Here's how Penn's ED stats for the Class of 2024 compare to the other Ivies

Penn admitted the first students to the Class of 2024 through the Early Decision Program on Dec. 16. Here is a breakdown of this cycle's early admissions statistics across the Ivy League. 

Penn admitted 19.7% of ED applicants to the Class of 2024, breaking nearly a decade of declining ED acceptance rates. The University received 6,453 ED applications this year, a 9% decline from last year’s 7,109 applicants. This year’s dip interrupts a steady increase in the ED applicant pool since 2011. Harvard University, Yale University, and Dartmouth College also experienced an early applicant pool decline this cycle, while Brown University and Cornell University saw an increase.

Dean of Admissions Eric Furda told The Daily Pennsylvanian that Penn admissions experienced an increase in applications after the redesign of the SAT in 2017. Furda said he believed students saw themselves as more competitive applicants after SAT scores increased “along certain areas of distribution.” 

Harvard Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons told The Harvard Crimson that Harvard's 7.7% early applicant decline could be attributed to factors including “uncertainty economically in the world," such as wildfires in California and school shootings. He added that there is also a "plateauing" of the number of high school seniors.

While this year marks the third consecutive year Dartmouth College has received more than 2,000 ED applications, Dartmouth saw a 16.4% decline in number of early applicants from last year. Dartmouth accepted 26.4% of their 2,069 ED applications on Dec. 12. 

Brown University, however, saw an 8% increase in the number of applicants on the same day, a total of 4,562 applicants, from which they accepted a record low 17.5% this year.

Cornell University similarly experienced a 7.4% increase in the early applicant pool this cycle, receiving a record high number of ED applications this year with 6,615 applications. Cornell also saw an increase in the ED acceptance rate from the Class of 2023, admitting 23.8% of ED applicants to the Class of 2024 on Dec. 12.

Harvard's acceptance rate rose by .5% from last year, accepting 13.9% of the 6,424 early action applicants on Dec. 12. Last year saw the highest number of applicants and lowest acceptance rate at Harvard since re-establishing the early action program seven years ago.

Similarly, Yale admitted 13.8% of the 5,777 early action applicants to the Class of 2024 on Dec. 16, up from last year's 13.19% acceptance rate.

Princeton University offered admission to 791 students on Dec. 12 but did not release the number of early action applications to the Class of 2024.

Columbia University did not release early admissions statistics.

Seventeen percent of early admits for the Class of 2024 at Brown identify as first-generation college students, compared to 13% for Princeton, 10.1% for Harvard, and 10% for Penn. Of early admits to Brown, 44% self-identify as students of color, while Princeton and Penn recorded higher percentages at 48% and 52%, respectively.

The percentage of early admitted Harvard students who identify as Asian Americans dropped from last year’s 26.1% to 24%. On Oct. 1, a federal judge ruled against claims from Students for Fair Admissions, an anti-affirmative action group, that Harvard intentionally discriminates against Asian American applicants, according to The New York Times.

Last year, Penn admitted a record low 18% of the early decision applicant pool to the Class of 2023. The University admits approximately half of the incoming class through early decision each year.

The deadline for Penn regular decision applications was Jan. 5, 2020.