Early Decision Deadlines 2026: All 143 ED I Dates, From October 15 to December 1

Early decision deadlines in 2026 are not all November 1, and this year the most common one lands on a Sunday. Of the 143 colleges in our catalog with a first-round Early Decision plan for fall 2027, 87 close on Sunday, November 1, nine on Monday, November 2, and 41 on Sunday, November 15. A few sit outside that band: two public universities in Florida close on October 15, and one college waits until December 1.

The dates below are each college's ED I deadline as listed in the Common App's 2026–27 requirements grid or on the college's own admissions page, checked September 27, 2026. Colleges do move dates, so confirm on the college's site before you plan around one.

The calendar at a glance

October 15: Florida and Florida State

The University of Florida and Florida State University both close their new Early Decision rounds on Thursday, October 15, the earliest binding deadlines on the list and more than two weeks ahead of November 1. The University of Florida also wants every supporting document in by October 22. Both are public universities, which is a story of its own: ten public universities run Early Decision this cycle, and what the promise costs depends on which state you live in.

October 19: Coastal Carolina University

Coastal Carolina closes its Early Decision round on Monday, October 19.

November 1, a Sunday (87 colleges)

Agnes Scott College, Albion College, Alfred University, Allegheny College, American University, Assumption University, Augustana College, Babson College, Bard College, Barnard College, Baylor University, Bennington College, Boston College, Brown University, Bryant University, Bucknell University, Butler University, Case Western Reserve University, Centre College, Chapman University, Claremont McKenna College, Clark University, Colgate University, Colorado College, Columbia University, Connecticut College, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, DePauw University, Drew University, Earlham College, Elon University, Emerson College, Emmanuel College, Emory University, Flagler College, Florida Southern College, Fordham University, Furman University, George Washington University, Gettysburg College, Gordon College, Illinois Institute of Technology, Ithaca College, Johns Hopkins University, Lawrence University, Lehigh University, Loyola Marymount University, Macalester College, Marist University, New York University, Northeastern University, Northwestern University, Oberlin College, Occidental College, Pepperdine University, Providence College, Quinnipiac University, Reed College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rhodes College, Rice University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Santa Clara University, Skidmore College, Southern Methodist University, St. Olaf College, Syracuse University, Tulane University, University of Connecticut, University of Denver, University of Miami, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, University of Richmond, University of Rochester, University of San Diego, University of San Francisco, University of Southern California, University of Vermont, University of Virginia, Vanderbilt University, Villanova University, Washington and Lee University, Wellesley College, William & Mary, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

That is 87 of the 143 first-round deadlines, on a day when most high school offices are closed.

November 2, a Monday (9 colleges)

With November 1 on a Sunday, nine colleges list the Monday instead: Boston University, Brandeis University, Carnegie Mellon University, College of Charleston, Duke University, Middlebury College, Tufts University, University of Chicago, Washington University in St. Louis. If one of them is your Early Decision school, you have one more day. Any Early Action application you are sending elsewhere on November 1 keeps its own date.

November 8 and 9

• Sunday, November 8: Pomona College
• Monday, November 9: Amherst College

November 15, a Sunday (41 colleges)

Antioch College, Bates College, Bentley University, Bowdoin College, Bryn Mawr College, Carleton College, Champlain College, Christopher Newport University, Coe College, Colby College, College of the Atlantic, College of the Holy Cross, Davidson College, Denison University, Dickinson College, Drexel University, Fairfield University, Franklin and Marshall College, Grinnell College, Hamilton College, Harvey Mudd College, Haverford College, Kenyon College, Lafayette College, Loyola University Maryland, Mount Holyoke College, Pitzer College, Scripps College, Sewanee: The University of the South, Smith College, Stevens Institute of Technology, Swarthmore College, Trinity College, Union College, University of Scranton, Vassar College, Wabash College, Wake Forest University, Wesleyan University, Whitman College, Williams College

Most of this group are liberal arts colleges. November 15 is also a Sunday this year.

December 1: Clarkson University

Clarkson's Early Decision round closes on Tuesday, December 1, the latest first-round date on the list.

What the date on this list doesn't cover

Supporting documents can have their own date. Florida's October 22 cutoff for materials is one example. Check whether your college sets one before you treat the application date as the finish line.

The Early Decision agreement needs three signatures. You, a parent or guardian, and your counselor sign it. With both November 1 and November 15 on Sundays, the counselor's part is the one to settle the week before, not the weekend of.

Financial aid forms often run on a separate clock. Colleges often ask early applicants for aid forms by a deadline of their own. Check each college's financial aid page next to its admissions page.

Decisions mostly arrive in mid-December. If yours is a deferral or a denial, the next binding round is Early Decision II, and 102 colleges offer one for fall 2027. For everything else on your list, here is every Regular Decision date.

Let the college pick the date, not the other way around

A deadline is a bad reason to choose where your one binding application goes. It is a good reason to start counting. A student whose first choice closes October 15 has seventeen fewer days for supplements than one whose first choice closes November 1, and a month less than one aiming at a November 15 college. If you haven't chosen yet, the calendar above tells you how much time each choice leaves you.

Before you decide, see what each college on your own list published about its early round: run the free list check. It reads each school's own filing and shows you, free, the range of what the early round is worth across your list.

Source: each college's Early Decision I deadline in the Common App's 2026–27 requirements grid or on its admissions page, checked September 27, 2026.