As you wait for news from your regular decision applications, you are not alone in finding this time to be difficult.

But 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. Have faith that you will have an exciting range of college options for this fall. While these are challenging times, continue to engage in your academics and activities!

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Letter of Continued Interest

If you are deferred in the early admissions cycle or wait listed during regular admissions from a college in which you remain interested, it is highly beneficial to send a Letter of Continued Interest in which you demonstrate your interest, discuss features that are a good fit for you, and provide updates on your accomplishments since you applied.

Timetable for College and Student Decisions

By early April, you will receive your regular admissions decisions and will be accepted, denied, or wait listed. If accepted, you have until May 1st to notify the college that you choose to attend and to confirm this with a deposit, as May 1st is the “National Candidates Reply Date” for all non-ED applicants (except for NCAA-recruited athletes). You may still be on wait lists at that time and might be accepted at any point up until freshman year commences. If you are accepted to a wait list college and choose to attend, make sure to notify the regular admissions college to which you previously committed that your plans have changed.

See the chart below for an updated list of regular decision notification dates for a sample of selective schools.

School Regular Notification Date
Class of 2029
American University 4/1/2025
Amherst College on or around 3/20/25
Babson College by mid-March
Barnard College late March
Bates College by 4/1/25
Belmont University Rolling beginning 9/15/24
Boston College by 4/1/25
Boston University late March to early April
Bowdoin College mid-March
Brandeis University 4/1/2025
Brown University by early April
Bryn Mawr College mid-March
Bucknell University by 4/1/25
CalArts March 1 through early April
Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo by 4/1/25
California Institute of Technology mid-March
Carleton College by 4/1/25
Carnegie Mellon University by 4/1/25
Case Western Reserve University 3/22/2025
Chapman University mid-March
Claremont McKenna College by 4/1/25
Clark University late March
Clemson University mid-February
Colby College by 4/1/25
Colgate University late March
College of Charleston mid-March
College of Holy Cross by mid-March
College of William and Mary by late March
Colorado College 3/14/2025
Columbia University late March
Connecticut College late March
Cornell University late March
Dartmouth College late March or early April
Davidson College by 4/1/25
DePaul University by 3/15/25
Dickinson College late March
Drexel University by 4/1/25
Duke University late March or early April
Elon University 3/20/2025
Emory University by 4/1/25
Fairfield University 4/1/2025
Florida State University 2/13/2025
Fordham University 4/1/2025
Furman University by 3/1/25
George Washington University by 4/1/25
Georgetown University by 4/1/25
Georgia Institute of Technology 3/7/25 for GA residents
3/28/25  for non-GA residents
Hamilton College late March
Harvard University by the end of March
Harvey Mudd College 4/1/2025
Haverford College early April
Hofstra University February 1st and rolling thereafter
Indiana University-Bloomington by 3/15/25
James Madison University mid to late March
Johns Hopkins University 3/21/2025
Kennesaw State University Rolling
Kenyon College late March
Lafayette College late March
Lehigh University late March
Louisiana State University Rolling
Loyola Marymount University Rolling by 4/1/25
Loyola University Chicago Rolling
Loyola University New Orleans Rolling by 4/1/25
Miami University of Ohio 3/15/2025
Middlebury College late March
MIT mid-March
Muhlenberg College mid-March
The New School by 4/1/25
New York University 4/1/2025
Northeastern University by 4/1/25
Northwestern University 3/1/2025
Occidental College 4/1/2025
Ohio State University 3/7/2025
Penn State University Rolling beginning in January
Pepperdine University 4/1/2025
Pitzer College by 4/1/25
Pomona College by 4/1/25
Princeton University late March
Providence College by 4/1/25
Purdue University by 3/31/25
Reed College by 4/1/25
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute mid-March
Rice University by 4/1/25
Rochester Institute of Technology mid-March
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 3/15/2025
Rutgers University, New Brunswick 2/28/2025
Santa Clara University by 4/1/25
Sarah Lawrence College late March to early April
Skidmore College mid-March
Southern Methodist University mid-March
Stanford University early April
Stevens Institute of Technology by 4/1/25
SUNY at Binghamton by 4/1/25
SUNY at Geneseo early March then rolling
SUNY at Stony Brook end of March
Swarthmore College by 4/1/25
Syracuse University late March
Trinity College late March
Tufts University by 4/1/25
Tulane University by 4/1/25
UC-Berkeley end of March
UC-Davis mid-March
UC-Irvine by 3/31/25
UC-Los Angeles late March
UC-San Diego by 3/31/25
UC-Santa Barbara mid-March
UC-Santa Cruz late February to mid-March
Union College late March
University of Arizona Rolling
University of Chicago late March
University of Colorado, Boulder by 4/1/25
University of Connecticut begins early March
University of Delaware mid-March
University of Denver early March
University of Florida 3/14/2025
University of Georgia mid-March
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2/28/2025
University of Maryland-College Park by 4/1/25
University of Miami by 4/1/25
University of Michigan early April
University of Mississippi Rolling
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 3/31/2025
University of North Texas Rolling
University of Notre Dame late March
University of Oregon by 4/1/25
University of Pennsylvania by 4/1/25
University of Pittsburgh Rolling
University of Richmond by 4/1/25
University of Rochester 4/1/2025
University of San Diego March 1 to March 31
University of South Carolina mid-March
University of Southern California by 4/1/25
University of St Andrews Rolling
University of Tennessee late February
University of Texas at Austin by 2/15/25
University of Vermont early March
University of Virginia by 4/1/25
University of Washington-Seattle 3/1/25 – 3/15/25
University of Wisconsin-Madison by 3/31/25
Vanderbilt University late March
Vassar College late March to early April
Villanova University by 4/1/25
Wake Forest University around 4/1/25
Washington University in St. Louis by 4/1/25
Wellesley College late March
Wesleyan University late March
Williams College by 4/1/25
Yale University by 4/1/25

Deciding whether and where to apply early or regular decision can be daunting, especially now. The college admissions process can be overwhelming, and it may feel difficult to know where to start. At Collegiate Gateway, we are eager to share our expertise and guide you on the path to your “best fit” college. Please feel free to contact us! As always, we’re happy to help!

   

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