Early Decision at Bentley, Brandeis and Babson: Two Waltham Neighbors, Opposite Early Rounds (2026)

Bentley University and Brandeis University are both in Waltham, Massachusetts, about ten miles west of Boston. In their 2025–26 filings, they admitted almost exactly the same share of the applicants who didn't apply Early Decision: 46.2% at Bentley and 46.1% at Brandeis.

Their early rounds went in opposite directions. Bentley admitted 64.0% of its Early Decision applicants. Brandeis admitted 35.6%, about ten points fewer than everyone else.

Babson College, a few miles away in Wellesley, ran an early round that looks more like a highly selective college's: 25.4% of its Early Decision applicants admitted, against 14.8% of everyone else.

"Everyone else" counts every first-year applicant outside the Early Decision round. That rate and the difference are our arithmetic from each college's own counts. At all three, the second binding round closes on the same day as the regular round. Babson and Brandeis also run non-binding Early Action rounds this year, due November 1 and November 2.

Brandeis: a binding round that admitted less often

An early round that admits a lower share than everyone else is unusual. One that comes in ten points lower is rarer still: among the colleges whose early rounds drew 400 or more applicants, only Case Western Reserve shows a gap that size in the same direction.

The filing gives no reason, and the change is recent. A year earlier, the binding round admitted 42.2% of its applicants against about 40% of everyone else. Neither year included an Early Action round: Brandeis added one only for students applying in fall 2025, with applications due November 3.

That doesn't make Early Decision a mistake there. A student who wants Brandeis above everything else still gets an answer in December and can stop writing applications. It just means the reason to apply early is certainty, not odds. Early Action is now the other early door, with no binding promise.

Bentley: a real edge, from a small round

Bentley's early applicants were admitted at about 1.4 times everyone else's rate. Only 719 of its 11,403 applicants applied Early Decision, about one in sixteen, and they received 8.5% of the year's offers. Bentley's first round closes November 15, two weeks after the other two, so it's the one that leaves the most time to decide.

Babson: read the price before the odds

Babson's early round helped, by about 11 points, and it produced a fifth of the year's admits. Its prices are the part to read slowly.

These are College Scorecard averages for 2023–24, for families who received federal aid. At Babson, the average more than tripled between the $48,001–$75,000 band and the next one up. At Bentley and Brandeis it rose by roughly a quarter to a third.

No family pays the average; savings, home equity and the number of children you're paying for at once all change the figure. But a binding admission commits you to Babson's figure before you can see anyone else's. For families in the $75,001–$110,000 band, Babson's average was more than three times the band below it, so run its net price calculator before you sign anything.

Next door

Wellesley College, in the same town as Babson, more than doubled the rate for its early applicants; it's in our look at Early Decision at six women's colleges. Boston College and Boston University, closer to the city, have their own comparison.

Choosing among the three

If Bentley is your first choice, the early round improved the rate and gives you the most time, with a November 15 deadline. If Brandeis is, apply Early Decision for the December answer, not for better odds, or Early Action if you'd rather keep your options open. If Babson is, the early round helps, but check the price for your income band before you sign anything.

How we counted

Applicants and admits come from each college's 2025–26 Common Data Set: section C1 for the whole first-year pool and C21 for Early Decision. The comparison rates, the differences and the shares of admits are our calculation; where a college ran Early Action, "everyone else" includes those applicants. Brandeis's 2024–25 figures come from its 2024–25 Common Data Set. Prices are College Scorecard averages for 2023–24, for families who received federal aid. Deadlines are for students entering in fall 2027, from the Common App and the colleges' pages as of September 2026; confirm them before you apply.

Already leaning toward one of the three? Check what it published, and where your score falls, free. Weighing it against the rest of your list is what the paid document does.