On April 6, precisely at 7 pm Eastern Time, thousands of high school seniors, along with their relatives, crowded around computer screens to view a life-changing response. Ivy Day is always a nerve-wracking experience for applicants, considering the highly selective admission process. However, Ivy Day 2021 was unlike any other year, bringing in record-low acceptance rates from the 8 prestigious schools. Harvard’s acceptance rate dropped to a historic low from 4.92% in 2020 to 3.43%. Yale admitted yet another record 4.62% compared to last year’s 6.5%. See below for the full statistics compared to the 2020 rates from last year:

Harvard: 

2021 Overall Acceptance Rate: 3.43%

2020 Overall Acceptance Rate: 4.92%

Yale:

2021 Overall Acceptance Rate: 4.62%

2020 Overall Acceptance Rate: 6.5%

Princeton:

2021 Overall Acceptance Rate: 3.98%

2020 Overall Acceptance Rate: 5.6%

Columbia:

2021 Overall Acceptance Rate: ~3.5%

2020 Overall Acceptance Rate: 6.1%

Dartmouth:

2021 Overall Acceptance Rate: 6.17%

2020 Overall Acceptance Rate: 7.9% (previous record low)

Brown:

2021 Overall Acceptance Rate: 5.4%

2020 Overall Acceptance Rate: 6.9%

UPenn:

2021 Overall Acceptance Rate: 4.26%

2020 Overall Acceptance Rate: 8.1%

Cornell:

2021 Overall Acceptance Rate: ~9%

2020 Overall Acceptance Rate: 10.7% 

So what exactly is the source of the drop in acceptance rates? Not only did the admissions drop in the Ivy League schools, but many other colleges nationally were affected as well. One explanation stems from none other than the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the virus, colleges were unable to perceive a holistic view of their applicants as they were before. Many high schools updated their policies in grading and canceled extracurriculars, causing students to lose opportunities in internship and coursework. SATs and ACTs were deemed optional to submit, causing colleges to have a skewed overall idea of the students’ high school careers. In addition, the decision to revoke the previously required submission of standardized testing scores caused a surge in the number of applicants to highly selective schools: Harvard received 43% more applicants than 2020, Yale’s rose 33%, Princeton increased 12.6%, Columbia’s soared 51%, Dartmouth 33%, Brow 29.4%, UPenn’s 25.07%, and Cornell gained 36% more. This extreme rise in applicants, along with the challenges brought by the pandemic, has made the 2021 college admissions process one of the most competitive in history. 

Source: https://www.ivycoach.com/the-ivy-coach-blog/ivy-league/2020-2021-ivy-league-admissions-statistics/