The 2024-25 U.S. undergraduate application season has reached new heights of competition!
According to the latest report from Common Application, the 2024-25 application season has seen a surge in interest: total applications exceeded 1.39 million, a new record; the number of early applicants increased by 7% year-over-year, intensifying the battle for spots in early rounds.
As an important barometer for U.S. undergraduate admissions, these data not only reflect the white-hot competition of the current season but also offer valuable insights for adjusting future application strategies.
Review of the 2024-25 U.S. Undergraduate Application Season
According to Common App data, during the early application phase of the 2025 U.S. undergraduate cycle, over 1.39 million students submitted applications (+4%), generating a total of over 8.53 million applications (+6%), with each applicant applying to an average of 6.14 institutions (+1%).
Source: Common App
Looking at the overall data, each year sees a new record for U.S. college applications. Breaking it down by application round, early application (EA/ED) has become a popular strategy – both the number of students choosing early options (883,000 in 2024-25, +7%) and the total volume of early applications (EA applications +17%, ED applications +4%) are on the rise, while interest in regular decision (both applicant numbers and application volume) is declining on both fronts.
Source: Common App
Asian Students Remain the Main Force of Applicants
After four consecutive years of growth, the number of international applicants remained largely flat this year. A total of 152,112 international students applied, down 1% from last year, mainly due to a decline from Africa (-17%).
Asia's application numbers continue to far outpace others, and they saw a significant increase compared to last year (+6%).
Source: Common App
Among them, China, which has long held the top spot among international student sources, rebounded for the first time after three consecutive years of decline, with 18,355 applicants in 2024-25, up 6% year-over-year. India remained in second place with 16,145 applicants, an increase of 3%.
Source: Common App
Rising Popularity of Public Universities
In the 2024-25 cycle, both public and private universities saw increased interest. Although private institutions (4,360,680 applications, +2%) still slightly outnumbered public ones in total volume, public universities saw faster growth (4,145,112 applications, +10%).
Source: Common App
Application strategies are becoming more diversified, with “applying to both public and private institutions” emerging as the mainstream. Approximately 833,000 students applied to both types of schools, up 5% from last year, while the proportion applying only to private universities dropped 5%, to just around 205,000.
The Return of Standardized Testing is a Done Deal
The importance of standardized test scores in U.S. undergraduate admissions is on the rise, with a noticeable increase in students choosing to submit scores.
As of March 1, the number of Fall 2025 applicants submitting test scores reached 669,910, an 11% increase from the same period last year, while those not submitting scores declined by 1% year-over-year.
Source: Common App
Top 30 universities have successively reinstated testing requirements—Harvard, MIT, Stanford, UPenn, Caltech, Cornell, among others, all explicitly require or strongly recommend submitting SAT/ACT scores.
Source: Harvard University
According to College Board’s SAT 2024 annual report, over 1.97 million students took the SAT.
Among them, approximately 200,000 Asian/Asian-American test-takers performed exceptionally well in the upper score ranges: 27% scored in the high range (1400-1600), and 31% in the mid-high range (1200-1390).
Source: College Board
With many top institutions still using test scores as a key evaluation metric, a high score serves not only as clear evidence of academic ability but also as a core competitive advantage for breaking through the “admissions rat race.”
Competition for Top Universities Continues to Heat Up
According to CA statistics, competition is fierce at the most selective institutions (admit rate below 25%, roughly Top 20), which attracted over 2.1 million applications for Fall 2025, a 4% increase over last year.
Highly selective schools (admit rate 25-49%, roughly Top 50) saw a 7% increase in applications, with over 1.1 million applicants.
Source: Common App
More selective institutions (admit rate 50-74%) had over 2.15 million applicants, up 6% from last year. These schools are perceived as offering both value and solid recognition among applicants.
Schools with admit rates of 75% or above, while less selective, still face competition from a huge volume of applicants (over 3 million).
Fall 2025 Application Data for U.S. Undergraduate Institutions
Here, CheersYou（清柚教育） has selected several institutions from the University of California system, the Ivy League/Top 10, and Top 30 comprehensive/liberal arts colleges to compile reference data on EA, ED, and RD application and admission results this year.
Ivy League & Top 10 Comprehensive Universities
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
For the Fall 2025 early application cycle, MIT received 12,053 applications (-4%) and admitted 721 students, yielding an admit rate of 5.98%, a slight increase. Meanwhile, the number of applications deferred to regular action decreased from 8,051 in 2024 to 7,486, a 7% decline.
Source: MIT
University of Pennsylvania
In the Fall 2025 early application round, Penn received over 9,500 applications, filling roughly half of its incoming class. Admitted students were selected based on outstanding achievements such as social practice and cross-disciplinary innovation, as well as diverse backgrounds; they will enroll in the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering, the Wharton School, and the School of Nursing.
Source: UPenn
Johns Hopkins University
JHU has admitted 2,525 students for Fall 2025: 793 in two early decision rounds (551 in ED I and 242 in ED II), and 1,732 in the regular decision round (from 39 countries).
Source: JHU
Top 30 Comprehensive Universities / Liberal Arts Colleges
University of Virginia
UVA’s Fall 2025 undergraduate admissions set a new record, with total applications exceeding 64,000, an 8.6% increase over last year’s 58,951. Among them, nearly 7,000 offers were extended in EA, 1,282 students were admitted in ED, and 1,642 were admitted through RD from over 17,000 applications, along with an additional 226 students admitted from the deferred pool.
Source: UVA TODAY
New York University
NYU’s Fall 2025 undergraduate admissions set another record, receiving over 120,000 applications, a 3% increase over the previous cycle (118,000), making it the private university with the highest application volume in the nation. This total is double that of a decade ago, with ED applications alone reaching about 25,000, a 10% year-over-year increase.
Source: NYU
Williams College
Williams College received 15,225 applications for the 2024-25 cycle (964 EA, 14,261 RD), a slight increase, and ultimately admitted 1,313 students (an overall admit rate of 8.5%, slightly up from last year’s historic low of 7.5%). Despite the modest uptick, the college remains highly selective.
Source: The Williams Record
University of California System
According to official UC data, the nine undergraduate campuses received a total of 205,158 freshman applications for Fall 2025, including 32,000 international applicants (16% of the total), an 8.68% increase from last year.
Source: University of California
UCLA, UCSD, and UCI topped the list in application numbers, with UCLA leading at 145,058 total applications (24,200 international). All three campuses received over 20,000 international applications each.
In summary, the 2025 U.S. undergraduate application season is characterized by renewed application enthusiasm coupled with increased admission difficulty. The applicant pool continues to expand, and competition at top institutions is especially intense.
For future application cycles, students must not only focus on academic ability and test scores but also differentiate themselves through diverse background enhancement and flexible application strategies, breaking away from homogeneity to stand out in this fierce battle.
