? Check out this article about the things admissions counselors wish applicants knew about the process. 

Not sure what your odds are of getting into the schools on your list? Use our admissions calculator to see where you stand.

Ready to learn what colleges look for in top applicants? We'll walk you through what colleges really look for during the admissions process.