There are many challenging aspects of the admissions process—from agonizing over college lists to writing and revising countless essays to preparing for interviews. But in many ways, awaiting your regular decision results is the most difficult. Know that if you are among the thousands of seniors and parents in this position, you are not alone in finding this time of uncertainty to be stressful.
Take heart. Though it may not seem so now, the college admissions process is just one part of a much larger educational and career path. Your life’s journey will be full of both successes and setbacks, and you will come through each of them stronger, wiser, and more capable. As you await your final college decisions, remember to trust in the process, and remind yourself that you have done all you can to maximize your chances of success. Enjoy your senior year of high school and continue to engage in your academics. Have faith that you will have an exciting range of college options for this fall.
To further ease your mind, consider reading Frank Bruni’s New York Times article, “How to Survive the College Admissions Madness.” In this article, Bruni discusses the paths of two students who faced rejection from their top choices and went on to colleges and career paths that both worked out for the best. In doing so, he explores the importance of handling rejection, as well as offers advice as to how parents can support their children through these experiences.
Additionally, the Wall Street Journal article, “What’s Worse Than Waiting to Hear From Colleges? Getting Interrogated About It,” discusses ways to be sensitive to seniors who are handling the anxiety of college admissions and productive ways to support them.
Finally, many people find that achieving a more detailed understanding of the regular decision admissions process can help relieve some anxiety. For those who would like to learn more, look out for our upcoming blog on analysis of Regular Decision Admissions Trends for the Class of 2021, and see the chart below for a comprehensive list of current notification dates.
| School | Regular Notification Class of 2021 | Regular Notification Class of 2020 |
| American University | week of 3/20/17 | mailed 3/21/16 |
| Amherst College | on or around 4/1/17 | 3/25/2016 |
| Babson College | mid March | 3/18/2016 |
| Barnard College | late March | 3/24/2016 |
| Bates College | 4/1/2017 | 4/1/2016 |
| Boston College | week of 3/12/17 | week of 3/14/16 |
| Boston University | 3/18/2017 | 3/19/2016 |
| Bowdoin College | early April | 3/18/2016 |
| Brandeis University | 4/1/2017 | 3/17/2016 |
| Brown University | 3/30/2017 | 3/31/2016 |
| Bucknell University | 3/29/2017 | 3/25/2016 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | by 4/15/17 | 3/26/2016 |
| Case Western Reserve University | 3/20/2017 | 3/12/2016 |
| Chapman University | 3/9/2017 | 3/5/2016 |
| Claremont McKenna College | 3/24/2017 | 3/22/2016 |
| Colby College | 4/1/2017 | 4/1/2016 |
| College of William & Mary | mailed by 4/1/2017 | 4/1/2016 |
| Colgate University | mailed 3/20/17 | mailed 3/18/16 |
| Columbia University | 3/30/2017 | 3/31/2016 |
| Connecticut College | late March | 3/31/2016 |
| Cornell University | 3/30/2017 | 3/31/2016 |
| Dartmouth College | 3/30/2017 | 3/31/2016 |
| Denison University | 3/11/2017 | 3/9/2016 |
| Drexel University | by 4/1/2017 | 3/23/2016 |
| Duke University | 4/1/2017 | 3/24/2016 |
| Elon University | 3/20/2017 | 3/15/2016 |
| Emory University | by 4/1/2017 | 3/30/2016 |
| Fordham University | 4/1/2017 | 4/1/2016 |
| Franklin and Marshall College | 4/1/2017 | 4/1/2016 |
| George Washington University | late March/early April | 3/24/2016 |
| Georgetown University | 4/1/2017 | 4/1/2016 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | 3/11/2017 | 3/12/2016 |
| Gettysburg College | late March | mailed 3/18/16 |
| Hamilton College | 3/25/2017 | 3/25/2016 |
| Harvard University | 3/30/2017 | 3/31/2016 |
| Ithaca College | 4/15/2017 | 4/15/2016 |
| Johns Hopkins University | 3/17/2017 | 3/18/2016 |
| Lafayette College | 4/1/2017 | 4/1/2016 |
| Lehigh University | late March | 3/30/2016 |
| MIT | 3/14/17 or 3/15/17 | 3/14/2016 |
| Middlebury College | 3/18/2017 | 3/19/2016 |
| Muhlenberg College | 3/15/2017 | mid-March |
| New York University | 4/1/2017 | 3/31/2016 |
| Northeastern University | by 4/1/2017 | 3/15/2016 |
| Northwestern University | late March | week of 3/14/16 |
| Occidental College | 4/1/2017 | 3/22/2016 |
| Pitzer College | 4/1/2017 | mailed 3/22/16 |
| Pomona College | 4/1/2017 | 3/18/2016 |
| Princeton University | 3/30/2017 | 3/31/2016 |
| Purdue University | rolling | rolling, beg. Dec. |
| Quinnipiac University | rolling | rolling |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 3/11/2017 | 3/12/2016 |
| Rice University | by 4/1/17 | 3/25/2016 |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | mid March | 3/15/2016 |
| Scripps College | by 4/1/2017 | 4/1/2016 |
| Stanford University | 4/1/2017 | 3/25/2016 |
| SUNY at New Paltz | rolling | rolling, beg. Jan. 15 |
| SUNY at Albany | rolling | rolling |
| SUNY at Binghamton | rolling | rolling, beg. Feb. 1 |
| SUNY at Geneseo | 3/1/2017 | 3/1/2016 |
| Syracuse University | late March | 3/15/2016 |
| The College of New Jersey | 4/1/2017 | 4/1/2016 |
| Trinity College | late March | 3/23/2016 |
| Tufts University | by 4/1/2017 | 4/1/2016 |
| Tulane University | by 4/1/2017 | 3/18/2016 |
| Union College | 4/15/2017 | 3/23/2016 |
| UC-Berkeley | 3/30/2017 | 3/24/2016 |
| UC-Los Angeles | 3/17/2017 | 3/18/2016 |
| UC-Santa Barbara | by 3/21/17 | 3/22/2016 |
| University of Chicago | 3/17/2017 | 3/16/2016 |
| University of Connecticut | begins 3/1/17 | begins 3/1/16 |
| University of Delaware | 4/1/2017 | 4/1/2016 |
| Univ. of Maryland-College Park | by 4/1/2017 | 4/1/2016 |
| University of Miami | early April | 3/21/2016 |
| University of Michigan | early April | 4/15/2016 |
| UNC – Chapel Hill | late March | 3/30/2016 |
| University of Notre Dame | late March | 3/18/2016 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 3/30/2017 | 3/31/2016 |
| University of Richmond | 4/1/2017 | mailed 3/18/2016 |
| University of Rochester | begins 3/9/17 | 3/18/2016 |
| University of San Diego | rolling | rolling |
| USC | by 4/1/2017 | mailed 3/23, online 3/26 |
| University of Texas at Austin | by 3/1/2017 | 3/1/2016 |
| University of Vermont | 2/9/17 and 3/10/17 | n/a |
| University of Virginia | late March | 3/25/2016 |
| Vanderbilt University | 4/1/2017 | 3/23/2016 |
| Villanova University | 3/31/2017 | 3/22/2016 |
| Washington Univ. in St. Louis | mailed 4/1/17 | 3/10/2016 |
| Wesleyan University | late March | 3/25/2016 |
| Williams College | by 4/1/17 | 3/23/2016 |
| Yale University | 3/30/2017 | 3/31/2016 |
We wish you all the best, and as always at Collegiate Gateway, we are happy to help!