News · November 3, 2026

When colleges release early decision and early action results for 2026-27

Announced notification dates and windows for early rounds at popular colleges, from each college's own admissions pages.

By DreamSchool.co Research

Most early decision and early action results arrive in mid-December. This table shows what 69 of the most-applied-to colleges say about their release dates this cycle, in their own words.

College Round When decisions are released Source
University of Southern California Early action mid- to late January college page
Boston University Early decision December 14, 2026 college page
Florida State University Early decision December college page
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Early action January 29, 2027 college page
The University of Texas at Austin Early action January 15, 2027 college page
Cornell University Early decision mid-December college page
University of Florida Early decision December 11, 2026 college page
University of South Florida Early action December 9, 2026 college page
University of Wisconsin-Madison Early action on or before January 31 college page
University of Pennsylvania Early decision mid-December college page
University of Maryland-College Park Early action February 1, 2027 college page
Michigan State University Early action January 15, 2027 college page
Harvard University Restrictive early action mid-December college page
University of Arizona Early action January 15, 2027 college page
University of Colorado Boulder Early action by February 1 college page
Indiana University-Bloomington Early action January 15, 2027 college page
Stanford University Restrictive early action by mid-December college page
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Early action Early December college page
Yale University Early decision Early December college page
Yale University Restrictive early action Mid-December college page
Northwestern University Early decision December 2026 college page
Brown University Early decision mid-December college page
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Early action early December college page
University of Massachusetts-Amherst Early action By the end of January college page
Stony Brook University Early action January 29, 2027 college page
Binghamton University Early action January 15, 2027 college page
Auburn University Early action Mid-October college page
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Early action Late-February college page
University of Connecticut Early decision mid-December college page
Duke University Early decision around mid-December college page
Vanderbilt University Early decision Mid-December college page
University of Georgia Early action Mid-Late November college page
Rutgers University-New Brunswick Early action January 31, 2027 college page
Syracuse University Early action Early February college page
Syracuse University Early decision Late December college page
Drexel University Early action mid-December college page
Drexel University Early decision mid-December college page
North Carolina State University at Raleigh Early action January 31, 2027 college page
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Early action January 31, 2027 college page
Princeton University Restrictive early action Mid-December college page
University of Oregon Early action January 5, 2027 college page
Johns Hopkins University Early decision December 11, 2026 college page
James Madison University Early action Mid-Late January college page
The University of Tampa Early action by the end of February college page
The University of Tampa Early decision by the end of December college page
Miami University-Oxford Early action December 15, 2026 college page
Miami University-Oxford Early decision December 1, 2026 college page
Tufts University Early decision mid-December college page
Carnegie Mellon University Early decision December 15, 2026 college page
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Early action Cincinnati Decision Day, typically in mid-January or early February college page
Washington University in St Louis Early action December 23, 2026 college page
Washington University in St Louis Early decision December 11, 2026 college page
Emory University Early decision by December 15 college page
Rice University Early decision mid-December college page
University at Albany Early action by the end of December college page
Dartmouth College Early decision mid-December college page
Pace University Early action December 15, 2026 college page
Pace University Early decision December 1, 2026 college page
University of Notre Dame Restrictive early action mid-December college page
University of Vermont Early action late December college page
University of Vermont Early decision Late November college page
Florida Atlantic University Early action December 4 college page
Georgetown University Early action By December 15 college page
University of Rhode Island Early action January 31, 2027 college page
University of Rhode Island Early decision early December college page
St. John's University-New York Early action usually by December college page
Rochester Institute of Technology Early decision Mid-December college page
Loyola Marymount University Early action Late December (the Important Dates table lists Mid-December) college page
Loyola Marymount University Early decision Mid-December college page
Villanova University Early decision January 15 (or sooner) college page
Hofstra University Early action December 15, 2026 college page
University of North Carolina at Charlotte Early action January 30, 2027 college page
University of Rochester Early decision Mid-December college page
Quinnipiac University Early action Mid-December college page
Quinnipiac University Early decision Mid-November college page
Colgate University Early decision Mid-December college page
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Early action prior to the end of January college page
Western Michigan University Early action after winter break college page
Towson University Early action mid-January college page
Elon University Early action December 20, 2026 college page

Colleges announce exact dates and times close to release, so check your applicant portal. Many colleges give only a window ("mid-December"), which is what we show.

Sources

Each college's admissions website, checked on 2026-10-30. We include only pages that explicitly refer to the 2026-27 application cycle, and only general first-year admission dates (not deferral, waitlist, or program-specific dates); every entry is quoted from the linked page.

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