Top U.S. Universities Release Early Admissions Results: Acceptance Rates at MIT and Brown Decline

Every year, U.S. universities release the results of the early application round — Early Admissions. This system allows applicants to submit their applications before the regular deadline (usually in early November) and receive a decision from the university as early as December, rather than in the spring.

Below are the key Early Admissions 2026 results.

MIT received 11,883 applications and admitted only 655 students. The acceptance rate was 5.5%, slightly lower than 5.98% last year. Over the past decade, the share of students admitted to MIT through early applications has steadily declined — from nearly 8% in 2016 to around 5% today.

Brown University admitted 890 students out of 5,406 applicants, resulting in an acceptance rate of 16.5% (compared to 18% last year).

Yale University received 7,140 applications, of which 779 were accepted. The acceptance rate remained at about 11%, the same as last year. Like MIT, Yale has also seen a noticeable decline in its early-round acceptance rate — from 17% to 11% over the past decade.

What does this mean?

Getting into Ivy League universities is becoming more competitive every year. At the same time, the chances of admission in the early round are still higher than in the regular round (the Regular Decision acceptance rate at MIT and Yale has remained around 3–4% in recent years).

However, not all U.S. universities are this difficult to get into. For example, Trinity College admitted 46% of early applicants, the University of Miami admitted 44%, and the University of Georgia admitted 32%. In total, around 450 American universities offer early application options, including opportunities for international applicants. In other words, there are plenty of strong choices available.

The key is to build a smart application strategy and choose the right universities. This is where the experts at ED-EX.com can help. Our team prepares applicants from around the world for admission to leading universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.

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