Emory University
Source: emory.md
Emory University
Admissions (Class of 2029 / Fall 2025)
- Total applicants: 33,500
- Overall acceptance rate: 10.3%
- Early round: Early Decision — 20.0% vs 7.5% RD
- Class size: 1,400
- Yield: 25%
Academics
- SAT middle 50%: 1480–1540
- ACT middle 50%: 33–35
- Avg unweighted GPA: 3.88
- Top 10% of HS class: 90%
- Testing policy: Test-optional
Demographics
- Women: 56.5%, Asian: 15.4%, Black: 10.0%, Hispanic: 5.9%, White: 44.9%, International: 16.0%
Financial Aid / Net Cost
| Income Bracket |
Net Price |
| $0–$30,000 |
$14,637 |
| $30,001–$48,000 |
$15,069 |
| $48,001–$75,000 |
$20,371 |
| $75,001–$110,000 |
$27,025 |
| Over $110,000 |
$45,221 |
Athletics
NCAA Division III — no athletic scholarships.
Notable
Strong pre-med with Emory Hospital adjacent. Two campuses: Emory College (Atlanta) and Oxford College. Low yield (25%) — used as safety/backup.
Admissions Strategy
- ED I is strongly favored: 31% ED I vs 10% ED II vs ~7% RD. Emory fills ~60% of its class through ED rounds. Forum consensus: "ED I is basically required if Emory is a top choice."
- ED II acceptance rate (10%) is barely better than RD — forums warn against treating ED II as a meaningful boost.
- Emory is among the schools most commonly accused of yield protection on forums (alongside Tufts, WashU, Northeastern). With only 25% yield, it's heavily used as a backup by Ivy applicants.
- Does NOT consider demonstrated interest per CDS — but ED commitment is the de facto interest signal.
- College Confidential thread documents past controversy: Emory admitted to reporting accepted students' stats rather than enrolled students' stats in 2012, inflating published score ranges.
Campus Culture & Fit
- Strong pre-med reputation due to Emory Hospital adjacency. Pre-med culture is intense and widely discussed on forums.
- Two campuses: Emory College (Atlanta) and Oxford College (Oxford, GA — smaller, liberal-arts-focused first two years). Oxford admits sometimes feel "second-tier" per forum discussions.
- CC thread "Several Concerns About Emory" raised: low med school acceptance rate (54% vs 86% at Bowdoin), high freshman transfer-out rate, and low yield as evidence students view Emory as backup.
- Atlanta location praised for internship access, food scene, and affordability. Druid Hills campus is suburban and self-contained.
- D3 athletics mean limited sports culture. Greek life is moderate but present.
Financial Aid Reputation
- Meets 100% of demonstrated need, but net cost data shows it's less generous than top peers: $14.6K for families under $30K (vs $4–8K at HYPSM/Vandy/Rice).
- No merit scholarships tied to general admissions. Emory Scholars Program is highly competitive (separate application).
- Forums describe aid as "adequate but not generous" — middle-income families face high net costs.
Simulation-Relevant Takeaways
- Model ED I multiplier as very high (~4.4x based on 31% vs 7% RD). ED II provides minimal advantage over RD.
- Very low yield (25%) is the strongest indicator of yield protection behavior — model should significantly penalize overqualified RD applicants.
- Heavy pre-med self-selection creates distinct applicant profile. Oxford College pathway creates a two-tier perception.
Sources
- Emory University Common Data Set 2024–2025
- research_colleges.json simulation data
- College Confidential: Several Concerns About Emory (talk.collegeconfidential.com)
- College Confidential: Emory ED for Fall 2025 (talk.collegeconfidential.com)
- Emory Admissions Blog: To ED or Not to ED (blog.emoryadmission.com, Sep 2025)
- AdmissionSight: Yield Protection — Why Colleges Reject Overqualified Students
- Wikipedia: Yield protection — Emory cited as frequent example