Early Decision at Six Women's Colleges: Barnard's Edge Is Bigger Than Columbia's (2026)

Barnard sits across Broadway from Columbia, and its students can take classes on Columbia's side of the street. Admissions is separate, and so is the early round. In its 2025–26 filing, Barnard admitted 33.1% of its Early Decision applicants and 6.4% of everyone else: 5.2 times the rate. Columbia's round, read the same way, came to 3.5 times. Among the colleges whose filings we've read, only Northeastern and Dartmouth show a larger multiple than Barnard's.

Barnard is one of seven women's colleges whose filings in our data separate the Early Decision round. Agnes Scott's round had eight applicants, so it isn't here. At the other five, the binding round helps less, the regular round is far more open, and for many families the price will matter more than either.

Barnard: most of the year is decided early

About one Barnard applicant in seven applied Early Decision. They received 476 of the 1,048 offers Barnard made all year, 45%. Everyone else, 8,989 applicants, shared the other 572, about one in sixteen.

That changes how to read Barnard's headline rate. At 10.1%, it is about twice Columbia's 4.9%. Outside the early rounds the two sit much closer: 6.4% at Barnard, 4.0% at Columbia. The early round is where Barnard is least like its neighbor.

Barnard runs one binding round. November 1 is the only date; after that, Barnard is a Regular Decision application due January 1.

The six

"Everyone else," the multiple and the share of admits are our arithmetic from each college's own counts. Scripps's round of 275 applicants is under the 400 we need before we'll compare a multiple, so its cell is blank.

Wellesley and Smith: the price gap is the bigger story

Wellesley's early round admitted 29.4% against 12.8%, a little more than twice the rate, and produced about a quarter of its admits. That is a real edge. For many families, though, the bigger difference among these six isn't in the admission numbers. It's in what families paid.

These are College Scorecard averages for 2023–24, for families who received federal aid. In the lower band, Wellesley and Smith averaged about $6,600 a year, and the other four between $15,831 and $19,094. Over four years, the gap between Wellesley's average and Barnard's in that band comes to about $50,000.

An average isn't a quote. Assets, other children in college and business income can move a family's own number a long way. But a binding round commits you to one college's number before you can compare it with any other, so the net price calculator is the check to run first.

Smith, Bryn Mawr and Mount Holyoke: a modest edge on a wider door

At these three, everyone else was admitted at one in five or better: 20.7% at Smith, 26.5% at Bryn Mawr, 37.2% at Mount Holyoke. The early round added 13 to 15 points at each.

When the regular round is that open, the early round stops being the main way in, and the question becomes whether those points are worth giving up a spring comparison of aid offers. Smith makes the trade easier to weigh than most, since its averages were among the lowest here in both bands. Mount Holyoke's averaged about twice Smith's for families earning $75,001–$110,000. Smith's early-round figures also appear in our roundup of liberal arts colleges.

Scripps: too small a round to read

Scripps had the smallest early round of the six. It admitted 51.3% of its 275 Early Decision applicants and 38.8% of everyone else, and in a round that size one year's gap says little about the next. Scripps is also one of the five Claremont Colleges, which run five separate early rounds on one campus.

If you're deciding among them

If Barnard is the one, its filing is unusually clear: nearly half its year is settled in the early round, and there's no second binding round in January to fall back on. If Wellesley or Smith is on your list beside one of the others, compare prices before odds; the averages often differ by $10,000 a year or more. And if your family needs to compare aid offers, Smith, Bryn Mawr and Mount Holyoke admitted at least one in five of everyone else, which leaves room to apply in the regular round and compare in the spring.

Where the numbers come from

Each college's 2025–26 Common Data Set: section C1 for all first-year applicants and admits, section C21 for Early Decision. Columbia's figures come from its own 2025–26 filing, read the same way. Net prices are College Scorecard averages for 2023–24, for families who received federal aid. Deadlines are for students entering in fall 2027, read from the colleges' admissions pages or the Common App in September 2026. Dates can change, so check with the college before you submit.

Start with the college you're leaning toward: what it published, and where your score sits, free. The full answer across your whole list is the paid document.