Yield rate

Yield rate = number of admitted students who enroll ÷ number of students admitted × 100.

The figures are normally reported for first-time, degree-seeking undergraduates in the fall term. Some institutions also calculate yield for transfer students or for specific academic programs. Deposit deadlines, wait-list activity, and the timing of financial-aid offers all influence the final yield percentage. Institutions that operate rolling admission may calculate yield on a continuous basis rather than for a single fall census.

Example: an institution admits 2,000 first-time students and 800 enroll. The yield rate is 40 percent. If the following year it admits 2,200 and only 700 enroll, yield has fallen to approximately 32 percent, signaling a change in student preferences or competing offers. An online program that admits students monthly may track a rolling yield that is reviewed each term rather than once per year.

Acceptance rate measures the share of applicants who are admitted. Retention rate measures the share of enrolled first-time students who return the next fall. Yield occurs between admission and enrollment; retention occurs after enrollment.

Calculating yield on applications rather than admissions. Comparing yield rates across institutions that use different deposit deadlines or wait-list practices. Treating a declining yield as evidence of declining academic quality rather than of market competition.