Brown’s early decision acceptance rate rises to 18%, its highest level in six years

On Friday afternoon, Brown University welcomed 906 of its 5,048 early decision applicants to the Class of 2029 — its highest acceptance rate in more than half a decade.

Due to a significant decrease in the number of applicants and an increase in the size of the admitted cohort, Brown’s acceptance rate increased to levels not seen since the Class of 2023.

The class of 2027 remains the most competitive early decision class in history, with the class of 2028 a close second.

There were nearly 1,200 fewer applicants this year compared to last year, a loss of about a fifth of the university’s Covid-era applicant pool.

Of the applicants, 61.8% were rejected and 17.8% were returned to the regular decision-making group. Just over 2% of applications were withdrawn or left incomplete after review but before decisions were released, according to university spokesman Brian Clark.

“We expected an overall applicant pool that would be comparable to the years prior to the temporary test-optional policy,” Logan Powell, associate provost for enrollment and dean of undergraduate admissions, said in a news release, referring to Brown’s newly resurrected application requirement: standardized test scores.

The class of 2029 is the first to apply under the reinstated mandatory test score policy and the second to apply under the Supreme Court’s ban on race-based affirmative action. According to an Advisory Committee on Admissions Practices, Brown reinstated the test requirement in part because “some students from disadvantaged backgrounds choose not to submit scores under the test-optional policy, even though doing so would actually increase their chances of admission.”

Powell said the inducted class “expressed enthusiasm for embracing Brown’s Open Curriculum and a deep interest in listening to and learning from one another.”

This year’s application pool saw a 22% increase in international students, who enjoyed need-based application review for the first time in Brown’s history. The new Brunonians come from 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and 51 different countries.

Outside the United States, the countries with the highest approval rates are Canada, China, the United Kingdom and India. These were also the four countries most represented by the ED Class of 2028. Within the United States, California, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Texas topped the list.

Powell emphasized that “when you compare this year’s pool to the class of 2024 – the last class admitted before the test-option policy – it boasts a superior group of talented applicants from across the country and across almost every region.” “The world has expanded.”

“Expanding our need-based admissions approach to all freshmen is one of many actions that will help make Brown a more affordable choice for exceptionally talented students of all income levels,” Powell said.

The university also accepted 90 students through Questbridge, a separate application that offers low-income students a full scholarship to highly selective universities. This year’s cohort represents an increase over the Class of 64 Questbridge Scholars of 2028.

Earlier this month, the university indicated that increasing the number of Questbridge applicants was a strategy it planned to use to maintain diversity following the fall of race-based affirmative action, as The Herald previously reported.

The Class of 2028 saw a 40% decrease in the proportion of Black students and a 29% decrease in Hispanic students compared to the previous class.

Twenty-two students were accepted into the eight-year liberal medical education program, a combined undergraduate and medical degree program.

According to a previous survey by The Herald, recruited student-athletes make up a large portion of the early decision class. In the class of 2028, 14% of early admission students were athletes. The university does not publicly disclose how many athletic recruits are admitted through early decision.

Of this year’s admitted students, 51.9% attended public schools, 35% attended private schools and 12.58% attended religious schools. This is similar to the distribution of the 2028 class.

The proportion of first-generation students remained at the same level as last year, as 19% of admitted students have parents who did not attend college. About 65% of admitted students applied for financial aid.

The Herald’s freshman survey found that some students in the class of 2028 considered Brown their first choice but did not apply early. Experts said uncertainty about financial aid was fueling some of those fears among potential applicants.

“If finances are not a factor at all, a student may end up making an early decision almost every time their first choice allows it,” said Sara Harberson, a former Penn admissions officer who now runs a private college admissions consulting firm previously told The Herold. Brown offers financial aid calculators to help prospective Brunonians calculate their likely aid offers.

In deciding to retain early decision applications after a lengthy review of the policy, Brown acknowledged that the early decision applicant pool “is less diverse than the RD pool in terms of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status; Students applying to ED are less likely to be from historically underrepresented groups or to be first-generation, low-income applicants or international applicants.”

However, due to the “overall size and strength of the applicant pool,” they ultimately decided to continue offering this application cycle.

At a December meeting of the Brown University Community Council — a forum of administrators, faculty, staff, students and alumni — President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 noted the importance of Brown’s early applicant pool in increasing the university’s overall returns .

Paxson emphasized the role of “identifying really talented students and convincing them to make an early decision, because once they make an early decision, the return is 100 percent,” she said.

With the first cohort of the new class determined, Brown’s admissions office is expected to review tens of thousands of regular decision applications submitted by the Jan. 3 deadline.

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Talia LeVine

Talia LeVine is the arts and culture section editor. You study political science and fine arts with a focus on photography. In her free time she drinks a lot of coffee.

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Ciara Meyer

Ciara Meyer is a section editor based in Saratoga Springs, New York. She plans to focus on statistics and English non-fiction. In her free time she loves scrapbooking and building Lego flowers.