"Harvard University in December admitted 895 students who applied early – or 13.9 percent of the 6,424 who applied. Last December, Harvard admitted 935 students, or 13.4 percent of the 6,958 students who applied.
Both news releases hailed the numbers for women – 51.7 percent this year. And both releases made clear how hard it is to be admitted to Harvard – the regular decision admit rate is around 5 percent.
Harvard is different from many early programs in that it is “early action” not “early decision” – meaning that admitted students are not obliged to enroll.
But the university is not alone in seeing a minor decline in the number of students who applied early and who were admitted early. There are all kinds of reasons given for the declines – which some say are insignificant.
Making comparisons at this point in the year is difficult. Colleges release information at different times, and their admissions policies vary. But the pattern of not everyone seeing increases appears clear." …
https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2020/01/13/early-decision-starts-hit-its-limits