Here's how many students have applied early this year to get into the Ivy League

The Ivy League classes of 2020 are one step closer to getting into the school, or schools, of their dreams.

Though acceptance numbers will not be available until December, many Ivy League schools have reported the number of students who have applied early this year, giving a glimpse into the college choices of tens of thousands of students.

Early applications come with some stipulations. Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, and University of Pennsylvania are all early decision schools, which means students must go there if they get accepted.

Harvard University, Princeton University, and Yale University are early action schools, meaning they have until May to decide if they want to accept. Students can only apply to one school early action or early decision.

Princeton University saw the biggest increase in application numbers so far. It received 4,164 applications for its freshman class, an increase of 9.4% over last year. That large bump may be due to Princeton's decision this year not to require SAT scores as part of its application.

UPenn had 5,629 students apply, its highest number ever and a 4.4% increase.

Dartmouth College saw an increase of 2% for the Class of 2020. It did not report an exact number of applicants, but our calculations show about 1,896 students applied this fall.

Yale University saw a slight dip in applications this year. It received 4,662 early applications for the class of 2020, a .6% decrease from the 4,693 early applications received last year.

Spokespeople at Cornell University and Columbia University confirmed that their schools' early application numbers would not be released until next month. Last year, Cornell received 4,850 early action applications and Columbia received 3,373 early decision applications.

Spokespeople at Brown University and Harvard University could not be reached for comment. Last year, Brown received 3,043 early action applications and Harvard received 5,919 early decision applications.

Check out the number of early applications to each Ivy League school this year below, plus the percent change from last year:

• Brown University - N/A
• Columbia University - N/A
• Cornell University - N/A
• Dartmouth College - 1,896, up 2%
• Harvard University - N/A
• University of Pennsylvania - 5,629, up 4.4%
• Princeton University - 4,174, up 9.4%
• Yale University - 4,662, down <1%

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