Congratulations to high school seniors on submitting your early applications! We know you are eager to hear from your early admissions colleges.
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Many private schools notify Early Decision (ED) applicants of admissions decisions by the middle to end of December. Many of the highly selective schools that only offer Early Action (EA) programs (not ED), including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale, all still notify applicants in mid-December. See our description below for the differences between Early Decision, Early Action, and Restrictive Early Action.
However, many public universities send admissions decisions to Early Action (EA) applicants after January 1st, including the University of Colorado, University of Delaware, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Virginia, and more. Several private universities have also followed suit in this trend of offering EA notification dates after the new year, including Northeastern (EA 2/15), Tulane (EA 1/15), University of Miami (EA late January), University of Richmond (EA 1/25), and USC (EA in January).
At this point in the admissions cycle, deciding where to apply through Regular Decision is a complex process. Feel free to contact us at Collegiate Gateway for guidance on navigating any aspect of your college admissions journey!
Below is a chart showing ED and EA notification dates for a select list of schools for the 2023-24 application cycle.
| School | EA/ED Notification Date 2023-2024 |
| Adelphi University | EA: begins 11/15 |
| American University | ED I: 12/31 ED II: 2/15 |
| Amherst College | ED: early to mid-December |
| Arizona State University | Rolling |
| Babson College | ED I: mid-December EA: 1/1 ED II: mid-February |
| Bard College | EA/ED: by January 1 |
| Barnard College | ED: mid-December |
| Bates College | ED I: by 12/20 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Berry College | ED: by 12/1 EA: beginning 12/15 |
| Bloomsburg University | Rolling |
| Boston College | ED I: 12/15 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Boston University | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Bowdoin College | ED I: med-December ED II: early February |
| Brandeis University | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/1 |
| Brown University | ED: mid-December |
| Bucknell University | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| California Institute of Technology | EA: mid-December |
| Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo | By April 1 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/1 |
| Carthage College | Rolling |
| Case Western Reserve University | ED I: 12/17 EA: 12/17 ED II: 2/1 |
| Chapman University | EA/ED: late December |
| Claremont McKenna College | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/15 |
| Clark University | ED I: late December EA: mid-January ED II: early February |
| Clemson University | EA: mid-December |
| Colby College | ED I: on or before 12/15 ED II: on or before 2/15 |
| Colgate University | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| College of Charleston | ED I: 12/1 EA: 12/1 (in state), 12/15 (out of state) ED II: 3/1 |
| College of William and Mary | ED I: mid-December ED II: early February |
| Columbia University | ED: mid-December |
| Connecticut College | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Cornell University | ED: mid-December |
| Curry College | EA: by 12/15 |
| Dartmouth College | ED: mid-December |
| Davidson College | ED I: by 12/16 ED II: by 1/31 |
| Drexel University | EA/ED: mid-December |
| Duke University | ED: mid-December |
| Elon University | ED: 12/1 EA: 12/20 |
| Emerson College | ED I: mid-December EA: mid-January ED II: early February |
| Emory University | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Fordham University | ED I: by 12/20 EA: by 12/20 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Franklin and Marshall College | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/15 |
| George Washington University | ED I: by late December ED II: by late February |
| Georgetown University | EA: 12/15 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | TBD |
| Gettysburg College | ED I: by 12/15 EA: early February ED II: by 2/15 |
| Hamilton College | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Harvard University | EA: mid-December |
| Haverford College | ED I: 12/15 ED II: early February |
| Hofstra University | EA I: 12/15 EA II: 1/15 |
| Indiana University-Bloomington | EA: by 1/15 |
| Ithaca College | ED: 12/15 EA: 2/1 |
| Johns Hopkins University | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/16 |
| Lafayette College | ED I: beginning 12/15 ED II: beginning 2/15 |
| Lehigh University | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Loyola University Chicago | Rolling |
| Marquette University | EA: 12/15 |
| Michigan State University | EA: by 1/15 |
| Middlebury College | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| MIT | EA: mid-December |
| Muhlenberg College | ED I: mid-December EA: 2/1 ED II: mid-February |
| New York University | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/15 |
| Northeastern University | ED I: by 1/1 EA: by 2/15 ED II: by 3/1 |
| Northwestern University | ED: mid-December |
| Nova Southeastern University | Not reported |
| Oberlin College | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/1 |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus | EA: 12/8 or 1/19 |
| Ottawa University Arizona | Rolling |
| Penn State University | EA: by 12/24 |
| Pepperdine University | EA: by 1/10 |
| Pomona College | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/15 |
| Princeton University | EA: mid-December |
| Providence College | ED I: by 12/1 EA: late December ED II: late February |
| Purdue University | EA: 1/15 |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | ED I: 12/9 EA: 1/27 ED II: 1/13 |
| Rice University | ED: mid-December |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-January |
| Roger Williams University | EA: mid-December |
| Rose Hulman Institute of Technology | EA: by December 15 |
| Santa Clara University | ED I: late December EA: late December ED II: early February |
| Skidmore College | ED I: mid-December ED II: 2/15 |
| Southern Methodist University | ED I: mid-December EA: mid-December ED II: mid-March |
| Stanford University | EA: mid-December |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | ED I: by 12/15 EA: by 2/1 ED II: by 2/15 |
| SUNY Binghamton | EA: by 1/15 |
| SUNY College at Oneonta | EA: by 1/6 |
| SUNY New Paltz | EA: 1st week in January |
| SUNY Stony Brook | EA: by end of January |
| Swarthmore College | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Syracuse University | ED I: begins 12/16 ED II: mid-January |
| The New School | Not reported |
| Temple University | EA: by 1/10 |
| Trinity College | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Tufts University | ED I: mid-Dec ED II: early Feb |
| Tulane University | ED I: by 12/15 EA: by 1/15 ED II: by 1/31 |
| Union College | ED I: 12/5 EA: 12/19 ED II: in February |
| University of Alabama | Not reported |
| University of California-Berkeley | Between 3/1 – 3/31 |
| University of California-Davis | Between 3/1 – 3/31 |
| University of California-Irvine | Between 3/1 – 3/31 |
| University of California-Los Angeles | Between 3/1 – 3/31 |
| University of California-Merced | Between 3/1 – 3/31 |
| University of California-San Diego | Between 3/1 – 3/31 |
| University of California-Santa Barbara | Between 3/1 – 3/31 |
| University of California-Santa Cruz | Between 3/1 – 3/31 |
| University of Chicago | ED I: mid-December EA: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| University of Colorado, Boulder | EA: by 2/1 |
| University of Connecticut | Priority admissions decision notification begins March 1 |
| University of Delaware | EA: by 1/31 |
| University of Denver | ED I: early December EA: late December – late January ED II: mid-February |
| University of Florida | Priority: mid-February |
| University of Georgia | EA: before 12/1 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | EA: 1/26 |
| University of Iowa | Rolling |
| University of Maine | EA: by January |
| University of Maryland-College Park | EA: by 2/1 |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst | EA: by the end of January |
| University of Miami | ED I: mid-December EA: late January ED II: late February |
| University of Michigan | EA: by late January |
| University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Rolling |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | EA: 1/31 |
| University of Notre Dame | EA: mid-December |
| University of Oregon | EA: by 12/15 |
| University of Pennsylvania | ED: mid-December |
| University of Pittsburgh | Rolling |
| University of Richmond | ED I: 12/15 EA: 1/25 ED II: 2/15 |
| University of Rochester | ED I: mid-December ED II: early February |
| University of Southern California | EA: in January |
| University of St Andrews | Rolling |
| University of Texas at Austin | EA: by 2/1 |
| University of Texas A&M-College Station | Rolling |
| University of Vermont | ED: 12/1 EA: late December |
| University of Virginia | ED: by 12/15 EA: by 2/15 |
| University of Washington, Seattle | Fall 2024: March 1-15 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | EA: by 1/31 |
| Vanderbilt University | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Vassar College | ED I: mid-December ED II: early February |
| Villanova University | ED I: by 12/15 EA: by 1/20 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | Rolling |
| Virginia Tech | EA: by late February |
| Wake Forest University | ED I: Rolling EA: by 1/15 ED II: 2/15 |
| Washington and Lee University | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/1 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/16 |
| Wellesley College | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Wesleyan University | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| West Virginia University | Rolling |
| Wheaton College, Massachusetts | ED I: by 12/15 EA: by 1/15 ED II: by 2/1 |
| Williams College | ED: by 12/15 |
| Yale University | EA: mid-December |
What is Early Decision?
Students who are certain of their top school choice can submit through Early Decision in November and receive a decision in December. This is a binding commitment, and if admitted, students agree to enroll in the school and withdraw any other applications. The decision options include acceptance, denial, or deferral to Regular Decision; if not accepted (either denied or deferred), the student is released from the binding commitment. Some colleges offer Early Decision I and Early Decision II, which differ in their timelines. Deadlines are usually November 1, November 15, or December 1 for EDI and December 15 or January 1 for EDII. If a student applies ED1 and is not accepted, they can then apply EDII or EAII to another college.
What is Early Action?
Early Action applications have the same timetable as Early Decision I, but this application plan is not binding; if accepted, students have until May 1 to make their decision. The decision options include acceptance, denial, or deferral to Regular Decision. If deferred, the student’s application is reviewed with the Regular Decision applicants. Some colleges offer Early Action I and Early Action II, which differ in their timelines. Early Action deadlines are usually November 1, November 15, or December 1, and occasionally October 15. If a student applies EDI and is not accepted, they can then apply EAII to another college.
What is Restrictive Early Action or Single Choice Early Action?
Similar to Early Action, these applications allow students to apply and receive a decision earlier than the Regular Decision timeline. Although REA and SCEA do not require a binding commitment, colleges that offer these application plans place certain restrictions on students submitting other early applications.
Early application plans are increasing in availability and usage, and typically confer higher admit rates because they show a higher level of demonstrated interest in the college. Deciding whether and where to apply early can be daunting, especially now. But whatever your question, Collegiate Gateway is happy to help you decipher your options and understand the changing landscape of early admissions.
