Current high school seniors from around the world logged onto their Emory University admissions portal and received their long-awaited admissions decision on Dec. 11, 2024. Emory accepted 995 individuals under its Early Decision (ED) I policy with a 31% acceptance rate.
Emory admitted 805 to the Atlanta campus and 400 to Oxford College under the binding ED I plan, with 210 of these students admitted to both campuses. In addition, Emory “matched” with 64 students via QuestBridge, an organization connecting low-income students with top universities.
Emory admissions offices received a record-breaking total of 3,311 applications, a 22% increase in ED applicants from 2023’s 2,704. Despite the rise in applicants, Emory’s ED I acceptance rate remained similar to its previous year’s rate of 32%. Across the country, more students are applying to college than ever before, with a 30% increase in nationwide college applications in the 2022-2023 cycle compared to the 2019-2020 cycle. In an Emory press release, Associate Vice Provost and Dean of Admission John Latting called the process “more competitive” considering the sheer volume of students who applied.
Dean of Enrollment Services at Oxford Kelley Lips said Oxford received an almost 28% increase in ED I applications compared to last year. Lips attributed the University’s overall growing popularity to its “relevancy.” For instance, for students on a pre-medical track, Emory’s location in a major metropolitan area and its relationships with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other institutions are “huge assets.”
During her time at the University over the past decade, Lips said she has seen application numbers soar from 5,000 to 23,000. Lips attributed Emory’s increasing popularity to the “good job” of the University’s marketing and enrollment teams, as well as Emory’s contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s just Emory being more well-known in the marketplace,” Lips said. “During COVID, there was a lot of talk about Emory and the CDC and the groundbreaking work that we were doing here.”
Sharon Kim, an aspiring pre-medical student from Florida, said she felt “proud” of herself when she heard how competitive Emory’s ED I pool was this year. Kim, expressed the joy and relief she felt upon learning she would be joining the University.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it's actually happening,’ because it was something I was dreaming about for the past couple months throughout the whole application process,” Kim said. “I was researching about Emory, watching all those vlogs, and I was like, ‘Oh wow, it’s actually happening.’ It’s really exciting.”
Aduwa Ajie said she was “extremely shocked” when she opened her decision. Ajie, a senior at Marietta High School in Georgia, said she had first stepped foot on Emory’s campus in 2024 and immediately loved “everything that Emory had to offer.” Ajie said she made the decision to apply to Emory when she learned about the Goizueta Business School and its programs related to entrepreneurship.
Ajie discussed how observing her father’s work in real estate helped inspire her own aspirations. She said her father was the first person she called when she heard the news.
“I entered my information into the portal, and I clicked on it, and it said, ‘Congratulations, you’ve been accepted into the 2029 class,’” Ajie said. “It was unbelievable. It was unreal. It was surreal.”
Sophia Gomerman, a senior from Long Island, talked about the “happy” moment when she received her decision. Gomerman expressed her excitement to join the Emory community, which she called “family-oriented” and “tight-knit.” Gomerman said she hopes to join Emory’s club fencing team and potentially major in psychology. As a legacy student, Gomerman found that her parents’ own stories and descriptions of life at Emory inspired her interest in attending.
“My parents had always talked about how the culture is really just inclusive and everyone is just really welcoming,” Gomerman said. “I remember going into campus and just feeling that really happy vibe, like everyone felt like they really wanted to be there.”
Jamie Schechner found Emory’s community to be “stereotypically collegiate” and considered it an accurate representation of what is often showcased in promotional college flyers. In his hometown of New York City, Schechner co-established his own production company as a junior at Hunter College High School. He plans to attend the Atlanta Film Festival and take more film courses, considering his high school’s lack of film electives.
Schechner also criticized Emory for doing a “poor job of marketing itself.” According to Schechner’s experience, many students may have heard of Emory but generally know little about it and therefore seldom consider it.
Gomerman and Schechner both pointed out, for instance, Emory’s plain acceptance letter, compared to peer institutions that feature longer messages to students. Schechner called it a “bummer” and pointed out the simplicity of Emory’s brief words to its accepted students.
“Dear James, congratulations,” Schechner said, paraphrasing the acceptance letter. “You have been admitted to Emory University’s Class of 2029. Join the website. Join the Instagram page.”
Gomerman recommended the admissions staff change the acceptance letter in the future.
“Having a video is really cool,” Gomerman said. “Confetti would have just been nice. Just something that’s a little bit more exciting.”
Lips emphasized that the admissions team focuses especially on the acceptance packet. Regarding the simple design for the online decision, Lip expressed that for students who may have applied to both campuses, the decision may not be necessarily celebratory, so possible disappointment is considered in the design of the letter.
In August, the 995 admitted students will be joined by peers from the Regular Decision and ED II rounds and will finally step foot on the Atlanta or Oxford campuses as official students, rather than prospective ones.
“I’m just really excited,” Gomerman said. “I’m excited for college life in general, I’m excited to live in the dorms, I’m excited to get involved in Greek life … and I’m really excited to just make new friends.”
Jacob Muscolino (he/him) (28C) is an assistant news editor at The Emory Wheel. He is from Long Island and plans to major in history and psychology. Outside of the Wheel, he is involved in Emory Reads. You can often find Jacob dominating the ping pong table, dissecting The New York Times, listening to the newest Taylor Swift album or exploring the next destination on his bucket list.
