Year after year, the admission rates of top U.S. colleges continue to change. As admissions policies and admissions standards change, the speed at which some schools admit applicants is also changing.

In the past few years, national and global events have had a significant impact on many developing industries, including higher education. The college admissions landscape and the admissions rates of many top universities have fluctuated.

Today, Embark mentors will take you to an in-depth analysis of the admissions of some top U.S. universities in 2024.

1.2024 Stanford University Admission Trends

Source: Stanford University official website

Stanford University updated the preliminary statistics for the 2028 freshman admissions on October 1.

In the past few rounds of admissions cycles, Stanford University usually did not release admissions data before the Common Data Set was released. However, due to the ruling on racial admissions announced by the U.S. Supreme Court, many students and parents are interested in the admission results of freshmen, so Stanford University provided preliminary statistics.

Trends 1: A total of 1,704 freshmen enrolled at Stanford University this fall. According to preliminary data: The 2028 freshmen showed great diversity in all aspects. Compared with the previous year, the proportion of international students remained stable at 14%; the proportion of black students and Hispanic/Latinx students decreased slightly...

Trends 2: Stanford University's 2028 students come from all 50 states in the United States and 70 countries around the world. In addition to English, these freshmen can speak 76 unique languages. Among these students, 21% are the first generation of college students in their families. The proportion of male and female students is 49% and 51% respectively.

Trends 3: In terms of the high school attributes of the 2028 freshmen, 56% of the freshmen attend public high schools in the United States, 28% attend private, religious or family schools in the United States, and 16% attend international schools.

In the 2025 U.S. News National Comprehensive University Rankings, Stanford University ranks #4. For the 2025 Fall application season, the school's REA round deadline is November 1, and the results will be announced in mid-December; the RD round deadline is January 5, and the results will be announced in early April.

2.2024 Northwestern University Admission Trends

Source: Northwestern University Official Website

With the start of Northwestern University's 2024-2025 academic year undergraduate program, the school welcomed more than 2,100 freshmen in the 2028 class, as well as more than 250 transfer students.

Trends 1: Freshmen come from all 50 states and Puerto Rico, and 90 different countries around the world. About 13% of the students in the class are international citizens, setting a new record for the university. The entire 2028 freshman class comes from more than 1,400 high schools around the world and speaks more than 90 different languages.

Trends 2: The 2028 freshmen still adhere to diversity, and some historically underrepresented groups are seen, such as black or African Americans account for 15.4%, Hispanics or Latinos account for 17.5%, Native Americans account for 2.4%, and first-generation college students account for 16%.

Northwestern University has just ranked #6 in the 2025 U.S. News National Comprehensive University Rankings, the highest ranking ever. The school's president, Michael Schill, said: "Northwestern University is a great place to study in part because it has a diverse student body, where students can be exposed to different perspectives."

For the 2025 Fall application season, the school's ED round deadline is November 1, and the results will be announced in December; the RD round deadline is January 2, and the results will be announced in March.

In the 2024 Fall application season, a total of about 50,000 people applied to Northwestern University, with an overall admission rate of 7.5%. After being admitted, freshmen will study in six undergraduate colleges at Northwestern University, with more than 75 majors to choose from, ranging from classics to chemistry, black studies to biology, dance to data science, and so on.

Many freshmen will also pursue dual degree programs at Northwestern University, such as combining music theory and environmental engineering or drama and biomedical engineering. About 6% of students also said that they are "undecided on a major" and will make full use of the university's flexible interdisciplinary curriculum after admission for in-depth exploration.

3.2024 Cornell University Admission Trends

Source: Cornell University official website

Cornell University's 2028 admission class includes 3,574 freshmen, 53.3% of whom are women. Freshmen come from all states in the United States, including Washington, DC and Puerto Rico; they also come from 57 countries around the world, of which 16.3% are first-generation college students in their families. These 2028 freshmen have a wide range of interests, ranging from art to politics, from science to entrepreneurship.

Trends 1: Racial diversity is also a concern in the data released by Cornell University. Among the freshmen of the class of 2028, there are 380 international students, accounting for 10.6%. Among the native American students, there are 1,140 whites, accounting for 31.9%; 1,022 Asians, accounting for 28.6%; 335 Hispanics, accounting for 9.4%; and 154 blacks, accounting for 4.3%...

Trends 2: In the early application ED round of Fall 2024, Cornell University received 9,973 applications, and the school admitted 1,661 people. The final number of ED admissions was 1,612, and the early application ED admission rate was 16.65%; in the regular application RD round, Cornell University received 55,639 applications, and the school admitted 3,467 people. The final number of RD admissions was 1,639 people, and the regular application RD admission rate was 6.23%.

Trends 3: On the waitlist, Cornell University sent out waiting notices to 8,103 students, and 6,190 students accepted. Later, 388 students on the waiting list were regularized, and 323 were admitted.

Therefore, Cornell University received a total of 65,612 applications in Fall 2024, admitted 5,516 of them, and finally enrolled 3,574 people, with an overall admission rate of 8.41% and an enrollment rate of about 65%.

In the 2025 U.S. News National Comprehensive University Rankings, Cornell University ranked #11, tied with the University of Chicago; at the same time, it surpassed Brown University, Columbia University, and Dartmouth College, which are also Ivy League schools. In the 2025 Fall application season, Cornell University's ED round deadline is November 1, and the results will be announced in mid-December; the RD round deadline is January 2, and the results will be announced in early April.

4.2024 Dartmouth College Admission Trends

Source: Dartmouth College official website

As one of the eight Ivy League schools, Dartmouth College has been consistently ranked in the top 20 comprehensive universities in the United States by U.S. News. The school's 2028 freshmen have 1,183 students, 554 of whom are female and 610 are male. Freshmen come from 1,003 high schools around the world, including public schools, private schools, and religious schools, and 93% of the freshmen are in the top ten of their high school class.

Trends 1: 17% of Dartmouth College's 2028 freshmen are first-generation college students in their families. International students account for 16%.

Trends 2: In terms of racial diversity, among native American students, whites account for 47.8%, Asians account for 21.7%, domestic people of color account for 45.6%, Hispanics account for 12.6%, and blacks or African Americans account for 10.5%...

Trends 3: In the 2024 Fall application season, a total of 31,656 students applied to Dartmouth College, and the school admitted 1,710 people, with an overall admission rate of 5.4%. 49% of students were admitted in advance through the early application round.

In the 2025 Fall application season, Dartmouth College's ED round deadline is November 1, and the result notification is in mid-December; the RD round deadline is January 2, and the result notification is in late March or early April.

5.2024 Harvard University Admission Trends

Source: Harvard University official website

In the last round of the 2023-2024 application season, Harvard University received a total of 54,008 freshman applications, from which 1,937 students were admitted, including 692 students admitted in the early application stage and 1,245 students admitted in the regular application round; the overall admission rate was 3.59%.

Trends 1: Among these admitted students, 84% decided to enter Harvard University in the fall of 2024, and the admission rate increased slightly from last year. This means that Harvard University is still the first choice for outstanding students around the world.

Trends 2: The school believes that generous financial aid is one of the key reasons for the increase in enrollment. About 55% of freshmen will receive Need-based Financial Aid, and the average income of parents of students receiving financial aid is $15,500. In the Class of 2028, first-generation students account for 20.3% of the class. 20.4% of the freshmen are Pell Grant recipients, and 29.4% of the students apply for application fee waivers.

Trends 3: In terms of the ratio of male to female students, 53.2% of the freshmen class are female and 46.8% are male. In addition, 13 transfer students will join Harvard University's undergraduate college this fall.

Trends 4: International students come from 94 countries, accounting for 16.7% of the total number of freshmen. Domestic freshmen come from all 50 states and territories in the United States: New England (17%); Mid-Atlantic (20.2%); South (16.1%); Midwest (9%); Mountain (2.5%); Pacific (14.9%); Central (1.6%); and U.S. territories (0.4%).

Trends 5: In terms of intended fields of study, 36.9% of freshmen intend to major in social sciences, and 12% of students express an interest in humanities. More than 25% of students expressed an interest in science (15.5% of students are interested in life sciences, 10% of students are interested in physical sciences), and 22.9% of students are interested in computer science and engineering. Only 1.7% of students said they have not yet decided what to major in.

After understanding the basic situation of Harvard University's 2028 freshman class, if you are a member of the freshman class or plan to apply to Harvard University in the future, you might as well take a look at Harvard University's recommended 2024 summer reading list to expand your knowledge reserves!

6.2024 Yale University Admission Trends

Source: Yale University official website

A survey distributed to all students in the 2028 freshman class showed that this group of Yale University freshmen came from different backgrounds and had a wide range of interests. The following is a summary of data submitted by 541 freshmen.

Trends 1: In terms of gender, 51% are female and 47% are male.

Trends 2: In terms of freshman diversity, 54.9% of U.S. citizens/permanent residents are white, 30.0% are Asian, 19.4% are Hispanic, and 13.1% are black. More than 20% of respondents selected more than one racial/ethnic identity.

Trends 3: In addition, among the respondents, international students accounted for 12%; first-generation college students accounted for 19%; and alumni children accounted for 17%. These Yale 2028 freshman class students come from 47 states in the United States and 27 countries around the world. 57% of them are from suburbs, 30% from large cities, and 13% from rural areas.

In the United States, New York, California, and Texas are the states with the most students from Yale University in 2028; on the contrary, no students among the respondents are from Utah, Oregon, and Tennessee.

Trends 4: In terms of the source of international students at Yale University, the number of students in the Class of 2028 from China, the United Kingdom, Canada and Ukraine is large.

Trends 5: The official also announced the family income and financial aid of the students in the Class of 2028. About 56% of the respondents received financial aid from Yale University or external organizations such as Questbridge or the Gates Foundation.

Trends 6: Among the students in the Class of 2028 who were admitted to Yale after being admitted, 43% of the students were admitted through the early application stage, 49% of the students were admitted through the regular application stage, and 2.2% of the students were admitted from the waitlist.

During the application process, 91% of the respondents said that they had experienced an interview at Yale University. Compared with students admitted as athletes, only 1% of the respondents admitted as non-athletes received a Likely Letter from Yale University.

Of course, about half of these students who were able to be admitted to Yale University were admitted to at least one Ivy League university, Duke University, MIT or Stanford University.

75% of respondents listed Yale University as their first choice, and MIT and Stanford University were the most popular choices besides Yale University.

Trends 7: In terms of high school performance, 57% of respondents said that their grades when they graduated ranked in the top 5% of their high school class.

83.5% of students studied AP/IB courses in high school. In AP subjects, the average number of subjects studied by respondents was 8.87, and the median was 9; in IB subjects, the average number of subjects studied by respondents was 7.64, and the median was 7.

Although Yale University implemented the standard admissions policy in the 2023-2024 application season,Although the school has adopted a selective policy, more than 76% of freshmen still choose to submit their standardized test scores.

The average SAT score of students who submitted scores is 1,550 points, and the average ACT score is 35 points.

Trends 8: After admission, 56.2% of these 2028 freshmen plan to study STEM fields, 43.3% are considering social sciences, 21.2% of students will participate in humanities and social sciences, and 8.4% of students are undecided, and 3.2% of students are uncertain.

The school also conducted a special survey: 41.3% of respondents have a negative view of Harvard University, indicating that the competitive relationship between Yale University and Harvard University is still active among the freshmen of the 2028 class.

7.2024 California Institute of Technology Admission Trends

Source: California Institute of Technology official website

Caltech received 13,863 freshman applications in the 2023-2024 application season, admitted 315 people, and the overall admission rate was 2.27%. The number of students admitted was 222, and the admission rate was 70.48%.

View source

Trends 1: The majors chosen by students are: computer science, mechanical engineering, bioengineering, electrical engineering, biology, astrophysics, physics, applied and computational mathematics, mathematics, and chemical engineering.

Trends 2: In terms of high school class ranking, 89% of freshmen are ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class. The first generation of college students accounts for 15%. The gender of male and female students is 50%.

Trends 3: Among the 2028 freshman class at Caltech, 19% of U.S. citizens/permanent residents are white, 41% are Asian, 10% are Hispanic, and 5% are black. Most of these students are from California, with 29%.

Trends 4: In addition to the United States, the countries of origin of freshmen include Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Ghana, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, etc.

8.2024 Washington University in St. Louis Admission Trends

Source: Washington University in St. Louis official website

In the 2024 Fall admission application season, Washington University in St. Louis received 32,754 applications, and the school admitted 3,950 people, with an overall admission rate of 12.06%. The number of admitted students was 1,851, with an admission rate of 46.86%.

The official website also announced that the early application acceptance rate last year was 25%, and the regular application acceptance rate was 8%. Washington University in St. Louis is a top 30 comprehensive university with a very friendly early application acceptance rate. The school's early application has two rounds of ED 1 and ED 2. Students who want to apply may wish to seize the opportunity!

Trends 1: 52% of these 1,851 freshmen in 2028 are female and 48% are male. First-generation college students account for 18%. International students account for 11%. Among US citizens/permanent resident students, 37% are white, 26% are Asian, 12% are Hispanic, and 8% are black or African American...

Trends 2: In terms of standardized score performance, the SAT of the 2028 freshman class is: 1500-1570; ACT: 33-35. 55% of freshmen submitted standardized test scores. In terms of high school grades, 86% of students ranked in the top 10% of their high school class.

9.2024 Columbia University Admission Trends

Source: Columbia University official website

In the 2023-2024 application season, a total of 60,248 students applied to Columbia University, and the school admitted 2,327 people, with an overall admission rate of 3.86%. Among them, 6,008 students participated in Columbia University's early application round.

Trends 1: Admitted students often demonstrate their strong interdisciplinary academic strength in their application materials, and 94% of admitted students rank in the top 10% of their high school graduating class.

Trends 2: In terms of standardized test scores, Columbia University adopts a standardized optional policy. For students who choose to submit scores, the SAT score is 1520-1560 and the ACT score is 34-36. Students who choose not to submit standardized test scores will not be at a disadvantage in the admissions process.

Trends 3: Columbia University's 2028 freshman class consists of 1,499 admitted students. 20% of freshmen are the first generation of college students in their families; 51% are female and 47% are male.

Trends 4: In terms of racial diversity, international students account for 17% of Columbia's 2028 freshman class, from 93 countries or regions around the world. Among native American students, 49% are white, 39% are Asian or Pacific Islander, 19% are Hispanic or Latino, and 12% are black or African American...

Trends 4: These 2028 students at Columbia have a wide range of interests and hobbies. 29% of freshmen are interested in mathematics and natural sciences, 24% are interested in engineering, 24% are interested in social sciences, and 23% are interested in arts and humanities.

10.2024 Brown University Admission Trends

Source: Brown University official website

In the 2023-2024 application season, Brown University received a total of 48,904 applications and admitted 2,638 people, with an overall admission rate of 5.39%. Among them, 898 students were admitted in advance through the early application round, and 6,244 people applied for early application, with an early application admission rate of 14%.

Brown University has a high quality of education, with a teacher-student ratio of 1:6, and all professors will teach undergraduates. In the class, 69% of undergraduate students have less than 20 students, which is a small class teaching. Students will have a lot of time to communicate face-to-face with excellent faculty and staff.

Trends 1: The academic performance of students admitted to Brown is also worth mentioning. 92% of them are ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class. Brown University's 2028 freshman class consists of 1,724 admitted students.

Trends 2: In the Brown | RISD Dual Degree program, 953 people applied and 14 were admitted; in the PLME program, 4,251 people applied and 63 were admitted.

Trends 3: The school also announced the standardized test scores submitted by the class of 2028, as shown below. Basically, half of the admitted students have SAT scores of 1520-1570 and ACT scores of 34-36.

In addition, Brown University also stated that within 10 years after graduation, 80% of students will continue their studies through graduate school or professional studies. The school's 81% medical school acceptance rate and 81% law school acceptance rate are both much higher than the national average.

11.2024 Johns Hopkins University Admission Trends

Source: Johns Hopkins University

In the 2023-2024 application season, Johns Hopkins University received a total of 45,134 applications and admitted 2,558 people, with an overall admission rate of 5.67%. Among them, the school admitted 550 people in the ED1 round and 259 people in the ED2 round; 38,100 people participated in the regular application stage, and the school admitted 1,749 people, with a regular application admission rate of 4.59%.

Trends 1: The school briefly announced the situation of the 2028 freshman class, which consists of 1,288 admitted students, 20% of whom are first-generation college students in their families. 99% of the admitted students ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class; the unweighted average GPA score in school is 3.95. In terms of standardized test scores, SAT scores are between 1530-1570, and ACT scores are between 34-36.

Trends 2: In terms of racial diversity, international students account for 15% of the 2028 freshman class at Johns Hopkins University; among American students, whites account for 34.1%, Asians account for 46%, Hispanics account for 10.7%, and blacks account for 5.7%...

12.2024 Princeton University Admission Trends

Source: Princeton University

Princeton University will welcome 1,411 freshmen in the 2028 admission class in the fall semester of 2024.

Trends 1: Among the students in this class, girls account for 50.8% and boys account for 49.2%. 16.3% of the students are the first generation of college students in their families, and 11.2% are children of alumni.

Trends 2: The standardized test scores of the 2028 freshman class are in the 1510-1580 range for SAT and 34-35 for ACT. View source

In the application materials submitted, 65.8% of the 2028 students said they would pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree at Princeton University, 28.5% were interested in the university's Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and the rest were undecided. View details.

Trends 3: In terms of student diversity, the 2028 freshmen come from 48 states and Washington, D.C., with 31.3% white, 23.8% Asian, 9.0% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% black or African American... International students account for 12%, from 56 countries and regions around the world.

Trends 4: In addition, there are 36 transfer students who will be enrolled in the fall semester of 2024 with the 2028 freshman class. They also join the undergraduate community of Princeton University. This is the largest number of transfer students at Princeton University since the resumption of transfer applications in the fall of 2018.

Officially, 23 of the 36 transfer students have served in the US military; 26 students are from community colleges in New Jersey or New York. So in fact, the number of admissions that ordinary transfer students can compete for can be basically determined to be around 10.

In the 2024-2025 application season, Princeton University's early application deadline is November 1, 2024, and the result notification is in mid-December; the regular application deadline is January 1, 2025, and the result notification is in late March. The school has extended the temporary test-optional policy to the 2024-2025 application season.

13.2024 University of Pennsylvania Admission Trends

Source: University of Pennsylvania

The data cannot represent every admitted student. The school is interested in "who you are and what makes you unique."

The 2028 class of Penn was selected from 65,236 applicants, with 2,396 freshmen admitted. 51% of the freshmen were admitted to Penn through early application!

Trends 1: 46% of freshmen are male and 53% are female. 19% of freshmen are the first generation of college students in their families.

Trends 2: The home addresses of the 2028 freshmen of Penn cover 92 countries around the world, and 15% of them live outside the United States. There are 149 people from Philadelphia, USA, accounting for 6% of the freshman class.

Trends 3: In terms of standardized scores, freshmen who choose to submit scores have SAT scores between 1510-1560 and ACT scores between 34-36. Specifically, 88% of freshmen submitted SAT scores between 1500-1600, and 71% of freshmen submitted ACT scores between 35-36.

Trends 4: Students applying to Penn will participate in many activities in middle school, demonstrating their pursuit of knowledge, social contribution and life goals. The official list of activities for the 2028 freshmen is for reference only, including:

① 95% of freshmen achieve personal development through sports, career preparation, work and internships;

② 94% of freshmen have an impact on the community through fulfilling family responsibilities, volunteer/community service, environment and social justice;

③ 79% of freshmen are committed to learning through academic activities, research, speech/debate teams, technology, etc.;

④ 67% of freshmen engage in cultural exchanges through activities such as art, dance, religion, drama and foreign exchanges.

The Daily Pennsylvanian also introduced five students who were admitted through the regular application round of Penn in 2023-2024, and the reasons for choosing Penn.

14.2024 Duke Admission Trends

Source: Duke University

Duke's 2028 class consists of 1,733 students from 87 countries around the world and 50 states in the United States. Women account for about 53% of the class. About 15% of freshmen are from North Carolina - the most in the United States.

Among the American students in this group of undergraduate freshmen, whites account for about 52%, about 29% are of Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander descent, 14% are Hispanic/Latino, and 13% are black...

Duke University announced the admission data for the 2023-2024 application season: the overall acceptance rate of the class of 2025 is 5.7%, the overall acceptance rate of the class of 2026 is 6.2%, the overall acceptance rate of the class of 2027 is 6.3%, and the overall acceptance rate of the class of 2028 is 5.15%

In the 2024-2025 application season, the University of Pennsylvania's early application deadline is November 4, 2024, and the result notification is in mid-December; the regular application deadline is January 2, 2025, and the result notification is in late March/early April. The school also extended the temporary test-optional policy to the 2024-2025 application season.

15.2024 MIT Admission Trends

Source: MIT official website

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced the details of the admissions of the class of 2028, that is, the 2023-2024 application season, on its official website. Throughout the admissions process, MIT will consider quantitative factors such as standardized tests and academic performance, as well as non-quantitative factors such as the match between the applicant and the school. Therefore, the official also emphasized: "These numbers do not fully represent the admission process, but are the results of admission."

In the 2023-2024 application season, MIT received a total of 28,232 applications, admitted 1,284 students, and the overall admission rate was 4.5%.

In the EA early application stage, the school received 12,563 applications, admitted 661 people, and the early application admission rate was 5%. In the early application stage, 8,051 applicants were postponed to the regular application round for consideration, and 206 of these people were successfully "picked up" by the university.

In the RD regular application stage, the school received 15,669 regular application materials. Together with the 8,051 students whose early applications were defer, there were a total of 23,720 application materials, and the school admitted 614 people.

It is known that 206 students who were Defer in the early application were admitted. In the regular application materials, MIT only admitted 408 people, and the regular application acceptance rate was 2.6%.

It is strongly recommended that students and parents who want to apply to MIT complete their application materials in the early application stage and seize the opportunity! If you need help, you can consult Embark tutors.

In the regular application stage, in addition to Admit and Reject, students may also be placed on the Waitlist. MIT put 590 students on the waiting list, and 9 of them were successfully converted to regular students.

MIT also distinguishes between the application and admission of US citizens/permanent resident students and international students. There were 21,515 US citizens/permanent resident students who applied, and the school admitted 1,155 people; there were 6,717 international students who applied, and 129 were admitted, and the international student admission rate was 1.92%.

MIT is a prestigious school that resumed the "standardized test score requirements" earlier. In the 2023-2024 application season, the median SAT score is 1520-1580; the median ACT score is 35-36. Students should not be careless, and they still need to get ideal standardized test scores.

After looking at the application and admission data of students in Fall 2024, we will then learn about the corresponding 2028 freshman class.

Trends 1: Among MIT's upcoming September freshmen, boys account for 50% and girls account for 46%. Fall 2023 is 49% boys and 48% girls.

Trends 2: 20% of the 2028 students are the first generation of college students in their families. In terms of racial diversity, MIT's international students account for 11%, from 59 countries around the world. Among US citizens/permanent resident students, Asians account for 47%, exceeding the 37% of whites.

Trends 3: From the perspective of school education: 67% are from public schools, 14% are from private schools, 7% are from religious schools, and 10% are from foreign schools. Among MIT's 2028 students, the most common names are Eric and Sophia, and the most representative American state is California.

The above data show that different schools' coping strategies in the face of fluctuations in the number of applicants and policy changes also reflect the changes in the attractiveness and competitiveness of prestigious schools to applicants.

The following factors may lead to potential changes in the admission rate of the class of 2025:

First, demographics have a significant impact. The United States has been experiencing a period of "population decline". Due to the low birth rate from 2004 to 2007, the overall number of high school graduates has decreased. This trend is expected to continue to affect the number of college applications in the coming years.

In addition, due to the recent global chaos, including the continued impact of the post-epidemic era, more and more students are beginning to consider online courses, gap years or other alternative paths, and students' admission preferences may have more changes.

Another influencing factor that needs to be considered is that due to the Test-Optional policy adopted by many universities, the number of students applying to highly selective universities is increasing. While some schools, such as Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown, Purdue, Yale, UT Austin, and Caltech, have resumed requiring standardized tests, many other schools, such as Columbia, Princeton, Stanford, Penn, Johns Hopkins, NYU, UChicago, UNC-Chapel Hill, MIT, USC, UW-Madison, Wisconsin, and Drexel, remain test-optional.

This also means that more students will apply to these schools. Because some students will feel more confident in their applications when they are not restricted by standardized test scores, and an increase in the number of applicants will inevitably reduce the acceptance rate.

In addition, there are many factors that affect the acceptance rate of colleges from year to year, including but not limited to fluctuations in the number of applicants, changes in the goals of institutions, and broader trends in higher education.

In this process, the most important thing is not to let trends "dictate" your application process choices. Even those highly competitive colleges that have seen their acceptance rates decline year after year, they still evaluate each student comprehensively.

Make a school list that suits you, make sure to submit the best application, highlight your strengths and interests, and then submit it to each school that suits you.

For high school students, on the one hand, they need to improve their standardized test scores, and on the other hand, they need to actively participate in some extracurricular activities to fully demonstrate their interests and strengths. How can high school students find extracurricular activities that suit them?

Embark was founded in 2016 and is an educational institution focusing on customized scientific research training for teenagers. The core team members are master's and doctoral graduates from prestigious American universities. There are currently over 3,000 mentors from world-renowned schools such as the Ivy League, MIT, California Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, Carnegie Mellon University, and others. Embark provides one-on-one academic research guidance, customizing research topics based on students' interests. Embark helps them systematically develop research skills, establish correct research thinking frameworks, connect research to real-world applications, appreciate the charm of research, and improve their problem-solving abilities, thereby supporting their college applications. For more information, please visit the Embark Exploration Program. If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to contact us. We will be happy to assist and discuss possible collaboration opportunities.