What is the Brown acceptance rate for the Class of 2030?
5.6%. Brown’s admission numbers page lists 47,944 applications to the undergraduate Class of 2030, 2,687 students admitted and a “5.6% acceptance rate”, with figures that “reflect the most recent data available as of September 2026.” The class entered in fall 2026 with 1,723 first-year students. The Class of 2030 entered in fall 2026; students applying now are applying for fall 2027 entry.
| Measure | Class of 2030 (entered fall 2026) | Class of 2029 (entered fall 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Applications | 47,944 (47,937 on decision day) | 42,774 (42,765 on decision day) |
| Admitted | 2,687 (2,564 on decision day) | 2,710 (2,418 on decision day) |
| Acceptance rate | 5.6% (5.3% on decision day) | 6.3% (5.7% on decision day) |
| Early Decision admits | 890 of 5,406 applicants (16.5%) | 907 of 5,062 applicants (17.9%) |
| First-year students enrolled | 1,723 | 1,719 |
On either basis, the rate fell: from 6.3% to 5.6% on end-of-cycle counts, and from 5.7% to 5.3% comparing one decision day with the next, as applications rose by about 5,200. By residency, Brown’s Common Data Set shows that for fall 2025 it admitted 2,243 of 32,351 out-of-state applicants (6.9%), 63 of 559 Rhode Island applicants (11.3%) and 404 of 9,861 international applicants (4.1%), by our calculation. Our guide to Ivy League acceptance rates compares Brown with the other seven Ivies.
Why does Brown report two acceptance rates for the same class?
Brown announced its decision-day count on March 26, 2026: 1,674 students admitted in regular decision, who joined 890 admitted early decision, for an admitted class of 2,564 “selected from a pool of 47,937 applicants” (Brown News). The admission numbers page, updated in September 2026, lists 2,687 admits and 47,944 applications. The page also lists 889 Early Decision admits, one fewer than the December announcement. Brown does not explain the difference of 123 admits. For the Class of 2029, the end-of-cycle count in Brown’s Common Data Set (2,710) was 292 above the decision-day count (2,418), close to the 295 students Brown admitted from its waiting list that year. Brown does not say whether waitlist admits explain the Class of 2030 gap. In this guide, the 5.6% is the headline figure because it is the latest one Brown has published.
How does Early Decision compare with Regular Decision at Brown?
On Brown’s decision-day figures for the Class of 2030, Early Decision admitted 890 of 5,406 applicants, or 16.5% (Brown News, December 17, 2025). The other 1,674 admits, set against the remaining 42,531 applications, give about 3.9% for everyone else. That second figure is approximate, because deferred early applicants were reviewed again in regular decision. For fall 2025, Brown’s Common Data Set reports 907 Early Decision admits from 5,062 applicants, or 17.9%. What a deferral means at Brown and what to do next are in our guide to being deferred from Brown.
The early pool is self-selected, so the gap does not show that applying early causes admission. Brown says that “The Board of Admission makes the same decisions under Early Decision that it would under the Regular Decision plan” (Brown Early Decision). Early Decision at Brown is binding: an admitted student must withdraw all other applications. In our view, it fits a student for whom Brown is a clear first choice and whose family has checked its likely aid. Our Early Decision acceptance rates guide compares other colleges.
What are the Brown application deadlines for fall 2027?
Brown’s first-year page lists November 1 for Early Decision and January 5 for Regular Decision, and says regular decision applicants “receive a decision by early April” (Brown first-year applicants). Early Decision applicants apply “by November 1 (11:59 p.m. applicant’s local time) and receive a decision by mid-December” (Brown Early Decision). For students applying for fall 2027 entry, the Early Decision deadline of November 1, 2026 has passed, Early Decision applicants receive decisions by mid-December 2026, and regular decision applications are due January 5, 2027.
Does Brown require the SAT or ACT?
Yes. Brown “has returned to a policy requiring standardized test scores (either SAT or ACT scores) for first-year applicants beginning with the 2024-25 admission cycle,” superscores either test and says “There are no minimum scores required to be considered for admission” (Brown standardized tests).
| Test | Enrolled fall 2025 (25th / 50th / 75th percentile) | Admitted Class of 2030 (middle 50%) |
|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 1470 / 1520 / 1550 | 1470 to 1550 |
| ACT composite | 33 / 35 / 35 | 34 to 36 |
Brown’s Common Data Set gives no GPA figures, noting “Brown does not collect GPA” (items C11 and C12), but it rates academic GPA as very important in item C7. Our guide to Brown GPA requirements covers the grade and class rank profile.
What is the Brown transfer acceptance rate?
4.7% for fall 2025. Brown’s Common Data Set 2025-26 reports 3,306 transfer applicants, 154 admitted and 103 enrolled (item D2, Brown Common Data Set, transfer admission). Brown’s transfer pages carry older figures, so the Common Data Set is the most recent official count.
Brown’s Common Data Set 2025-26 says Brown places students on a waiting list, that the list is not ranked, and that it admitted 295 students from the list for fall 2025; why a waitlist admit rate cannot be calculated from those figures and the next steps are in our Brown waitlist guide.
How competitive are PLME and the Brown|RISD Dual Degree?
Brown reports 4,687 applicants and 50 enrolled students for the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME), and 856 applicants and 20 enrolled students for the Brown|RISD Dual Degree, on its admission numbers page. Brown gives enrolled students rather than admits for both programs, so an admit rate cannot be calculated from these figures. Brown describes PLME as “an eight-year continuum that allows students to combine both their undergraduate and medical school education at Brown” (Brown PLME).
How does the Brown acceptance rate compare with peer colleges?
| College | Class of 2030 figures | Class of 2030 (fall 2026) rate | Class of 2029 (fall 2025) rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard | 2,037 of 55,104 | 3.7% | 4.2% |
| Princeton | 1,892 of 46,618 | 4.1% | 4.4% |
| Columbia | 2,585 of 61,031 | 4.2% | 4.9% |
| Yale | Rate stated by Yale (54,956 applicants) | 4.4% | 4.7% |
| Brown | 2,687 of 47,944 | 5.6% | 6.3% |
| Dartmouth | 1,687 of 28,863 | 5.8% | 6.0% |
| Penn | 3,575 reported admits of 61,264 applications | About 5.8% (reported admits) | 4.9% |
| Cornell | 6,040 of 65,514 | 9.2% | 8.4% |
| MIT | Not yet posted | Not yet posted | 4.6% |
| Stanford | Not published | Not published | 3.8% |
On the latest figures, Brown admitted a larger share of applicants than Harvard, Princeton, Columbia and Yale, and about the same share as Dartmouth and Penn. The bases differ from college to college, as the notes under the table explain, so small gaps should not be read as a ranking.
How does Brown financial aid work, and does it offer merit scholarships?
Brown awards need-based aid only, and the Ivy League says “There are no academic or athletic scholarships in the Ivy League” (Ivy League). Brown says it practices “need-blind admission, which means that an applicant’s ability or inability to pay the cost of tuition does not determine our admission decision,” that it “meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need,” and that it has “eliminated packaged loans from all undergraduate financial aid awards” (Brown tuition and aid). Its March 2026 announcement added that “families earning $125,000 or less with typical assets pay no tuition.”
How should families read the Brown acceptance rate?
The view of Oriel Admissions is that 5.6% describes the whole pool, not the chances of any one student, and that Brown should be a reach school for virtually all applicants. In our view, two things matter more than the headline rate. The first is the early round, which accounted for 890 of the 2,564 students admitted by decision day, or 34.7%, and suits only a student who is sure about Brown. The second is fit with the Open Curriculum, which Brown describes as “The flexibility to complete coursework in a variety of fields of study, without general core requirements” (Brown Open Curriculum). The strongest Brown applications show a student who will use that freedom with purpose. Our guide to how to get into Brown covers the application, and our Brown vs Yale comparison weighs two different academic models.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Brown Acceptance Rate
Brown states a 5.6% acceptance rate for the Class of 2030, with 2,687 admitted from 47,944 applications as of September 2026. On decision day in March 2026, Brown announced 2,564 admits from 47,937 applicants, or 5.3%, by our calculation.
Brown reports 2,710 admits from 42,774 applicants for the class that entered in fall 2025, or 6.3%, by our calculation from its Common Data Set 2025-26.
Brown admitted 890 of 5,406 Early Decision applicants to the Class of 2030, or 16.5%, by our calculation. For fall 2025, the rate was 17.9% (907 of 5,062).
The Early Decision deadline was November 1, 2026, with decisions by mid-December. Regular decision applications are due January 5, 2027, with decisions by early April.
Yes. Brown requires the SAT or ACT from first-year applicants, superscores either test and sets no minimum score.
For fall 2025, Brown admitted 154 of 3,306 transfer applicants, or 4.7%, by our calculation from its Common Data Set 2025-26.
No. Brown awards need-based aid only, meets full demonstrated need and does not package loans in its aid awards.
Oriel Admissions suggests treating Brown as a reach school, choosing Early Decision when Brown is a clear first choice, and showing in the application how the student would use the Open Curriculum.
Sources: Brown admission numbers, Brown News, March 26, 2026, Brown News, December 17, 2025, Brown News, March 27, 2025, Brown Common Data Set 2025-2026, admissions, Brown Common Data Set 2025-2026, transfer admission, Brown first-year applicants, Brown Early Decision, Brown standardized tests, Brown tuition and aid, Brown Open Curriculum, Brown PLME, Ivy League, Harvard admissions statistics, Princeton profile, Columbia Class of 2030 Profile, Yale College Class Profile, Fall 2026, Yale News, March 26, 2026, Dartmouth News, March 30, 2026, Penn incoming class profile, The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 2026, Cornell University Factbook, MIT admissions statistics, Harvard Common Data Set 2025-2026, Princeton Common Data Set 2025-2026, Columbia Common Data Set 2025-2026, Yale Common Data Set 2025-2026, Dartmouth Common Data Set 2025-2026, Penn Common Data Set 2025-2026, MIT Common Data Set 2025-2026, Stanford Common Data Set 2025-2026.
About Oriel Admissions
Oriel Admissions is a college admissions consulting firm advising families nationwide on elite university admissions strategy, with offices in Princeton, New Jersey and New York. Our team pairs deep admissions expertise with a distinctive 360 approach spanning academic planning, extracurricular strategy, essays and application execution. To discuss your strategy, schedule a consultation.
