Just looking at these high (and growing) percentages of ED classes, could there ever be a situation where the entire class is filled by ED? I mean, at Middlebury, the number is inching ever higher. They were quite clear in their admissions presentation that they love their ED kids. Why even bother to apply if you’re not going to ED?
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The comment was essentially only of mathematical interest. Materially, the figures stand. Informally, one could add a tenth of a percent or two to each.
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I know.
And I also appreciate the criticisms about ED but I see a lot of positive in it, too. For small schools in particular, managing your class size is very important. When you’re off by a few hundred kids you feel it at these enrollment levels. I also like the idea of admitting people who really want to be there and aren’t using you as a back up to Dartmouth, Princeton or Brown.
Understanding the % of those ED numbers that are used up by athletes is the real secret sauce the schools don’t want out there. That changes the conversation considerably.
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But I also think it’s ok to be second fiddle to Dartmouth or Yale—that’s what ED2 is for, I assume.
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Sure, for now.
Let’s see what the branding looks like in 10 or 20 years.
NESCAC has made great strides but there’s a long way to go.
Btw, what’s the deal with Colby not publishing CDS reports? This isn’t like not participating in the US News surveys.
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Just to add some perspective for these numbers, here are the results for a few other LACs outside of the NESCAC:
| School | ED % of Incoming Class | RD Admitted Students | RD Enrolled Students | RD Yield Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claremont | 64.48% | 439 | 119 | 27.11% |
| Vassar | 57.68% | 1,925 | 295 | 15.32% |
| Kenyon | 56.07% | 1,907 | 181 | 9.49% |
| Pomona | 53.92% | 663 | 194 | 29.26% |
| Smith | 53.15% | 1,445 | 327 | 22.63% |
| Wellesley | 52.26% | 957 | 275 | 28.74% |
| Carleton | 50.77% | 1,217 | 255 | 20.95% |
| MHC (Mount Holyoke) | 38.81% | 1,566 | 328 | 20.95% |
| Oberlin | 34.94% | 3,351 | 458 | 13.67% |
Data manually pulled from the CDS of each school:
Kenyon: Total enrolled 412, Total Admitted 2138 and Total ED Admitted 231
Carleton: Total enrolled 518, Total Admitted 1480 and Total ED Admitted 263
Oberlin: Total enrolled 704, Total Admitted 3597 and Total ED Admitted 246
Claremont: Total enrolled 335, Total Admitted 655 and Total ED Admitted 216
Pomona: Total enrolled 421, Total Admitted 890 and Total ED Admitted 227
Vassar: Total enrolled 697, Total Admitted 2327 and Total ED Admitted 402
Smith: Total enrolled 698, Total Admitted 1816 and Total ED Admitted 371
Wellesley: Total enrolled 576, Total Admitted 1258 and Total ED Admitted 301
MHC: Total enrolled 536, Total Admitted 1774 and Total ED Admitted 208
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Here’s another point of comparison from Davidson’s 2025-26 CDS.
Total Enrolled: 531
ED % of Incoming Class: 67.42% (358)
RD Admitted Students: 769
RD Enrolled Students: 173
RD Yield %: 22.50%
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The number accepted via ED at Middlebury decreased slightly this year. For the Class of 2029, they accepted 519 early. This year, they accepted 494 early.
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Right, CDS only reflects students on main campus in the fall. But, many/most/maybe all schools include the non-main campus or spring students in the total application number on the CDS.
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Right, and further compromising comparability and insight into “true yield” is the fact that I do not believe all the NESCACs practice non-Fall admissions, at least not formally.
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Redacted, since it was already mentioned
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Thanks for this! Not a NESCAC, but Denison! Nice showing for them too…
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Trinity is the men’s rowing champion. Not NCAA, but still…worth celebrating!
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2025-26 RD Yield from the Tri-Co:
Swarthmore – 977 admitted / 446 total enrolled / 228 ED –> 29.1% RD Yield
Haverford – 896 admitted / 397 total enrolled / 229 ED –> 25.2% RD Yield
Bryn Mawr – 1199 admitted / 329 total enrolled / 194 ED –> 13.4% RD Yield
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Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription.
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Turns out we nailed it:
Opinion | A Bold Idea to Make Elite Colleges Affordable - The New York Times
My real motivation in raising the point was whether Wesleyan could, in theory, exempt itself from the 3,000 tuition-paying threshold. Clearly, it can.
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I don’t know rowing well, but there is a regatta over in the UK. Seems to be a big deal. NESCACs well represented there.
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The Henley is indeed a big deal:
(Ralph Wormeley Curtis; “Henley: The Regatta”, 1890; watercolor and gouache on paper, 24.8 x 35 cm (9 3/4 x 13 3/4 in.)
Henley: The Regatta | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
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