54 Admission Statistics & College Acceptance Rates (2024)

Admission statistics are of great help when looking for the latest trends in the admission and acceptance rates of the students in your dream college. These Admission Statistics provide insight into the number of admitted students in the nation’s top colleges in different years. 

In this article, we have compiled all the details about the admission rates of the colleges and the number of students admitted over the past years. You will also come across the details about the acceptance rates, the volume of applications, etc., of the top colleges. 

College Acceptance Rates – Admission Statistics

The college acceptance rates vary every year. According to the admission trends in the academic year, there may be an increase or decrease in the acceptance rates of the colleges. In the following section, we have listed some crucial facts and figures about college acceptance rates. 

1. The average acceptance rate in the United States is 68%.
2. The average acceptance rate for public colleges was 64.20%, and the average rate for private schools was 51.07%.  (College Tuition Compare)
3. Only 3.19% of the students were accepted to Harvard University for the class of 2026.
4. According to the common app, there is a 21.3% increase in overall college application submissions for the class of 2026.
5. Harvard University received 61,221 applicants, from which 1,984 applications were accepted, with an acceptance rate of 3.2%.

Let’s have a look at the number of student enrollments from 2015-2020.

Year	Number of enrolled freshman students	Share off first-time applicants granted admission to enroll
2015	3021413	55.8%
2016	3014737	56.3%
2017	3009234	55.8%
2018	3002330	56.8%
2019	2975219	60.7%
2020	2713484	60.2%

6. 10.3% was the acceptance rate of Cornell University during the admission process in the year 2022. 

7. Only 3.73% of the students were accepted into Columbia University during the admissions in the year 2022. 

The following table provides a breakdown of the acceptance rates at Top Institutions.

College	Acceptance rates
California Institute of Technology	4%
Harvard University	4%
MIT	4.1%
Princeton University	4.1%
Stanford University	4.1%%
Yale University	5%
Brown University	6%
Dartmouth College	6%
Duke University	6%
University of Chicago	6%
University of Pennsylvania	6%
Northwestern University	7%
Vanderbilt University	7%
Johns Hopkins University	8%
Cornell University	9%
Rice University	9%
Tulane University	10%
Tufts University	11%
University of California	11%
Georgetown University	12%

Sources: NCES. 

General Admission Statistics – Admission Statistics

The admission rates in colleges have decreased over the past years. Here are a few Admission Statistics that provide general information on various colleges around the globe. 

8. According to the reports from SEVIS, there are around 1.08 million international students as of 2024. It is a 5.4% decrease from 2020 due to the onset of the pandemic.

9. 18.99 million college students were there in the US in the year 2020.

10. In 2024, over 16.9 million students were enrolled in post-secondary colleges. More than 14.2 million students enrolled in the undergraduate program, while 3 million students were admitted to graduate-level programs.

11. The most common field of study selected by the new students in OECD countries is Business, Administration and law. 

12. Engineering is the most common field of study preferred by international students in the United States.

13. The highest number of international students in the United States are from China and India.

14. Up to 90% of the colleges declared to keep tests as optional criteria for admission. This will result in more students being admitted into their dream college without appearing for any tests. 

15. Admission rates are predicted to remain low in the upcoming years. 

16. Personal and supplemental essays will continue to play essential roles in admissions. 

17. Submitting an SAT or ACT score above 50% will help the students in their college admissions. 

18. Sports will play an important role in college admissions in the next two cycles.

19. Around 57,081,334 students have applied for the academic year 2023-2024, among which 33,022,263 were admitted to US colleges. 

The following data suggests the total number of applicants, the number of admitted students, and the total number of enrolled students for 2023-2024.

	Applicants	Admitted	Enrolled
Total	57,081,334	33,022,263	8,039,886
Public Schools	32,194,426	20,312,698	5,366,940
4 Years (or high)	23,042,138	20,203,986	5,314,295
2-4 years	135,5445	99,558	46,120
Less than 2 years	16,743	9,154	6,525
Private schools	24,886,908	12,709,565	2,672,946
4 years (or high)	24,749,546	12,608,738	2,6623,524
2-4 years	120,889	87,635	40,187
Less than 2 years	16,473	13,192	9,235

Sources: NCES, US News. 

College Enrollment by Degree Level

Most college students begin out as freshmen, and bachelor’s degrees are more common than associate degrees at this stage.

20. As of 2024, 7.9 million people were going to college to get a bachelor’s degree.

21. There were 4 million people getting their associate degrees.

22. 3 million students were engaged in graduate programs like master’s and doctoral degrees, professional studies like medical and law degrees, and other graduate-level training programs.

Here is a percentage of enrollment by degree level for 2024.

Degree level	Percent of enrollment
Bachelor’s	46.3%
Associate	23.1%
Graduate or Professional	17.3%
Other Undergraduate	13.3%

College Admissions Rates – Admission Statistics

The college admission rates vary from the college acceptance rates. They determine the number of college students admitted in a particular academic year. Let us take a look at the admission statistics of Ivy League colleges and other well-known colleges across the nation. 

23. 42,749 was the annual volume application of Harvard in the year 2022. 

24. Stanford had an annual volume application of 47,450 in the year 2022. 

The following table includes the details about the annual volume of applications the Ivy League colleges from the year 2017 to 2022. 

University Name	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Brown	28,919	30,432	30,397	32,390	32,724	35,438
Columbia	33,531	32,952	36,250	36,292	37,389	40,203
Cornell	40,006	43,041	41,907	44,965	47,038	51,328
Dartmouth	22,416	19,296	20,505	20,675	20,034	22,033
Harvard	35,023	34,295	37,305	39,041	39,506	42,749
MIT	18,989	18,357	18,306	19,020	20,247	21,706
Penn	31,280	35,868	37,267	38,918	40,413	44,482
Princeton	26,498	26,641	27,290	29,303	31,056	35,370
Stanford	38,829	42,167	42,487	43,997	44,073	47,450
Yale	29,610	30,932	30,237	31,455	32,900	35,306

25. There was an 8.29% change in the volume of applications to Brown University in the year 2022 as compared to the year 2021.

The following table breaks down the change in the volume of applications to the Ivy League from the year 2017 to 2022. 

University Name	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021	2021-2022
Brown	5.23%	-0.12%	6.56%	1.03%	8.29%
Columbia	-1.73%	10.01%	0.12%	3.02%	7.53%
Cornell	7.59%	-2.63%	7.30%	4.61%	9.12%
Dartmouth	-13.92%	6.27%	0.83%	-3.10%	9.98%
Harvard	-2.08%	8.78%	4.65%	1.19%	8.21%
MIT	-3.33%	-0.28%	3.90%	6.45%	7.21%
Penn	14.67%	3.90%	4.43%	3.84%	10.07%
Princeton	0.54%	2.44%	7.38%	5.98%	13.89%
Stanford	8.60%	0.76%	3.55%	0.17%	7.66%
Yale	4.46%	-2.25%	4.03%	4.59%	7.31%

26. 1,962 students were admitted to Harvard University in the year 2022. 

27. In the year 2022, 2,071 students were admitted to Stanford University. 

The following table highlights the number of admitted students into Ivy League colleges from the year 2017 to 2022. 

University Name	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Brown	2,649	2,619	2,580	2,919	2,722	2,566
Columbia	2,311	2,291	2,228	2,193	2,185	2,214
Cornell	6,062	6,019	6,234	6,277	5,889	5,288
Dartmouth	2,252	2,220	2,120	2,176	2,092	1,925
Harvard	2,029	2,023	1,990	2,037	2,056	1,962
MIT	1,548	1,419	1,467	1,485	1,438	1,464
Penn	3,785	3,551	3,697	3,661	3,699	3,731
Princeton	1,931	1,939	1,908	1,894	1,890	1,941
Stanford	2,210	2,138	2,144	2,063	2,050	2,071
Yale	1,991	1,935	1,963	1,972	2,272	2,229

28. 4.59% was the admit rate of Harvard University in the year 2022.  

29. 4.36% was the admit rate of the students at Stanford University. 

The following table displays the admit rates of the colleges in the Ivy League from the year 2017 to the year 2022. 

University Name	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Brown	9.16%	8.61%	8.49%	9.01%	8.32%	7.24%
Columbia	6.89%	6.95%	6.15%	6.04%	5.84%	5.51%
Cornell	15.15%	13.98%	14.88%	13.96%	12.52%	10.30%
Dartmouth	10.05%	11.50%	10.34%	10.52%	10.44%	8.74%
Harvard	5.79%	5.90%	5.33%	5.22%	5.20%	4.59%
MIT	8.15%	7.73%	8.01%	7.81%	7.10%	6.74%
Penn	12.10%	9.90%	9.92%	9.41%	9.15%	8.39%
Princeton	7.29%	7.28%	6.99%	6.46%	6.09%	5.49%
Stanford	5.69%	5.07%	5.05%	4.69%	4.65%	4.36%
Yale	6.72%	6.26%	6.49%	6.27%	6.91%	6.31%

30. 14,484 students have been admitted to Boston University in the year 2022. 

31. 15,468 students have been admitted to Michigan University in the year 2022. 

32. 32,291 students applied to Chicago University in the year 2022. 

33. The acceptance rate of Boston University is 22.47%, while that of Boston College is 27.10% in the year 2022.

34. In the year 2022, Virginia University admitted 9,850 students. 

35. 3,116 students were admitted to Duke University in the year 2021. 

36. The admission rate of the students at Caltech University in the year 2021 was 7.15. In the year 2022, it was only 6.55%.

The following table highlights the admission rates, volume of applications, and the number of admitted students in different colleges in the United States in the years 2021 and 2022. 

University	2021 Admit	Volume of application (2021)	2021 Admit rates(%)	2022 Admit	Volume of application (2022)	2022 Admit rates(%)
American	5,421	18,692	29.00	5,496	18,950	29.00
Babson	1,722	7,122	24.18	1,532	6,383	24.00
Boston College	9,200	28,500	32.28	8,400	31,000	27.10
Boston University	15,203	60,815	25.00	14,484	64,473	22.47
BYU	7,317	13,707	53.38	7,668	11,784	65.07
Caltech	525	7,339	7.15	537	8,200	6.55
Carnegie Mellon	4,836	35,740	13.53	7,350	43,169	17.03
Case Western	8,405	25,380	33.12	7,994	26,646	30.00
Chicago	2,419	27,694	8.73	2,329	32,291	7.21
Duke	3,116	34,406	9.06	3,097	37,302	8.30
Emory	5,172	23,694	21.83	5,135	27,759	18.50
Florida	13,214	34,000	38.86	14,866	40,849	36.39
Georgetown	3,313	21,465	15.43	3,327	22,897	14.53
Georgia	13,052	24,165	54.01	12,700	26,500	47.92
Georgia Tech	7,297	31,484	23.18	7,832	35,600	22.00
GWU	11,031	27,000	40.86	11,100	26,555	41.80
Johns Hopkins	3,117	26,578	11.73	2,894	29,128	9.94
Michigan	14,000	58,590	23.89	15,468	65,684	23.55
Northeastern	14,876	54,209	27.44	11,780	62,268	18.92
Northwestern	3,371	37,050	9.10	3,392	40,425	8.39
Notre Dame	3,600	19,565	18.40	3,586	20,370	17.60
NYU	18,520	67,232	27.55	15,722	75,037	20.95
Rice	2,864	18,063	15.86	2,328	20,923	11.13
Tufts	3,128	21,101	14.82	3,143	21,501	14.62
Tulane	7,477	35,605	21.00	6,792	38,813	17.50
UC Berkeley	15,567	85,054	18.30	13,582	89,294	15.21
UC Davis	30,945	70,968	43.60	32,179	77,727	41.40
UC Irvine	31,103	85,097	36.55	27,334	94,866	28.81
UC Los Angeles	16,494	102,232	16.13	16,020	113,409	14.13
UC San Diego	30,204	88,463	34.14	29,577	97,670	30.28
UC Santa Barbara	26,879	81,828	32.85	29,782	92,017	32.37
UNC	9,709	40,918	23.73	9,519	43,472	21.90
USC	9,042	56,676	15.95	8,258	64,256	12.85
Vanderbilt	3,415	31,462	10.85	3,060	34,346	8.91
Villanova	7,605	21,123	36.00	6,568	22,727	28.90
Virginia	9,957	13,071	27.05	9,850	37,222	26.46
Wake Forest	3,604	13,071	27.57	3,600	12,900	27.91
Washington University in St. Louis	4,875	30,464	16.00	4,708	31,320	15.03
William & Mary	5,220	14,915	35.00	5,270	16,640	31.67

Sources: NCES, US news. 

College Enrollment In The United States – Admission Statistics

The college enrollment statistics give an insight into the number of students enrolled in different universities. In the following section, we have listed student enrollment statistics according to the institution type and gender of the students. 

37. 14.77 million have enrolled in public universities, while 5.26 million students have enrolled in private universities in the year 2022. 

The following table gives details about the number of students that have enrolled in public and private colleges over the years. 

Year	Public University	Private University
2000	11.75 million	3.56 million
2005	13.02 million	4.47 million
2010	15.14 million	5.88 million
2011	15.12 million	5.89 million
2012	14.88 million	5.76 million
2013	14.75 million	5.63 million
2014	14.65 million	5.55 million
2015	14.57 million	5.42 million
2016	14.59 million	5.26 million
2017	14.57 million	5.21 million
2018	14.54 million	5.11 million
2019	14.5 million	5.13 million
2020	13.87 million	5.12 million
2021	14.98 million	5.35 million
2022	14.77 million	5.26 million
2025	14.72 million	5.22 million
2028	14.96 million	5.32  million
2030	15.1 million	5.38 million

38. Around 1.22 million male students were enrolled in post-baccalaureate courses in 2020. 

39. 1.92 million female students enrolled in post-baccalaureate courses in the year 2020.

The following table highlights the number of male and female students enrolled in post-baccalaureate courses in U.S. universities over the past years. 

Year	Male	Female
2000	944,000	1,213,000
2005	1,047,000	1,476,000
2010	1,209,000	1,728,000
2011	1,210,000	1,722,000
2012	1,205,000	1,705,000
2013	1,201,000	1,700,000
2014	1,211,000	1,703,000
2015	1,222,000	1,720,000
2016	1,222,000	1,751,000
2017	1,220,000	1,785,000
2018	1,216,000	1,819,000
2019	1,214,000	1,854,000
2020	1,219,000	1,921,000
2021	1,326,000	1,988,000
2022	1,282,000	1,950,000

40. 1.3 million males and 2.03 million females are expected to enroll in post-baccalaureate courses in U.S. universities in the year 2030. 

Sources: NCES. 

Undergraduate Enrollment In The US – Admission Statistics

Student enrollment statistics in the undergraduate course will help high school students know the details about the admission rates of the colleges they are aspiring to enroll in.  Let us take a look at the enrollment rates of undergraduate colleges in the United States. 

41. 20.2 million students enrolled for the undergraduate degree in the academic year 2021- 2022. 

42. In the year 2021-2022, there was a decrease of 800,000 students as compared to the number of students enrolled in the previous year. 

The following table highlights the number of students enrolled in undergraduate courses over the past years. 

Academic Year	Number of Students Enrolled.
2011 – 2012	24.8   million
2012 – 2013	24.1  million
2013 – 2014	23.7  million
2014 – 2015	23.2 million
2015 – 2016	22.8  million
2016 – 2017	22.5 million
2017 – 2018	22.2 million
2018 – 2019	22.1 million
2019 – 2020	21.8 million
2020- 2021	21 million
2021 – 2022	20.2 million

43.  107,300 students of American Indian origin or Alaskan Native heritage in the year 2020 enrolled in universities in the United States.

The following table highlights the number of students of different ethnicity enrolled in colleges in the United States in the year 2020. 

Ethnicity	Number of students	Percent of students Enrolled
White	8,115.2	53.4%
Black	1,998.5	13.1%
Hispanic	3,348.8	20.6%
Asian/Pacific Islander	1,144.2	7.6%
American Indian/ Alaska Native	107.3	0.7%
Two or more races	669	4.3%
Nonresident students	468.9	0.5%

Sources: NCES. 

College Enrollment by Gender

44. According to the data from NCES, in 2024, Compared to around 7.1 million males, about 10 million female undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in colleges.

45. Women outnumbered males in two-year public, four-year public, four-year private nonprofit, and four-year private for-profit institutions.

46. Around 2.3 million women and 1.6 million men were enrolled in private nonprofit universities.

College Enrollment by Age

In the spring of 2024, the average age of full-time undergraduates was approximately 22.5 years old. 

The following table suggests the average age of college students in 2024.

Type of Student	Average Age
Undergraduate Full-time	22.4
Undergraduate part-time	27
Graduate/professional students full-time	30.1
Graduate/professional students Part-time	35.3

College Enrollment by State 

California has the most student enrollment in 2024.

Here is a detailed overview of the college enrollment by state.

State	2024 Enrollment	Percent change from the previous year
California	2,164,387	2.00%
Texas	1,368,427	-2.70%
Multi-state/Primarily Online	1,274,604	2.20%
New York	974,803	-2.00%
Florida	856,732	-1.40%
Pennsylvania	585,758	-2.60%
Illinois	564,498	-2.80%
Ohio	518,511	-1.00%
North Carolina	492,007	-3.10%
Georgia	479,460	-0.20%

Related Read:

• Teaching Statistics
• How Many Colleges Should I Apply
• How Much Do Teachers Earn

1. 14.2 million students were enrolled in undergraduate courses in the year 2023.
2. About 16.9 million students were registered in degree-granting schools and universities in the U.S. in the spring of 2024.
3. About 58% of college students in the spring of 2024 were women. 
4. Having an SAT or ACT score above 50% will help the student in college admissions. 
5. Havard has the least acceptance rate of 3.4%. 
6. According to the US News, the University of California (Los Angeles) has the highest annual volume of applications. In 2024, 108,877 students applied for the admission procedure at the university.
7.  In the year 2022, the admission rate of the students at Caltech University was only 6.7%.
8. Michigan University has an acceptance rate of 20% in 2023. This means 20 out of 100 applicants are accepted.
9. There were 5.26 million enrollments in private universities and 14.77 million enrollments in public universities in the year 2022.
10. 1,282,000 males and 1,950,000 females enrolled in post-baccalaureate courses in the universities of the United States in 2022. 
11. According to the statistics from research.com, since 2020, public universities and colleges have seen an increase of 24% in common applications, while private institutions have increased by 17%.