IvyWise College Admissions Blog

Early Decision and Early Action Notification Dates for the 2020-21 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!

This year’s college admissions cycle has been characterized by several changes brought about by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Many colleges have temporarily moved to test-optional admissions due to SAT/ACT cancellations, while others have extended their deadlines to give applicants more time to compile their applications. Although some elements of this year’s application process may feel a bit different, 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 2025. For example, 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 are not obligated to attend like those who applied ED and were admitted for fall 2021, their decision is final and they won’t be able to switch their enrollment to the fall 2021 term. This is one sign that colleges are approaching the decision and enrollment process a little differently this year in order to manage their yield (the percentage of admitted students who enroll) and account for a fall class that might be larger than normal because of students who deferred from the previous admissions cycle.

In a 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 really was this year. According the UGA admissions office, 30% of early action admits did not submit an SAT or ACT score.

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 early application decision notification dates for the Class of 2025. 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!