Northwestern acceptance rate drops for sixth consecutive year

Tyler Pager, Campus Editor

Northwestern’s admissions rate hit a record low again this year with only 13 percent of applicants accepted.

The acceptance rate has dropped for the last six consecutive years. Ten years ago, 31 percent of applicants were admitted.

NU accepted 4,187 students for the class of 2019 out of the 32,124 that applied in both the early decision and regular decision rounds. Last year, NU received 33,688 applications and admitted 4,403 students.

The final acceptance rate for the class of 2018 was 13.1 percent. Though it was initially reported as 12.9 percent, admission numbers fluctuate until the final numbers come out during Fall Quarter, Michael Mills, associate provost for University enrollment, said in an email.

In December, the University admitted 1,012 students through early decision, comprising roughly 49 percent of the class.

This year, the accepted pool included a smaller percentage of students — 92.2 percent — in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating classes. Last year, 93.2 percent of accepted students were in the top 10 percent.

Students admitted through the regular decision round were notified Monday and have until May 1 to decide whether they will enroll at NU.

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