Here are early admissions decision notification dates for the upcoming Class of 2026.
Your college admissions season is almost over for many of you (and there is light at the end of the tunnel, we promise). Early admissions decisions are the next big thing to come up!
Early application displays your genuine interest in the school. It demonstrates that you are committed to attending that college or university—or, at the very least, that it is one of your top choices. Plus, you’re competing against a smaller pool of candidates.
Another advantage of applying early is that you’ll know whether or not you’ve been accepted to your top choice(s) early on. This alleviates the stress and anxiety that comes with waiting and allows you to focus on your college preparations. You’ll also have a head start on locating housing, budgeting, and stocking up on supplies for your future education.
Early Decision / Early Action Notification Date for Class of 2026
School | Early Decision I Notification Date | Early Action Notification Date | Early Decision II Notification Date |
American University | December 31 | February 15 | |
Amherst College | Early to Mid-December | ||
Babson College | Mid-December | January 1 | Mid-February |
Barnard College | Mid-December | ||
Bates College | December 11 | February 15 | |
Baylor University | December 15 | January 15 | March 1 |
Bentley University | January 20 | February 20 | |
Boston College | December 2 | February 15 | |
Boston University | December 15 | February 15 | |
Bowdoin College | Mid-December | Mid-February | |
Brandeis University | December 15 | February 1 | |
Brown University | December 16 | ||
Cal Tech | Mid-December | ||
Carleton College | December 15 | ||
Carnegie Mellon University | December 11 at 6am | February 1 | |
Case Western University | December 4 | December 21 | Beginning January 9 |
Chapman University | December 15 | December 15 | |
Clark University | Late December | Mid-January | Early February |
Clemson University | Mid-February | ||
Colgate University | Mid-December | Late February | |
Columbia University | Mid-December | ||
Cooper Union | Late December | ||
Cornell University | December 13 | ||
Dartmouth College | Mid-December | ||
Davidson College | December 15 | February 1 | |
Duke University | December 16 | ||
Elon University | December 1 | December 20 | |
Emerson College | Mid-December | Mid-December | February 1 |
Emory University | December 15 @6pm ET | February 15 | |
Fordham University | December 20 | December 20 | |
George Mason University | December 15 | ||
George Washington University | December 13 @9am EST | Late-February | |
Georgetown University | December 13 @7pm EST | ||
Georgia Tech | December 11 | ||
Hamilton College | December 15 | February 15 | |
Harvard University | Mid-December | ||
Harvey Mudd | December 15 | February 15 | |
Haverford College | December 10 | February 15 | |
Hofstra University | December 15(EA 2: January 15) | ||
Indiana University Bloomington | January 15 | ||
Johns Hopkins University | December 10 | February 12 | |
Lafayette College | December 15 | February 15 | |
Lehigh University | December 15 | Mid-February | |
MIT | December 18 @3:14pm | ||
Middlebury College | Mid-December | Mid-February | |
Mount Holyoke College | Late December | Late January | |
New York University (NYU) | December 15 | February 16 | |
Northeastern University | December 8 | February 1 | February 15 |
Northwestern University | December 17 | ||
Oberlin College | December 15 @7pm EST | February 1 | |
Occidental College | December 15 | February 20 | |
Pomona College | December 15 | February 15 | |
Princeton University | Single Choice Early Action (SCEA) Decision Notification on December 16 | ||
Purdue University | January 15 | ||
Rice University | December 9 | ||
Rutgers University | January 31 | ||
Santa Clara University | December 15 | December 15 | Mid-February |
Stanford University | December 15 | ||
Suffolk University | TBA | ||
Swarthmore College | December 14 @7pm ET | ||
Tufts University | Mid-December | Mid-February | |
Tulane University | November 22 @4pm CST | December 20 @4pm CST | January 31 |
University of Chicago | December 17 | December 17 | Mid-February |
University of Georgia | Before December 1 (for GA resident) | ||
University of Illinois at Chicago | December 1 | ||
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) | TBA | ||
University of Massachusettes | December 15 | ||
University of Miami | Late December | Late January/Early February | Late February |
University of Michigan | Late January | ||
University of North Carolina (UNC) | January 31 | ||
University of Notre Dame | Mid-December | ||
University of Pennsylvania | December 16 | ||
University of Richmond | December 15 | January 25 | February 15 |
University of Rochester | Mid-December | Early-February | |
University of San Francisco | Mid-December | Mid-December | |
University of South Carolina | December 13 | ||
University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) | February 1 | ||
University of Wisconsin-Madison | January 31 | ||
University of Vermont | Late December | ||
University of Virginia | December 10 at 5pm EST | TBA | |
Vanderbilt University | January 15 | TBA | |
Villanova University | December 15 | January 15 | March 1 |
Virginia Tech | Mid-December | Late February | |
Washington & Lee University | December 15 @8pm EST | Late-January | |
Washington University in St. Louis (Wustl) | TBA | TBA | |
Wellesley College | Mid-December | Mid-February | |
Wesleyan University | Mid-December | Mid-February | |
William & Mary | Early December | Early February | |
Williams College | TBA | ||
Worcester Polytechnic Institute | December 15 | January 15 | February 15 |
Yale University | Mid-December |