Notre Dame wrapped up admissions for the class of 2029 Thursday evening with the release for regular decision applicants. The University announced Friday these decisions came with a decrease in acceptance rate of over two percentage points, dropping to 9% from last year's 11.1% for the class of 2028.
The Enrollment Division shared in a press release that Notre Dame saw 35,401 restricted early action and regular decision applicants. Last year, the University saw 29,943 applications, a 18.2% increase year over year.
The press release characterized applicants as "distinguished not only by their academic preparation and excellence but also by their leadership, enthusiasm for the University's distinct Catholic character, and a commitment to service."
In December, the University announced that they had admitted 1,669 out of 12,917 restrictive early action applicants, a 12.9% acceptance rate.
The University acceptance rate has dropped roughly 15% in the last decade and 26% since the beginning of the 21st century.
As they noted in December, this application cycle is the first since University president Fr. Robert Dowd announced the expansion of need-blind admissions to international students through his Pathways to Notre Dame initiative. "The program expands opportunities for talented students from all backgrounds to join the Notre Dame community, ensuring that financial circumstances do not hinder access to a world-class education," the statement read.
The University noted in December that restrictive early action applicants originated from 149 countries, but further demographic information about admitted students was not immediately available. The Enrollment Division wrote that more details about the class of 2029 will be available in August.
The University has invited admitted students to campus April 3-5 for The Rally admitted-student days, a change from the traditional two versions of The Rally (an early one for REA and later one for RD applicants). Accepted students must confirm their enrollment by May 1.
Additional enrollment and admissions information about the Class of 2029 will be distributed in late August 2025.
