Early Decision
American University Early Decision Acceptance Rate 2025-2026
DC
What is American University's early decision acceptance rate?
American University admitted 316 of its 392 Early Decision applicants, 80.6%, according to its 2025-2026 Common Data Set. That pool is under the 400 applications this site requires before comparing it with everyone else, so no rest-of-pool rate or multiple is given: on a pool this small, a ratio is noise, not leverage.
Source: American University's Common Data Set 2025-2026.
What American University reported · Common Data Set 2025-2026
Early Decision · 316 admitted of 392 applied
80.6%
The Early Decision pool is not a random slice of the applicants — recruited athletes, legacy applicants and QuestBridge matches are counted inside it — so this rate describes that group, not an applicant like you.
Does applying early decision to American University help?
American University's figures cannot say. Its Early Decision pool, 392 applications, is under the 400 this site requires before comparing it with everyone else, so there is no rest-of-pool rate or multiple to weigh. The 80.6% Early Decision rate also counts recruited athletes, legacy applicants and QuestBridge matches, so it describes that group, not you.
Source: American University's Common Data Set 2025-2026.
Is early decision at American University binding?
Yes. Early Decision is binding wherever it is offered, American University included: you may apply Early Decision to only one school, and if admitted you commit to attend and withdraw your other applications. The usual exception is an aid offer your family cannot afford, so check the costs on this page before you apply.
Source: American University's Common Data Set 2025-2026.
When is American University's early decision deadline?
For the 2026-27 application cycle, American University set its Early Decision deadline at Nov 1, 2026. Its Early Decision II round closes Jan 15, 2027. Regular Decision applications are due Jan 15, 2027. Early Decision is binding, so compare the costs on this page before that date, not after an offer arrives.
Source: the Common App requirements grid, 2026-27 cycle, checked Sep 27, 2026.
Admitted SAT · middle 50% · College Scorecard 2024
1280–1460
Half of admitted students scored inside this range. It is the admitted band, not a minimum and not a cutoff, and it covers the whole entering class rather than the Early Decision round alone.
What families actually pay (AY 2023–24)
Early Decision is binding, so accepting one ends the option of comparing two aid offers. These are the published averages before that choice is made.
Average paid by students receiving federal aid, by family income (College Scorecard).
International students are not eligible for U.S. federal aid, so they are not in this cohort and typically pay closer to the sticker price.
Across the 8 recorded cycles from 2018 to 2025, American University's overall acceptance rate rose from 31.5% to 65.6%. That is the whole entering class — Early Decision, Early Action and Regular Decision together — not the Early Decision round on its own.
See the year-by-year series →Common Data Set — the school's own annual filing, published by the school itself for the cycle named beside each figure. American University’s filing