Switching to Early Decision II Can Move Your Aid Deadline Up a Month

For a student deferred in December, the quickest second binding application is often one that's already submitted. Several colleges let a Regular Decision applicant switch to Early Decision II in January: the essays and recommendations are already there, and what's left is a signed agreement and an email or a portal request.

The switch moves more than the decision plan. It moves you onto the second round's financial aid calendar, and at five of the eight colleges below, that calendar runs weeks ahead of the regular one. At Boston College, Colby and Vanderbilt, the window to switch stays open after the second-round aid date has already passed.

Switching, college by college

Boston College and Vanderbilt call their aid dates priority dates.

Where the switch moves the aid date

At Johns Hopkins, Hamilton and Richmond, the second round and the regular round share an aid date. A Regular Decision applicant who filed on time is already on time for Early Decision II.

At the other five the second-round date is earlier, by eleven days at Colby and by about a month at Boston College, Chicago, Rice and Vanderbilt. A family working to the Regular Decision aid date can be late the moment the application becomes Early Decision II.

Four cases need a closer look.

Boston College takes the switch until January 8: "Please complete and sign the Common Application Early Decision Agreement form and email it to the Office of Undergraduate Admission by January 8 to make this request." Its second-round aid priority date is January 3, five days earlier, and covers the CSS Profile, the FAFSA and the tax returns sent through the College Board's IDOC service.

Colby lets a Regular Decision applicant convert "by submitting a signed Early Decision Agreement ... by February 1 in the case of EDII." Its second-round aid forms, tax returns included, are due January 4, four weeks earlier.

Vanderbilt takes plan changes "only up to 2 weeks after the decision plan deadline," which for its second round is January 1. Its second-round aid priority date is January 1 itself, two weeks before the switch window closes.

Chicago's last day to switch is January 15, "for deferred Early Action candidates or students who previously selected Regular Decision," and its second-round aid deadline is the same day. Chicago's rule on lateness is the strictest here: aid applicants must be complete by their round's deadline "to be considered for need-based institutional financial aid," and "students who submit financial aid requirements after the deadline will not be eligible to apply." Chicago also doesn't use the CSS Profile. It has its own worksheet, plus the parents' 2025 tax return and the FAFSA.

Why the aid date matters more after a switch

An Early Decision II admission binds you as firmly as one in December. Colleges commonly release an admit whose aid doesn't make attendance possible, but only once there is an offer to look at (what the agreement says). Late forms can mean a late offer, or a smaller one.

Some colleges say what lateness costs. Richmond cuts need-based grants by 10 percent for forms up to 60 days late, and after 60 days its own need-based grants are gone. Davidson reduces the college grant and replaces the difference with a $3,500 loan. Villanova: "Late applicants will only be aided if funds remain available." NYU warns that late filers "may not qualify for the same amounts or types of funds."

Two are gentler. Wellesley's aid page says that for Early Decision, "what is needed to meet the deadline is your admissions application," with the aid forms to follow promptly. Swarthmore builds "a two-week grace period" for the CSS Profile and documents into its January 4 date.

If there is any chance you will switch, file the aid forms by the second-round date, not the regular one. Northeastern goes a step further: any domestic applicant "considering a change to Early Decision" can ask for an estimated aid review first. For its second round the request is due December 11, and the estimate comes by January 1.

Second-round aid deadlines at 24 colleges

Two pairs of official pages disagree. Middlebury's financial services page says January 3, 2027; its admissions page says January 4. Emory's aid office says January 6; an Emory admissions page says January 7. File by the earlier date.

At many of these colleges, divorced or separated parents each file a CSS Profile. Rice's page, for one, says each parent "will need to complete their respective profile for the student to be awarded aid." Over the holidays that means two households, two sets of tax returns and less time than it looks.

Where this comes from

Each college's admissions and financial aid pages, read on October 9, 2026, for students entering in fall 2027. NYU's date is for the CSS Profile; the others cover the CSS Profile and the FAFSA (Chicago uses its own worksheet instead of the CSS Profile), and tax documents where the college lists them. First-round aid dates, at 23 colleges, are in our earlier list. Colleges revise these pages during the year, so check the college's page before you switch.

Start with the school you're leaning toward: what it published, and your estimate there, are free. The full answer for your whole list is the paid document.