There is one reason you’re looking up 2029 college yield rates. How likely is a college to admit you, and how likely are admitted students to enroll?
A college’s yield rate is the percentage of admitted students who enroll. It is not the same as acceptance rate, and it does not tell you “how good” a school is. It tells you how strongly admitted students commit after they get in.
You do not need to obsess over yield for every school. You do need to understand it, because yield shapes waitlists, early plans, and how colleges predict their incoming class.
Keep on reading as we’ll explain everything and share a table with the 2029 college yield rates.
What is a College Yield Rate?
Of the students a college admitted, how many chose to enroll? If a school admits 10,000 students and 3,000 enroll, the yield rate is 30%.
Acceptance rate measures selectivity. Yield rate measures commitment. A school can have a high acceptance rate and still have a low yield because many students had other options.
A school can also have a low acceptance rate and high yield if it is a first-choice destination for many admits.
Here is a quick example:
If 5,000 students apply and 1,000 are admitted, the acceptance rate is 20%. If 500 of those 1,000 enroll, the yield rate is 50%. That second number is telling you how often admitted students say “yes.”
How a College Yield Rate Is Calculated
Yield Rate (%) = (Enrolled ÷ Admitted) × 100. NACAC uses this enrolled-out-of-admitted definition in its yield reporting.
Yield is easy to compute, but easy to misread. Your job is not to treat it like a scorecard. Your job is to treat it like context, especially when you compare schools with similar selectivity.
Admit vs Enroll vs Yield:
| Applicants | Admitted | Enrolled | Acceptance Rate | Yield Rate |
| 5,000 | 1,000 | 500 | 20% | 50% |
Cost, financial aid, geography, and competing offers all affect who enrolls. Yield reflects those factors, not one simple reason.
But what counts as a good yield rate?
A yield of 30% or more is common nationwide.
A yield of around 50% often signals strong “yes” rates among admits.
A yield above 70% is usually reserved for schools with exceptional demand or binding pathways that increase commitment.
Why Yield Rates Matter in Admissions
Yield matters to colleges because it affects class size, budgeting, housing, staffing, and course planning.
If a college over-enrolls, it can strain housing and resources. If it under-enrolls, it can create budget gaps and empty seats.
Yield can also matter to you for a different reason. Some colleges try to predict who is likely to enroll, then shape decisions to hit a target class size. Meaning they are managing uncertainty with limited seats.
This is where your behavior can help you. If a college tracks interest, the school wants evidence that you understand what they offer and that you can picture yourself there.
That usually shows up through a focused school list, prompt-specific supplements, and clear fit language in “why us” writing.
2029 College Yield Rates List
“Class of 2029” refers to the first-year students who enrolled for fall 2025 and were expected to graduate in 2029.
Note: Admit rate shows how selective a school is, while yield rate shows how often admitted students actually enroll.
Note: This list doesn’t include every college. Some schools have not yet reported Class of 2029 yield or admit rate data. We’ll update the table as new numbers are released.
What 2029 Yield Rates Reveal About Student Demand
Highly selective schools often sit at the top of yield. In this Class of 2029 table, schools like MIT (86.58%), Harvard (83.62%), Brown (73.12%), Princeton (75.37%), and Dartmouth (70.92%) show how often admitted students commit to a first-choice option.
Some schools pair low admit rates with lower yields than you might expect. That usually signals cross-admit competition. Students admitted to one highly selective college are often admitted to several, and final choices come down to fit, cost, and program access.
Large public colleges often land in the middle. Many have solid yields, but not elite-private yields, because students weigh in-state pricing, major capacity, and multiple strong options. You can see that the “middle band” is across several UC campuses and large state universities.
Private colleges can boost yield through clear fit, strong aid, and early pathways. That is not guaranteed, but it is a common pattern. When commitment feels easier, and affordability feels clearer, more admitted students say yes.
| Yield Tier | What It Often Implies | How You Should Use It |
| 70%+ | Strong first-choice pull among admits. | Expect high competition. Show fit clearly and specifically. |
| 50–69% | Many admits commit, often with a strong match. | Treat it as competitive. Make your interests and fit easy to see. |
| 30–49% | Common range for many solid schools. | Use as context. Compare fit, cost, and academic options. |
| Under 30% | Many admits choose other options. | Don’t assume it’s easier. Keep the list balanced and write a strong fit. |
What Is Yield Protection (Tufts Syndrome) and Is It Real?
Yield protection is the idea that a college rejects or waitlists an applicant it thinks will not enroll. People also call it Tufts Syndrome. No school openly admits to doing this, and the concept is debated in admissions circles.
Treat yield protection as a possible explanation, not a story you build your strategy around.
You cannot prove why a school rejected you from the outside. You can control your list balance, your fit writing, and the signals you send to schools that track interest.
How To Avoid Getting Misread as a Low-Yield Applicant
Start by building a balanced college list. If your list is mostly reaches or mostly safeties, your results get noisy fast. A clean mix of reach, match, and safety schools also reduces the odds that you apply to any school as a throwaway option.
Use these quick checks as you build your list:
- Reach: You would be thrilled, but admission is uncertain.
- Match: Your academic profile fits the typical range.
- Safety: You would attend, and admission is likely.
Next, make your “Why Us” writing feel inevitable. Name the program, the track inside it, and the proof you will actually use it. Vague praise reads like copy-paste and signals low intent.
Keep your “Why Us” proof concrete:
- One program or major track you are targeting.
- One resource you will use early, like a lab or center.
- One student org or initiative that fits your direction.
- One specific outcome you want, like research, a clinic, or a capstone.
Finally, show interest only when it is genuine and trackable. First, check if the school even values interest by reviewing its Common Data Set and the level of the applicant’s interest. If the school does not consider it, do not waste energy trying to show enthusiasm.
If a school does care about interest, keep your signals simple and real. Attend one info session, you can reference, ask one specific question that shows fit, and use the portal correctly. Avoid spammy emails and anything that looks forced.
What To Do If You’re Waitlisted
Colleges admit a class before they know how many students will enroll, then use the waitlist to fine-tune class size. Some colleges take months to finalize yield because they are still admitting students from waitlists.
If you are waitlisted, follow a clean sequence. Each step should add new information or new commitment, not noise.
- Accept your spot on the waitlist right away, if you still want the school. Confirm the deadline and any required forms in the portal.
- Send a short Letter of Continued Interest when the school allows it. Keep it specific: you are still interested, you understand fit, and you would enroll if admitted.
- Add one strong proof point, not a bundle of minor updates. Good proof points include improved grades, a new leadership responsibility, a meaningful award, or a major project milestone.
- Keep updates spaced out and purposeful. One strong update beats five small emails.
- Keep your Plan A realistic. Deposit at a school you would attend by the deadline, then treat the waitlist as a bonus, not a promise.
Set your expectations correctly. Waitlist movement can vary widely by school and by year, so the best strategy is strong interest plus strong alternatives.
Empowerly Can Help You Build a Smarter College List
Yield data is only useful if it changes what you do.
We help you build a balanced reach-match-safety list, write fit-driven Why Us supplements, and decide where demonstrated interest is worth your time.
We also help you respond to waitlists with a clear LOCI strategy, one strong proof point, and a realistic timeline plan grounded in how enrollment actually works.
Book your FREE Empowerly consultation today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a college yield rate?
A college yield rate is the percentage of admitted students who enroll. It is calculated as enrolled divided by admitted, then multiplied by 100.
What is a good yield rate?
It depends on the type of school, cost, and applicant behavior. As a benchmark, NACAC reports that the average yield at four-year not-for-profit colleges was 30% in fall 2022, with private higher yield than public.
Do yield rates affect your admission chances?
Not directly in a formula you can see. But yield affects how colleges plan their class size and manage uncertainty, which can influence waitlists and enrollment tactics.
Do colleges track demonstrated interest?
Some do, and some do not. A practical way to check is the school’s Common Data Set factor called the level of applicant’s interest, which indicates if interest is considered.
Is yield protection real?
It is reported and debated, and no school admits to practicing it. Our counselors describe Tufts Syndrome as a debated concept and note that the best counter is a genuine, specific interest where it is valued.
How does Early Decision affect yield?
Early Decision is binding, so it helps colleges predict enrollment and can raise yield. Our counselors explain that ED applicants are valuable partly because they help colleges forecast yield more reliably.
How do waitlists connect to yield?
Waitlists help colleges adjust when yield predictions are off. Our counselor notes that some colleges are still using waitlists while they finalize their yield numbers.
Should you use yield rate to pick colleges?
Use yield as context, not a ranking. It can help you understand how competitive a school is after admission, and how much cross-admit pressure exists. Your list should still be built around academic fit, cost, and campus match first.
