When Do Early Action & Decision Notifications Come Out For The Class of 2029?

When Are Early Action and Early Decision Applicants Notified?

Many colleges, including a significant number of highly selective colleges, offer Early Decision (ED) or Early Action (EA) application options, with a handful of schools offering both EA and ED.

Typically notification dates for ED are in early or late December.

EA notifications often go out in mid-December, but sometimes a couple weeks later, and can vary by school or in a given year.

At schools offering both EA and ED options, ED notifications typically go out in mid-December, but EA notification dates may trail a couple weeks, or more, behind.

Restrictive Early Action (REA), sometimes called Single-choice Early Action, is offered only by a handful of elite colleges, such as Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Georgetown, Yale, California Institute of Technology, and the University of Notre Dame. REA notifications typically go out in mid-December.

Early Action (EA) Notification Dates

EA is a good way to spotlight your enthusiasm for a specific school and your early readiness, and it doesn’t impose any binding commitment, the way an ED application does. You can apply to multiple schools as an EA applicant, if you’re not applying REA (or Single-Choice EA).

Even though there’s no binding commitment, you still get notified of admissions decisions much earlier than any of your peers who are applying in Regular Decision rounds, and it may give your odds for admissions a boost.

For EA admissions you typically need to apply by November 1st.

EA notification dates typically fall between mid-December and mid-January, but notification dates vary based on the school, and sometimes from year to year. Remember, as an EA applicant, if you do receive an offer from the school, you’re NOT bound by any commitments.

Restrictive Early Action (REA) Notification Dates

REA requires a student to sign a form that they will not apply for early admissions at any other school — but there can be exceptions for applying to a public university or a foreign university. Like EA, REA does NOT involve any binding commitments if the applicant is accepted.

The REA application deadline is typically November 1st.

REA notifications typically happen in mid-December. Remember, if you’re accepted, there’s NO commitment to accept the offer.

Early Decision (ED) Applications and Notification Dates

ED is a consequential application strategy, because it involves you, the student, making a binding commitment to attend the university you’re applying to if accepted. That means, in addition to needing to meet the early application deadline, students who apply ED somewhere cannot apply to any other school on an ED basis, with very few exceptions. And, if accepted, you’re also committing to accept the school’s offer, which can limit options down the road for entertaining both other admissions offers as well as any accompanying financial aid offer.

For ED applications the deadline is usually November 1st. ED notifications typically go out in mid- or late-December, but dates can vary from school to school, or from year to year. And, remember, if you’re accepted, that is now a binding decision for you, the student.

Round 2 ED Notification Dates

Many schools also offer second-round ED application options and timelines. Just like all other ED applications, Round 2 ED applications are binding — so you can’t apply to any other schools as an ED applicant, and if you’re admitted, you must attend.

Round 2 application deadlines are later, usually between Jan 1. And Feb. 1 of your senior year. Round 2 ED notifications are also later, and typically go out mid-February to mid-March.

What are the Early Action & Decision Notification Dates for the Class of 2028?

What Should You Do After Receiving Early Application Notifications?

Managing ED Notifications & Offers

• If you applied to a school as an Early Decision applicant and are accepted, you must attend the school and disregard all other school offers. In most cases you’re going to be notified by mid- or late-December.
• If you’re not accepted, it’s often the case that your application will still be considered, but any action will be “deferred” until the review of Regular Decision applications.
• If your application action is deferred, and you are accepted later in the Regular Decision round, keep in mind that there’s no longer any commitment to accept the school’s offer.

Managing EA Notifications & Offers

• If you’re accepted as an EA applicant, you can still consider all other school offers. But there’s also the deadline, set by the school, for making your decision to accept or decline their offer.
• If you don’t accept the school’s offer by the response deadline, you may forfeit your spot, depending on school policies or enrollment factors that year — meaning you may face a hard choice, whether to accept the EA offer or wait to hear from schools you applied to as a Regular Decision applicant.
• If you receive early-round notifications in December and don’t get the offers you’d hoped for, you may want to apply to additional schools as a Regular Decision applicant, to broaden your chances. But if you haven’t planned ahead, you may find it difficult to do so on such a short timeline.

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