When Do Early Decision Results Come Out? The Dates at 40 Colleges

Most Early Decision answers arrive between Friday, December 11, and Tuesday, December 15. A few colleges have named the day. Most say "mid-December" or "by December 15", two send applicants the exact date and time ahead of the release, and a handful sit well outside that week, from Villanova's December 1 to Northeastern's January 1.

We read the decision dates on 40 colleges' admissions pages, for both rounds where a college runs two.

The dates

Who has named the day

Johns Hopkins lists December 11, 2026, and February 12, 2027, in its deadlines table. WashU, in a table headed for fall 2027 applicants, says answers are released by the same two dates; its new Early Action round answers by December 23. Davidson's timeline names December 12 for the first round and January 30 for the second, which with Rice's "late January" is the earliest second-round answer here. NYU tells counselors it expects to deliver its Early Decision notifications on December 15, and Boston University and Harvey Mudd list December 15 as their date. Richmond names December 12 but calls it approximate.

Two colleges keep the day for later. Penn's applicants "are notified of the exact time and date of our decision release at least one week ahead of time." Dartmouth's "will receive an email in mid-December to let them know the date and time their decision will be available."

Everyone else gives a window. "Mid-December" doesn't commit to a day, and "by December 15" is an outer limit: the answer can come earlier. Columbia's FAQ says its Early Decision decisions "are typically available on or before December 15." Its dates table warns that specific dates "may vary in a particular year," and says applicants will get release dates by email.

The ones outside the window

Villanova answers its first round by December 1, the earliest fixed date we found. Its first-round admits then have two weeks to deposit.

Wake Forest doesn't wait for December at all. Its first decisions of the cycle went out on September 30, and its admissions office wrote that "because our Early Decision I round is 'rolling,' we'll continue releasing admissions decisions monthly to those with completed files."

Hamilton answers by December 19. Michigan answers by December 24, and its page says early applicants "can expect a decision notification by the end of December."

Northeastern answers "by January 1." That is also the deadline for its own second round and for many colleges' regular rounds, so an answer that comes at the end of that window leaves almost no time to act on it.

What the date decides

A December answer starts a short clock. Many of the most selective colleges close their regular rounds between January 1 and 5, and January 15 is the single busiest deadline day (every regular date). Most second-round Early Decision deadlines fall between January 1 and 15 (all 102).

An answer on December 11 leaves three weeks before January 1. One on December 15 leaves a little over two. Michigan's December 24 leaves eight days, and Northeastern's latest possible answer leaves none. If your Early Decision school is at the late end, the January applications you would need after a no or a deferral have to be close to finished before the answer comes. That doesn't mean expecting a no. It means not having to write four supplements between Christmas and New Year's.

The price often comes with the answer

At many of these colleges the aid offer arrives with the admission decision, as long as the aid forms went in on time. WashU's table is headed "Admission decisions and financial aid offers released by." Vanderbilt lists "Mid-December 2026 — Preliminary financial aid offers available." Davidson's admits review their aid offers in the applicant portal, and Richmond's December date covers the "admission decision and financial aid estimate." Michigan says aid packages for students who filed by November 15 "will follow closely after decision release."

That only works if the forms were in by the college's aid deadline, which is often earlier than people expect (the aid dates at 23 colleges). An admission without a price is the hardest kind of December yes to act on, because a college's financial release depends on having an offer to look at.

Where this comes from

Each college's own admissions pages, read on October 9, 2026, for students applying for fall 2027 entry. Several colleges print the decision date without a year. Pomona's dates may not yet have been updated for this cycle: its application page still describes the essay prompts for fall 2026 admission. Wellesley's financial aid page gives "late February" for its second round, against "mid-February" on its admissions page. Vassar's admission pages list deadlines but no first-year notification date. Colleges sometimes move these dates, so check the portal and your email in December.

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.