Yale admits 728 early action applicants, matches 66 QuestBridge finalists
Yale College has offered admission to 728 applicants for the Class of 2029 through its early action program, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions announced on Dec. 17.
Among all 6,729 early action applicants, 17% were deferred for reconsideration in the spring, 71% were denied admission, and 1% were withdrawn or incomplete.
“Members of the admissions committee were impressed by the breadth and depth of achievements, experiences, interests, and ambitions among our early action applicants.” said Jeremiah Quinlan, dean of undergraduate admissions and financial aid. “We look forward to considering and offering admission to many more outstanding applicants through the upcoming regular decision round.”
Earlier this month, Yale College also admitted 66 students through the QuestBridge College Match program. QuestBridge is a national nonprofit organization that connects high-achieving students from lower-income backgrounds with selective colleges and universities. This year, QuestBridge matched a record 2,627 students at 52 partner schools.
At Yale, students admitted through the QuestBridge Match program qualify for the university’s most generous financial aid award — a “zero parent share” award. In addition to covering the full cost of tuition, housing, and meals, Yale will provide hospitalization insurance coverage and a $2,000 start-up grant in each student’s first year.
All admitted students from families with less than $75,000 in annual income — and typical assets — also qualify for the same “zero parent share” awards. Yale College meets 100% of demonstrated financial need, regardless of citizenship or immigration status without requiring students or their families to take out loans. Among the 1,554 students in the current first-year class, 58% are receiving a Yale need-based financial award with an average scholarship of $74,146.
Applicants for the current admissions cycle are the first to apply to Yale with a new flexible testing policy that allows students to submit one or more types of tests from four options: ACT, SAT, Advanced Placement (AP), and International Baccalaureate (IB). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the admissions office had made standardized test scores optional for students who applied to enroll in 2021 through 2024.
Quinlan said that the new policy was helping the Admissions Committee identify strong applicants from a wide range of contexts. “I have been pleased to see that students are taking advantage of the flexibility our new policy offers and are using the opportunity to present strong evidence of their academic preparedness,” he said.
In announcing Yale’s new policy last February, Quinlan wrote: “Our applicants are not their scores, and our selection process is not an exercise in sorting students by their performance on standardized exams. We think the [new test-flexible] policy better reflects how we consider scores: in combination with other information, mindful of a student’s high school environment, and with the flexibility to admit those promising students whose scores don’t fully represent their potential.”
Quinlan also attributed the small decrease in the size of the early action applicant pool compared with last year’s to the change in testing policy. The size of the shift was, he said, “exactly in line with what we anticipated following the policy change.” The number of early action applicants this cycle was approximately 17% higher compared with 2019-20 — the most recent cycle in which Yale required standardized testing of all applicants.
The admissions office has invited all newly admitted students to visit campus in April 2025 for Bulldog Days, a three-day immersive experience of life at Yale, or Bulldog Friday, a one-day program offering campus tours, panels, academic forums, and student performances. The admissions office will also host virtual events and sponsor online communities to help admitted students connect with each other and with the Yale community prior to Bulldog Days.
Admitted students from lower-income families receive financial support to visit campus during Bulldog Days so that they can experience campus life before replying to their offers of admission. Last year the admissions office’s Yale Travel Program offered grants to more than 600 admitted students.
Beginning in January, the admissions office will turn its attention to the much larger group of applicants who opt to apply through the regular decision program. Those students will receive their admissions decisions on March 27.
