Ivy Day: Joy or Dismay?

“Ivy Day” is a long-standing tradition dating back to 1874 where colleges, most notably the eight Ivy League schools, release regular decision admissions results to eagerly awaiting students. The results are posted all at the same time, typically on the last Thursday of March. This year’s “Ivy Day” fell on March 27th, and the Grier class of 2025 were among millions of students worldwide anxiously anticipating their admissions decisions. 

It is no secret that it has gotten increasingly more competitive to get into colleges. Back in 2010, Yale University accepted 7.9% of applicants, Brown University accepted 13.8%, and Dartmouth College accepted 15.4%. The average Ivy League acceptance rate was around 6%-15%. Nowadays, 6% is on the higher end of the spectrum; In 2024, the admissions rate for Yale was 3.9%, where Brown and Dartmouth were both 5.4%. However, according to statistics from Forbes, applicant pools have declined in 2025 with some overall acceptance rates increasing. 

Specifically, Yale University accepted 4.59% of 2025 applicants, Brown University accepted 5.65% of applicants, and Dartmouth increased admission to a whopping 6%. Unusually, some chose not to release their admission rate–Harvard chose not to release any admissions data–so, it’s possible that this pattern isn’t necessarily true for all the Ivies. 

So, what do these numbers mean? Because there are less applicants to highly regarded colleges, this opens the door to more acceptances to these selective institutions. A college needs to admit a certain amount of people each year. In theory, they need to admit the exact same amount of students every year to maintain their current student body, in order to replace the amount of graduating students. If they’re getting less applicants, the same number of students is going to yield a much larger percentage rate than previous years. 

This data could also be explained by less high school seniors applying to college. NPR reporter Jon Marcus points out, “the downturn isn’t just a problem for universities and colleges. It’s a looming crisis for the economy, with fewer graduates eventually coming through the pipeline to fill jobs that require college educations, even as international rivals increase the proportions of their populations with degrees.”

The Grier School college preparatory curriculum provides better statistics than most schools in the country, with 100% of students attending college after their senior year. According to senior Lexi Bickley, who plans to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ivy leagues weren’t a high priority because they lacked the warm temperatures and large-school atmosphere she was looking for. They also had the added stress of very low acceptance rates. Similarly, fellow seniors Jay Partner and Katie Payne chose not to apply because they didn’t believe they would be seriously considered at the Ivies. 

In contrast, some seniors who did apply to Ivy leagues were very successful on the 27th. Demi Alade applied to six Ivy League colleges, was accepted to five, and is still weighing her options. Alade said that her support system helped her through the toughest parts of the process, namely “lots of late nights and crying.” However, after her first “big acceptance” to UNC, she knew she would be okay. She recalled thinking, “I’m going to college!” Posing her own theory for the lowered number of Ivy applicants, Alade suggested that standardized test scores becoming mandatory had frightened her peers. She wanted to remind Grier underclassmen to “trust the process and you’ll end up where you need to be,” because so many things alter admissions decisions. 

Students should remember that not getting into an Ivy League school, or even your dream school, isn’t the end of the world. The Earth is going to keep orbiting the Sun, and your life isn’t over just because Harvard University didn’t accept the shortest version of yourself you could possibly give them. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean to give up. It’s okay to work hard and prepare yourself, no matter the outcome. “Start your Common Application over the summer,” Bickley advised. Common advice mentioned by many a senior was to “listen to Ms. Barr” regarding any and all parts of the application process. 

Now that acceptances have been released and processed by applicants, seniors look bittersweetly towards graduation, wanting to enjoy the remainder of their last year at Grier. Many are already planning to return to campus for the class of 2025’s ten-year reunion.