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!
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 2030 |
| American University | 4/1/2026 |
| Amherst College | on or around 3/20/26 |
| Babson College | by mid-March |
| Barnard College | late March |
| Bates College | by 4/1/26 |
| Belmont University | Rolling beginning in January |
| Boston College | by 4/1/26 |
| Boston University | late March |
| Bowdoin College | mid-March |
| Brandeis University | 4/1/2026 |
| Brown University | by early April |
| Bryn Mawr College | mid-March |
| Bucknell University | mid-March |
| Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo | by 4/1/26 |
| CalArts | March 1 through early April |
| California Institute of Technology | mid-March |
| Carleton College | 4/1/2026 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | by 4/1/26 |
| Case Western Reserve University | 3/21/2026 |
| Chapman University | mid-March |
| Claremont McKenna College | by 4/1/26 |
| Clark University | late March |
| Clemson University | mid-February |
| Colby College | by 4/1/26 |
| Colgate University | mid-March |
| College of Charleston | mid-March |
| College of Holy Cross | mid-March |
| College of William and Mary | by 4/1/26 |
| Colorado College | 3/12/2026 |
| Columbia University | by 4/15/26 |
| Columbia University-TAU | 4/1/2026 |
| Connecticut College | late March |
| Cornell University | late March |
| Dartmouth College | late March or early April |
| Davidson College | by 4/1/26 |
| DePaul University | by 3/15/26 |
| Dickinson College | late March |
| Drexel University | by 4/1/26 |
| Duke University | late March or early April |
| Elon University | 3/20/2026 |
| Emory University | by 4/1/26 |
| Fairfield University | 4/1/2026 |
| Florida State University | 2/12/2026 |
| Fordham University | 4/1/2026 |
| Franklin & Marshall College | by 4/1/26 |
| Furman University | by 2/15/26 |
| George Washington University | by 4/1/26 |
| Georgetown University | 4/1/2026 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | 3/6/26 for GA residents 3/27/26 for non-GA residents |
| Hamilton College | late March |
| Harvard University | by the end of March |
| Harvey Mudd College | 4/1/2026 |
| Haverford College | late March |
| Hofstra University | February 1st and rolling thereafter |
| Indiana University-Bloomington | by 3/15/26 |
| Indiana University-Indianapolis | by 3/15/26 |
| James Madison University | mid to late March |
| Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute | 4/1/2026 |
| Johns Hopkins University | 3/18/2026 |
| Kennesaw State University | Rolling |
| Kenyon College | late March |
| Lafayette College | late March |
| Lehigh University | late March |
| Lipscomb University | 3/1/2026 |
| Louisiana State University | Rolling |
| Loyola Marymount University | late March |
| Loyola University Chicago | Rolling |
| Loyola University New Orleans | Rolling |
| McGill University | Rolling |
| Miami University of Ohio | 3/15/2026 |
| Middlebury College | late March |
| MIT | mid-March |
| Muhlenberg College | 3/1/2026 |
| New York Institute of Technology | Rolling |
| New York University | 4/1/2026 |
| Northeastern University | by 4/1/26 |
| Northwestern University | March 2026 |
| Occidental College | by mid-March |
| Ohio State University | 3/6/2026 |
| Penn State University | Rolling beginning in January |
| Pepperdine University | 4/1/2026 |
| Pitzer College | by 4/1/26 |
| Pomona College | by 4/1/26 |
| Princeton University | late March |
| Providence College | by 4/1/26 |
| Purdue University | by 3/31/26 |
| Queen’s University Belfast | Rolling |
| Reed College | 4/1/2026 |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 3/7/2026 |
| Rice University | by 4/1/26 |
| Robert Gordon University | Rolling |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | mid-March |
| Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 3/15/2026 |
| Rutgers University, New Brunswick | 2/28/2026 |
| Santa Clara University | by 4/1/26 |
| Sarah Lawrence College | late March to early April |
| Scripps College | by 4/1/26 |
| Shenandoah University | Rolling |
| Skidmore College | mid-March |
| Southern Methodist University | by 4/1/26 |
| Stanford University | early April |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | by 4/1/26 |
| SUNY at Binghamton | by 4/1/26 |
| SUNY at Geneseo | early March then rolling |
| SUNY at Stony Brook | end of March |
| Swarthmore College | by 4/1/26 |
| Syracuse University | 3/21/2026 |
| The New School | by 4/1/26 |
| The University of Edinburgh | by mid-May |
| The University of Manchester | 5/13/2026 |
| Trinity College | late March |
| Tufts University | by 4/1/26 |
| Tulane University | by 4/1/26 |
| UC-Berkeley | end of March |
| UC-Davis | mid-March |
| UC-Irvine | by 3/31/26 |
| UC-Los Angeles | late March |
| UC-San Diego | by 3/31/26 |
| UC-Santa Barbara | mid-March |
| UC-Santa Cruz | late February to mid-March |
| Union College | late March |
| University of Alabama | Rolling |
| University of Arizona | released in batches during the spring |
| University of British Columbia | Rolling |
| University of Chicago | late March |
| University of Colorado, Boulder | by 4/1/26 |
| University of Connecticut | begins early March |
| University of Delaware | mid-March |
| University of Denver | mid to late February |
| University of Derby | Rolling |
| University of Florida | 3/13/2026 |
| University of Georgia | mid-March |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 3/6/2026 |
| University of Maryland-College Park | by 4/1/26 |
| University of Miami | 4/1/2026 |
| University of Michigan | early April |
| University of Mississippi | Rolling |
| University of Missouri-Kansas City | Rolling |
| University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | 3/31/2026 |
| University of North Texas | Rolling |
| University of Notre Dame | late March |
| University of Oklahoma | Rolling |
| University of Oregon | by 4/1/26 |
| University of Pennsylvania | in April |
| University of Pittsburgh | Rolling |
| University of Richmond | 3/13/2026 |
| University of Rochester | 4/1/2026 |
| University of San Diego | mid-March |
| University of South Carolina | mid-March |
| University of Southern California | by 4/1/26 |
| University of St Andrews | Rolling |
| University of Tennessee | 3/9/2026 |
| University of Texas at Austin | 2/15/2026 |
| University of Vermont | late February |
| University of Virginia | by 4/1/26 |
| University of Washington-Seattle | 3/1/26 – 3/15/26 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | by 3/31/26 |
| Vanderbilt University | late March |
| Vassar College | by 4/1/26 |
| Villanova University | by 4/1/26 |
| Wake Forest University | by 4/1/26 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | by 4/1/26 |
| Wellesley College | late March |
| Wesleyan University | late March |
| Williams College | by 4/1/26 |
| Yale University | by 4/1/26 |
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!