Early Decision Notification Dates 2026: Release Windows by College for the Class of 2031

When are Early Decision notifications released for fall 2027 entry?

In December 2026, mostly in the second and third weeks. Colleges state their own windows: the Ivy League Joint Statement says member colleges “mail admission decision letters twice annually, in mid-December and late March” (Ivy League Joint Statement, Fall 2021); Johns Hopkins names December 11, 2026; WashU names December 11 for Early Decision I and December 23 for Early Action; Williams says by December 14; Davidson December 12; and Georgetown, Emory, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, Pomona, Carleton, Haverford and Colby say by December 15. Last cycle, documented release days included Princeton on December 11, 2025, Duke and Dartmouth on December 15, MIT on December 16 at 6:28 PM Eastern, Yale and Brown on December 17, and Harvard and Penn on December 18 (Duke Today; MIT Admissions; Yale News). Colleges announce the exact day themselves: Penn says it notifies applicants “at least one week ahead of time” (Penn Admissions), and MIT posted its December 16, 2025 release time on its admissions blog. The tables below give each college’s own wording for this cycle, with last cycle’s date where an official or attributed source exists.

When do the Ivy League early decisions come out?

All eight Ivies say mid-December (Penn says “in December”). Harvard uses Restrictive Early Action, Princeton and Yale Single-Choice Early Action, and Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth and Penn binding Early Decision. Regular Decision results come on a common late-March date, Ivy Day, which fell on March 26, 2026; our guide to when Ivy League decisions come out covers both rounds in detail, and our school guides cover being deferred from Harvard, deferred from Yale, deferred from Princeton, deferred from Penn, deferred from Columbia, deferred from Brown, deferred from Cornell and deferred from Dartmouth.

When do other leading universities release early results?

Most say mid-December; six name a day. Stanford, Caltech and Notre Dame run non-binding Restrictive Early Action, MIT non-binding Early Action with no restriction on other early applications, Georgetown non-binding Early Action that bars binding ED applications while pending, and the rest binding Early Decision. UChicago, WashU and USC offer both a binding and a non-binding early round.

When do liberal arts colleges release Early Decision results?

Mid-December at most of them, with several naming December 12 to 15 and Hamilton saying “by December 19”. Deadlines vary more than at universities: Amherst closed November 9, Pomona November 8, Wellesley and Middlebury November 1 and 2, and Williams, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, Carleton, Hamilton, Davidson, Wesleyan, Haverford and Colby November 15, 2026.

When are Early Decision II results released?

Between late January and mid-February 2027, for applications due in early to mid-January 2027. Early Decision II is a second binding round; Georgetown describes such programs as allowing students “to apply by early or mid January, providing a decision around early or mid February” (Georgetown Early Action program). The Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Duke, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, Williams and Amherst have no ED II round. In our view, ED II is the main binding option for a student deferred or denied in December who has a clear first choice; our guide to what to do after an early deferral covers the decision.

What are the possible early outcomes and what happens next?

Admit, deny or defer. The Ivy League Joint Statement puts it this way: “an applicant may be notified that he or she has been granted or denied admission or that a final decision has been deferred until the late March notification date” (Ivy League Joint Statement). An Early Decision admit is binding: the Common App Early Decision Agreement says “If the student is accepted under an early decision plan, the student must promptly withdraw the applications submitted to other colleges and universities,” while noting that a student “need not withdraw other applications until the student has received notification about financial aid” (Common App Early Decision Agreement, 2026). An Early Action or Restrictive Early Action admit is not binding, with a May 1 reply date. A deferral moves the file to the Regular Decision round, and most colleges then decide it in late March or by April 1.

Deferral practice differs sharply, and only some colleges publish it. MIT deferred 7,738 of 11,883 Early Action applicants for the Class of 2030 and denied 2,703 (MIT Admissions); Yale deferred 18% of 7,140 early applicants and denied 70% (Yale News); Georgetown defers every Early Action applicant it does not admit (Georgetown); Stanford says it “defers only a small percentage”; Duke publishes no deferral figures. Our college guides cover the rules at each: deferred from Stanford, deferred from MIT, deferred from Georgetown, deferred from Duke and deferred from Michigan, with the general playbook in what deferred means, deferral acceptance rates and the deferral letter of continued interest. In the view of Oriel Admissions, every early applicant should have the Regular Decision list finished before the December release, because most Regular Decision deadlines fall on January 1 to 5, 2027, and ED II deadlines in the same window.

Does applying early improve your chances?

Colleges answer differently, and the honest answer is that the published rates differ while the colleges disagree about why. Duke says “Applying early decision has an advantage in the admissions process. In 2025-2026, we admitted 12.6% of students who applied Early Decision and 4.2% of students who applied Regular Decision” (Duke Resources and FAQs). Brown says “Please do not assume that your admission chances are improved by applying under the Early Decision plan” (Brown). Yale says it “does not give an advantage to applicants who choose apply through Early Action” (Yale), MIT says “there is no strategic benefit to applying in one vs the other” (MIT), and Georgetown says “There is no statistical advantage in applying Early Action” (Georgetown). In our experience, the early round helps a student who is a strong fit and ready by November 1, and it does not rescue an unfinished application. For school-specific context see our analyses of the Williams acceptance rate, Amherst acceptance rate and Pomona acceptance rate, and our guide on when to hire a college admissions consultant.

Frequently Asked Questions About Early Decision Notification Dates

Sources: Ivy League Joint Statement on Common Admission Procedure, Fall 2021, Harvard College, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Duke, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, UChicago, Vanderbilt, WashU, Notre Dame, Rice, Georgetown, Tufts, Emory, Carnegie Mellon, USC, NYU, Williams, Amherst, Pomona, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Carleton, Hamilton Early Decision, Davidson, Wesleyan, Haverford, Colby, Penn Admissions blog, Dean Whitney Soule, December 18, 2025, The Dartmouth, December 19, 2025, MIT Admissions, December 16, 2025, Duke Today, December 18, 2025, Yale News, December 17, 2025, Georgetown Early Action program, Common App Early Decision Agreement, 2026.

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