Class of 2026 Early Decision Notification Dates
Early Decision and Early Action Notification Dates for the 2021-22 Application Season
The college admissions season is flying by, and before you know it early admission decisions will be released. Here’s our annual list of early decision notification dates!
Much like last year, this year’s college admissions cycle has been characterized by several changes brought about by the 0ngoing COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps most notably, many colleges are still utilizing a test-optional admissions policy due to prior SAT/ACT cancellations. In-person touring options are also limited at some institutions and students will once again have the opportunity to discuss how the pandemic impacted their admissions process in the Common App’s optional section. However, despite these differences, the anticipation surrounding decision notification dates remains high.
Early Decision and Early Action Trends
In a college admissions cycle marked by unusual circumstances, students can expect that colleges will get creative when it comes to admitting the first members of the class of 2026. For example, last year, Tulane University released early decisions almost a month ahead of schedule, and in those acceptances, a number of students were admitted to the spring 2022 term. While those students were not obligated to attend like those who applied ED and were admitted for fall 2021, their decision was final and they wouldn’t be able to switch their enrollment to the fall 2021 term. This is one sign that colleges might be approaching the decision and enrollment process a little differently in order to manage their yield (the percentage of admitted students who enroll).
During a second year with an unprecedented number of test-optional and flexible admissions policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Georgia gave us a first look at how optional test-optional has really been. According to the UGA admissions office, 30% of early action admits did not submit an SAT or ACT score.
When Do Early Action Decisions Come Out?
Time crunch for other applications: Most colleges do not notify ED and EA applicants of admission until around December 15. Because of the usual deadlines for applications, this means that if a student is rejected by the ED college, there are only two weeks left to send in other applications.
At IvyWise, we aim to relieve some of the stress commonly associated with the college admissions process, and that includes bringing you the most updated information on early decision release dates every year. Our annual release date list is the most comprehensive and updated daily as new information becomes available. Be sure to check the links provided within the list for the most recent dates and information.
Here are the early decision application notification dates for the Class of 2026. Expect these dates to change as we draw closer to mid-December. Check back regularly for updated dates and times – especially for those without specific dates and times or those labeled “TBD.” See a school we left out or an updated release date we haven’t included yet? Tell us in the comments below and we will add it to our list!
| School | Early Decision Notification Date |
| Amherst College | ED: December 10, 2021 |
| Babson College | ED: December 15, 2021 at 4pm ET |
| Barnard College | ED: December 14, 2021 at 6:30pm ET |
| Bates College | ED I: December 20 |
| Boston College | ED I: December 2, 2021 in the evening |
| Boston University | ED: December 14, 2021 |
| Bowdoin College | ED I: December 10, 2021 at 7pm ET |
| Brandeis University | December 15 |
| Brown University | ED: December 16, 2021 at 7pm ET |
| Bucknell University | TBA |
| Caltech | Mid-December |
| Carleton College | December 15 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | December 15 |
| Case Western Reserve University | ED I: December 11, 2021 at 12pm ET |
| Colby College | TBA |
| Colgate University | ED I: December 13, 2021 ED II: February 21, 2021 at 7pm ET |
| Colorado College | Mid-December |
| Columbia University | ED: December 14, 2021 at 7pm ET |
| Cornell University | ED: December 13, 2021 at 7pm ET |
| Dartmouth College | ED: December 10, 2021 at 5pm ET |
| Davidson College | December 15 |
| Duke University | ED: December 16, 2021 at 7pm ET |
| Elon University | Mid-December |
| Emerson College | Mid-December |
| Emory University | ED I: December 15, 2021 at 6pm ET |
| Fordham University | Early to Mid-December |
| George Mason University | December 15 |
| George Washington University | ED: December 16, 2021 |
| Georgetown University | EA: December 13, 2021 |
| Georgia Tech | EA I: December 11, 2021 at 12pm ET EA II: January 29, 2022 |
| Hamilton College | December 15 |
| Harvard University | REA: December 16, 2021 at 7pm ET |
| Harvey Mudd | TBA |
| Johns Hopkins University | ED I: December 10, 2021 at 3pm ET ED II: February 11, 2021 at 3pm ET |
| Lafayette College | ED: December 15, 2021 at 4pm ET |
| Lehigh University | TBA |
| Middlebury College | Mid-December |
| MIT | EA: December 18, 2021 at 3:14pm ET |
| New York University | December 15, 2021 |
| Northeastern University | ED I: December 8, 2021 |
| Northwestern University | ED: December 17, 2021 |
| Oberlin College | December 15 |
| Occidental College | December 15 |
| Pomona College | ED: December 15, 2021 |
| Princeton University | SCEA: December 16, 2021 at 7pm ET |
| Rice University | ED 1: December 9 after 5pm CT |
| Stanford University | REA: December 15, 2021 at 4pm ET |
| Suffolk University | TBA |
| Swarthmore College | ED I: December 14, 2021 at 7pm ET |
| Texas Christian University (TCU) | TBA |
| Trinity College | TBA |
| Tufts University | ED I: December 14, 2021 |
| Tulane University | ED: November 22, 2021 at 5pm ET EA: December 20, 2021 at 5pm ET |
| University of Chicago | December 17, 2021 |
| University of Georgia | November 19, 2021 |
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Mid-December |
University of Massachusetts Amherst | Released first batch of EA decisions on December 7 |
| University of Miami | ED: December 10, 2021 |
| University of Michigan | TBA |
| University of Notre Dame | REA: December 16, 2021 at 6:42 p.m. ET |
| University of Pennsylvania | ED: December 16, 2021 at 7pm ET |
| University of Richmond | December 15th |
| University of San Francisco | Mid-December |
| University of Texas at Austin | February 1 |
| University of Vermont | Late December |
| University of Virginia | ED: December 10, 2021 EA: February 4, 2022 in the evening |
| Vanderbilt University | December 15, 2021 after 5pm CT |
| Villanova University | ED I: December 15, 2021 by 5pm EST |
| Virginia Tech | ED: December 10, 2021 at 5pm ET |
| Washington & Lee University | ED I: December 15, 2021 at 8pm ET |
| Washington University in St. Louis | ED I: December 9, 2021 |
| Wellesley College | Mid-December |
| Wesleyan University | Mid-December |
| William & Mary | ED I: December 8, 2021 |
| Williams College | ED: December 10, 2021 in the evening |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | December 15, 2021 at 5pm ET |
| Yale University | December 15, 2021 in the evening |
