Ivy Day! Your chances are 96%.

March 30, 2023 at 5 pm EST

"Ivy Day" is the unofficial name for the day on which the Ivy League colleges announce their admissions decisions, all at once. This year, that will happen on March 30, at 5 pm Eastern Standard Time.

What can you do to prepare?

First of all, make sure your login IDs and passwords are up to date.

Second, be prepared for massive delays and even site crashes, as tens of thousands of Ivy hopefuls hit the button at the same moment.

Most importantly, take a step back. Let's review the bad news right now. Colleges known as the "Little Ivies" are already releasing their decisions these days, and the admit rates are around 10%. The admit rates at the Ivies and other highly-selective colleges, such as Stanford, are expected to be even lower than they were last year, when some admit rates were barely 5%.

This means your chances of rejection at some colleges are around 96%.

Athena Advises

Don't fall into the Ivy Trap! Do not whip yourself into thinking that your entire future will be decided on March 30 at 5 pm!

Dr. Marlena Corcoran

If you have applied to a reasonable list of colleges, you have probably already heard good news from some of those schools. Reread the welcome messages sent by colleges that admitted you. They congratulated you on your accomplishments in secondary school. Those accomplishments are real!

They probably also invited you to Accepted Student Days at their school. Ask your parents whether it might be possible for you to attend.

Allow yourself to daydream about loving it--just loving it!--at a college that has already told you they can't wait for you to show up.