Eager Early Decision (ED) I applicants logged into their Emory University applicant portals on Dec. 10, 2025, after months of anxiously awaiting to find out whether they would be joining Emory’s Class of 2030.
This year, the University accepted 1,041 students through its binding ED I program. From this pool of admittees, Emory accepted 845 students to the Atlanta campus, 417 students to Oxford College and 221 to both campuses. Emory also announced a cohort of 57 students from QuestBridge, a non-profit organization that matches low-income students to top higher education institutions.
The ED I acceptance rate for the Class of 2030 was 29%, a decrease from last year’s acceptance rate of 31%. Overall, 3,593 students applied through the ED I program, an 8.5% increase from last year’s 3,311 applicants. According to the Emory News Center release, this increase in applications was “record-setting.”
Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admission John Latting praised the “remarkable” backgrounds of the ED I pool in the release.
“The talent base of applicants is bigger and broader than we’ve ever seen,” Latting said.
Latting said one factor contributing to an increase in talent and application numbers was the Emory Advantage Plus program announced in September 2025. Under the expanded program, undergraduate students whose families earn $200,000 or less will attend the University for free, starting in Fall 2026. These full-tuition scholarships apply to current students and the incoming Class of 2030.
Oxford Associate Vice Provost and Dean of Enrollment Services Kelley Lips (02Ox, 04C) said in the release that she was excited to see how the Class of 2030 will shape the University.
“The enthusiasm we saw from this year’s Early Decision I applicants underscores Emory’s appeal to students who want to learn, lead and engage deeply,” Lips said. “Our newest admits bring remarkable promise and wide-ranging perspectives, and we’re excited to support the impact they will make across both campuses.”
Lips said this year, the University received a “record-breaking” amount of applications for the ED I program. Throughout her time in admissions at Emory, Lips said the University’s increasing “brand recognition” has helped Emory attract more prospective students.
Lips attributed this year’s “surge” in ED I applications to the expansion of the Emory Advantage program and applauded the University for alleviating the financial burden for many qualified prospective students for whom tuition prices may have been a prior barrier.
Anika Ramachandran, an ED I admit from Cupertino, Calif., called the moment she opened her acceptance letter “surreal.” Ramachandran said that despite her arrival on campus being months away, she can not wait to meet fellow Class of 2030 students.
“I’m just so excited for the community and also just the friends that I’ll be making, the classes I’ll be taking,” Ramachandran said. “Just the whole experience in general, and what I get to do at Emory, because at Emory you get to do so many things, and I’m really excited for all the opportunities that are there.”
As a prospective biology and English double major, Ramachandran said Emory interested her because of its accessibility for students to pursue “interdisciplinary” opportunities.
“I’m really interested in English, as well as biology, which is my intended major,” Ramachandran said. “I really hope to double major in English as well. And so I liked that Emory was really easy for me to see an intersection and what I could do with both of those fields, thinking to the future, but also at Emory specifically.”
Claudia Lozada, an incoming freshman from Puerto Rico, said she chose Emory after much indecision because it offered a “supportive academic environment” and the opportunity to grow professionally.
“I just felt it in my gut that that’s the place that I really wanted to be at where I could grow academically, while still feeling supported and happy and connected to all the people around me,” Lozada said.
Max Garnock said he is excited to leave Long Island, N.Y., and head south to Atlanta, a city he said offers “endless possibilities.”
“There’s going to be a lot of great opportunities I’m able to use because of Emory’s connections in Atlanta,” Garnock said. “You’re right near such a major city that I feel like there’s going to be so many opportunities that I’ll be able to take advantage of by being in Atlanta.”
Lozada, an aspiring pre-medical track student, shared a similar sentiment about Emory’s location. The University’s proximity to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Emory University Hospital motivated Lozada to apply to Emory to pursue research opportunities.
“Having the Emory hospital so close by, and the CDC and so many research opportunities, so ultimately it was just like a no-brainer for me,” Lozada said.
Garnock said he ultimately chose Emory for its unique opportunities in Atlanta and on campus.
“There were just no other colleges that stood out the way that Emory did, and I just felt so grounded and there were so many real-world opportunities that I saw,” Garnock said. “I just felt like I couldn’t pass up a chance to let the school know that I’m completely committed.”
Luke Stebbins, a Georgia native, said he was excited about the opportunities to meet diverse people.
“I just want to meet so many different people,” Stebbins said. “There’s so many people going for so many different majors, especially because it’s a liberal arts college and there’s just so many options.”
Lips said she is continually impressed by students in each application cycle and that the increase in students applying through Emory’s ED I program means the quality of students the University accepts will continue to improve.
“As Emory continues to have students indicate more and more Emory is their first choice, we are forced with having to tell more students ‘No,’ and they’re really phenomenal students, but it just means that the students that we are admitting are some of the top caliber students in the country right now,” Lips said.
