The college application process is an exciting and nerve-wracking time in students’ and parents’ lives. For those of you hoping to get an Early Decision (ED), Early Action (EA), or Single-Choice Early Action (SCEA) application decision, we will try to keep you as up to date as possible.
Many students opt for the Early Decision (ED) option, which allows them to apply to their dream school with the hope of securing a spot before Regular Decision applicants. Because students are 100% committed to a school by signing an Early Decision agreement, colleges often offer a higher rate of admission during their ED round. Colleges give these students a greater chance of admission because their yield rate, or their chances of enrolling at that school, are 100%—and colleges care a great deal about their yield rate. However, for students and parents alike, the wait for ED release dates can be agonizing. In this post, we’ll briefly dicuss the importance of Early Decision applications and provide a list of some popular schools’ release dates for 2023 for the incoming college Class of 2028!
Some schools offer Early Action (EA), which does not commit students to attending that school. It simply lets students know whether or not they have been admitted before the end of the March Regular Decision round. However, EA decision rates are less predictable. EA decisions are also not promised by December 15 and are often not released until January, at which time you would have already needed to submit all or most of your Regular Decision applications. In addition, some schools that offer EA are larger schools that have several decision release dates, and so, many applicants will not hear from a particular school on the same date, making waiting even more stressful. The great news is that once you get into an EA school, you know you are in but you can also still wait to hear back from other schools.
Schools offering Single-Choice Early Action require students not to apply to any other binding ED or EA schools in that round. Students applying Single-Choice Early Action can apply to public institutions that offer EA, and they can apply to schools that have decision dates after January 1st, which is generally the deadline for most schools’ Regular Decision or Early Decision II rounds.
Only a few schools offer Single-Choice Early Action (sometimes called Restrictive Early Action). These are schools that have such a high yield that they feel comfortable not locking in students to their school the way that Early Decision does.
Most colleges typically inform Early Decision and Single-Choice Early Action applicants of their admission status by around December 15. Given the regular application deadlines, this means that if a student is not accepted by their Early Decision college, they will have just about two weeks left to submit other applications. Of course, we recommend that students have all of their application materials completed before December 15 for every college on their lists, so they can be ready for all scenarios on December 15. Now let’s take a look at some of the most up-to-date release dates for the 2023-2024 application cycle. As mentioned, Early Action dates are less predictable and many may come in December, while others may not come out until January.
With the college admissions season well underway, these early announcements are right around the corner. In an effort to keep you informed, we have compiled a brief chart outlining the Early Decision, Early Action, and Single-Choice Early Action notification dates for the Class of 2028. (Please note that these dates are approximate and subject to change, so it’s essential to check the specific schools’ official websites for the most current information).
We will update this chart regularly, especially as we get more clarity on dates in December, so please continue to check back as it gets closer.
| College/University | Early Announcement Dates |
| American University | ED I: by 12/31 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Amherst College | ED: early to mid-December |
| Babson College | ED I: mid-December EA: by 1/1 ED II: mid-February |
| Bates College | ED I: by 12/20 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Barnard College | ED: mid-December |
| Bentley University | ED I: late December ED II: early February |
| Boston College | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Boston University | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Bowdoin College | ED I: mid-December ED II: early February |
| Brandeis University | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/1 |
| Brown University | ED: by mid-December |
| Bryant University | ED I: by 12/1 EA: mid-January ED II: by 2/15 |
| Bryn Mawr College | ED I: late December ED II: mid-Feburary |
| Bucknell University | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| California Institute of Technology | REA: mid-December |
| Carleton College | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/1 |
| Case Western Reserve University | ED I: 12/2 EA: 12/19 ED II: 2/10 |
| Chapman University | ED: mid-December EA: mid-December (rolling) |
| Claremont McKenna College | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Colby College | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Colgate University | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| College of Charleston | ED I: 12/1 EA (in-state): 12/1 EA (out-of-state): 12/15 ED II: 3/1 |
| College of the Holy Cross | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/15 |
| Colorado College | ED I: mid-December EA: late December ED II: mid-February |
| Columbia University | ED I: 12/15 |
| Connecticut College | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Cornell University | ED I: 12/15 |
| Dartmouth College | ED: by mid-December |
| Davidson College | ED I: by 12/16 ED II: by 1/31 |
| Dickinson College | ED I: mid-December ED II: late February |
| Drexel University | ED I: mid-December EA: mid-December |
| Duke University | ED: mid-December |
| Elon University | ED I: 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: 12/20 EA: 12/20 ED II: 2/15 |
| Franklin & 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: by 12/15 |
| Gettysburg College | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Grinnell College | ED I: mid-December ED II: early February |
| Hamilton College | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Harvard University | REA: mid-December |
| Harvey Mudd College | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/15 |
| Haverford College | ED I: 12/15 ED II: early February |
| Indiana University- Bloomington | EA: by 1/15 |
| Johns Hopkins University | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/16 |
| Lafayette College | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/15 |
| Lehigh University | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Loyola Marymount University | ED I: mid-December EA: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Macalester College | ED I: 12/3 EA: 12/20 ED II: 1/28 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | EA: mid-December |
| Middlebury College | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Mount Holyoke College | ED I: late December ED II: late January |
| Northeastern University | ED I: by 1/1 ED II: by 3/1 EA: by 2/15 |
| Northwestern University | ED: December |
| New York University | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/15 |
| Oberlin College | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/1 |
| Occidental College | ED I: 12/15 ED II: 2/20 |
| The Ohio State University | EA: by 1/31 |
| Pennsylvania State University | EA: by 12/24 |
| Pitzer College | ED I: by 12/18 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Pomona College | ED I: by 12/15 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Pratt Institute | EA: by mid-December |
| Princeton University | SCEA: mid-December |
| Providence College | ED I: by 12/1 EA: by 1/1 ED II: by 3/1 |
| Purdue University- Main Campus | EA: 1/15 |
| Rhode Island School of Design | ED I: mid-December |
| Rice University | ED I: by 12/15 |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick | EA: 1/31 |
| Santa Clara University | ED I: late December EA: late December ED II: mid-Feburary |
| Scripps College | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Skidmore College | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Smith College | ED I: mid-December ED II: late January |
| Stanford University | REA: by mid-December |
| Swarthmore College | ED I: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| Syracuse University | ED I: late December (rolling) ED II: late January (rolling) |
| Temple University | EA: by 1/10 |
| Trinity College | ED I: by mid-December ED II: by mid-February |
| Tufts University | ED I: by 12/15 |
| Tulane University | ED I: by 12/15 EA: by 1/10 ED II: by 2/15 |
| Union College | ED I: by 12/15 EA: late December ED II: by 2/15 |
| University of Chicago | ED I: mid-December EA: mid-December ED II: mid-February |
| University of Denver | ED I: early December EA: late December (rolling) ED II: mid-February |
| University of Georgia | EA: by 12/1 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | EA: 1/26 |
| University of Maryland- College Park | EA: by 2/1 |
| University of Massachusetts Amherst | EA: by the end of January |
| University of Miami | ED I: by mid-December EA: by late January ED II: by late February |
| University of Michigan | EA: by late January |
| University of Minnesota- Twin Cities | EA I: by 1/31 EA II: by 2/15 |
| University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill | EA: 1/31 |
| University of Notre Dame | REA: mid-December |
| University of Pennsylvania | ED: by mid-December |
| University of Richmond | ED I: around 12/15 EA: around 1/25 ED II: around 2/15 |
| University of Rochester | ED I: mid-December ED II: early February |
| University of Southern California | EA: mid to late January |
| University of Vermont | ED: 12/1 EA: late December |
| University of Virginia | ED: by 12/15 EA: by 2/15 |
| 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 |
| Wake Forest University | ED I: Rolling EA: by 1/15 ED II: around 2/15 |
| Washington & 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: 12/10 |
| William & Mary | ED I: early December ED II: early February |
| Williams College | ED: by 12/15 |
| Yale University | SCEA: mid-December |
Choosing to apply ED, EA, or SCEA can be advantageous for students seeking admission to their dream schools. The promise of a quicker decision and the potential admission advantage make it an appealing option for many. As you eagerly await your early notification release dates in 2023 (or early 2024), be sure to stay informed and prepare yourself for whatever outcome awaits. Regardless of the decision, your journey to higher education is just beginning, and remember that there are many exciting opportunities ahead!
Contact us to learn more about our admissions consulting services.
