News & Notes: Harvard accepts 18 percent of 4,231 early applicants

The university denied admission to 546 applicants and deferred 2,838 applicants to be considered in the regular application pool.

This year’s pool of applicants was uniquely qualified, according to Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons ’67.

“Their academic, extracurricular, and personal promise are remarkable by any standard, and it will be exciting to follow their progress over the next four years and beyond,” Fitzsimmons said in a statement.

This is the first group to be admitted early in Harvard’s newly reinstated early admission program. The college eliminated the early admission process in 2006.

Successful early applicants are not required to commit to Harvard until May 1, the same date that students admitted through regular admission must indicate whether or not they plan to matriculate.

In comparison, Princeton admitted 726 out of 3,443 applicants for the Class of 2016 through single-choice early action. Numbers at most other peer institutions have not yet been released.