College Application Deadlines 2021-2022 for the Top 50: Every Date You Need to Know
As college application deadlines 2021-2022 draw closer, here’s an important question: do you know when all of the applications for your schools are due? If you’re extra enthusiastic about one or two, you also might be wondering what your options are regarding early action or early decision policies at these institutions. It can certainly help to look at all of the dates side-by-side so that you can weigh your options and plan where you hope to apply in the early or regular round in order to start gathering all the components for submission.
Each school has its own policies when it comes to early action, early decision, and regular decision. As a result, while many schools have a November 1 ED deadline or January 1 RD deadline, not all colleges follow the path. You might find a few schools have ED applications due on November first, and some schools even accept RD applications upto February. So to make sure you’re organized in knowing which applications to prioritize and when to submit them, we’ve provided you with a table of college application deadlines 2021-2022 at the top colleges, how to navigate these, and some final tips as you embark on this defining journey.
Table Key
- Early action (EA) – Nonbinding admissions process for students to apply to college earlier than the regular deadline, usually in November of senior year. Students receive admissions notifications in December, and if accepted, are not required to commit.
- Early decision I (ED I) – Binding admissions process for students to apply to college earlier than the regular deadline, usually in November of senior year. Students receive admissions notifications in December, and if accepted, are required to commit.
- Early decision II (ED II) – Binding admissions process for students to apply to college closer to the regular deadline in January. Students receive admissions notifications in mid-February, and if accepted, are required to commit.
- Restrictive early action (REA) – Nonbinding process for students to apply earlier than regular deadline. They can’t apply to any ED school, but can pick other EA schools.
- Single choice early action (SCEA) – Nonbinding process for students to apply to their top institution ahead of the regular deadline. But, they’re unable to apply to other EA or ED schools.
- Regular Decision – Vast majority of students apply regular decision, usually in January, and are notified in late March or early April. Students have no obligation to commit if accepted.
Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with the terms, let’s look at the college application deadlines 2021-2022 enforced by the top schools around the country.
College Application Deadlines 2021-2022 for the Top 50 National Universities
| School | EA Deadline | ED I Deadline | ED II Deadline | RD Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton University | November 1 (single-choice early action) | January 1 | ||
| Harvard University | November 1 (restrictive early action) | January 1 | ||
| Columbia University | November 1 | January 1 | ||
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | November 1 | January 5 | ||
| Yale University | November 1 (single-choice early action) | January 2 | ||
| University of Chicago | November 1 | November 1 | January 4 | January 4 |
| Stanford University | November 1 (restrictive early action) | January 5 | ||
| University of Pennsylvania | November 1 | January 5 | ||
| California Institute of Technology | November 1 | January 3 | ||
| Johns Hopkins University | November 1 | January 3 | January 3 | |
| Northwestern University | November 1 | January 3 | ||
| Duke University | November 1 | January 4 (December 20 for alumni interview priority consideration) | ||
| Dartmouth College | November 1 | January 3 | ||
| Brown University | November 1 | January 5 | ||
| Vanderbilt University | November 1 | January 1 | January 1 | |
| Rice University | November 1 | January 4 | ||
| Washington University in St. Louis | November 1 | January 4 | January 4 | |
| Cornell University | November 1 | January 2 | ||
| University of Notre Dame | November 1 (restrictive early action) | January 1 | ||
| University of California – Los Angeles | November 30 | |||
| Emory University | November 1 | January 1 | January 1 | |
| University of California – Berkeley | November 30 | |||
| Georgetown University | November 1 (restrictive early action) | January 10 | ||
| University of Michigan – Ann Arbor | November 1 | February 1 | ||
| University of Southern California | January 15 (December 1 for scholarship consideration) | |||
| Carnegie Mellon University | November 1 | January 3 | January 3 | |
| University of Virginia | November 1 | November 1 | January 3 | |
| University of North Carolina – Chapel HIll | October 15 | January 15 | ||
| Wake Forest University | November 15 | January 1 | January 1 | |
| New York University | November 1 | January 1 | January 5 | |
| Tufts University | November 1 | January 4 | January 4 | |
| University of California – Santa Barbara | November 30 | |||
| University of Florida | November 1 (Applications received after this date will be reviewed on a space-available basis with a final admissions deadline of March 1) | |||
| University of Rochester | November 1 | January 5 | January 5 | |
| Boston College | November 1 | January 1 | January 1 | |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | October 18 (Georgia students); November 1 (Non-Georgia students) | January 5 | ||
| University of California – Irvine | November 30 | |||
| University of California – San Diego | November 30 | |||
| University of California – Davis | November 30 | |||
| William & Mary | November 1 | January 1 | January 1 | |
| Tulane University | November 15 | November 1 | January 15 | |
| Boston University | November 1 | January 4 | January 4 | |
| Brandeis University | November 1 | January 1 | January 1 | |
| Case Western Reserve University | November 1 | November 1 | January 15 | January 15 |
| University of Texas – Austin | December 1 | |||
| University of Wisconsin – Madison | November 1 | February 1 | ||
| University of Georgia | October 15 | January 1 | ||
| University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign | November 1 (priority deadline) | January 5 | ||
| Lehigh University | November 1 | January 1 | January 1 | |
| Northeastern University | November 1 | November 1 | January 1 | January 1 |
| Pepperdine University | November 1 | January 15 | ||
| University of Miami | November 1 | November 1 | January 1 | January 1 |
College Application Deadlines 2021-2022 for the Top 50 Liberal Arts Colleges
| School | EA Deadline | ED I Deadline | ED II Deadline | RD Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams College | November 15 | January 10 | ||
| Amherst College | November 1 | January 3 | ||
| Swarthmore College | November 15 | January 4 | ||
| Pomona College | November 15 | January 8 | January 8 | |
| Wellesley College | November 1 | January 1 | January 8 | |
| Bowdoin College | November 15 | January 5 | January 5 | |
| Claremont McKenna | November 1 | January 5 | January 5 | |
| United States Naval Academy | December 31 | |||
| Carleton College | November 15 | January 15 | January 15 | |
| Hamilton College | November 15 | January 5 | January 5 | |
| Middlebury College | November 15 | January 3 | January 3 | |
| Washington and Lee University | November 1 | January 1 | January 1 | |
| Grinnell College | November 15 | January 1 | January 15 | |
| Vassar College | November 15 | January 1 | January 1 | |
| Colby College | November 15 | January 1 | January 1 | |
| Davidson College | November 15 | January 6 | January 15 | |
| Haverford College | November 5 | January 5 | January 15 | |
| Smith College | November 15 | January 1 | January 15 | |
| United States Military Academy | February 28 | |||
| Colgate University | November 15 | January 15 | January 15 | |
| Wesleyan University | November 15 | January 1 | January 1 | |
| Barnard College | November 15 | January 1 | ||
| Bates College | November 15 | January 1 | January 1 | |
| University of Richmond | November 1 | November 1 | January 1 | January 1 |
| Colorado College | November 1 | November 1 | January 15 | January 15 |
| Harvey Mudd College | November 15 | January 5 | January 5 | |
| Macalester College | November 1 | November 15 | January 1 | January 15 |
| Bryn Mawr College | November 15 | January 1 | January 15 | |
| Kenyon College | November 15 | January 15 | January 15 | |
| Scripps College | November 15 | January 5 | January 5 | |
| Soka University of America | November 1 | January 15 | ||
| United States Air Force Academy | December 31 | |||
| Berea College | November 15 (Early Action I); January 31 (Early Action II) | March 31 | ||
| Bucknell University | November 15 | January 15 | January 15 | |
| Mount Holyoke College | November 15 | January 5 | January 18 | |
| College of the Holy Cross | November 15 | January 15 | January 15 | |
| Oberlin College | November 15 | January 2 | January 15 | |
| Pitzer College | November 15 | January 7 | January 7 | |
| Skidmore College | November 15 | January 15 | January 15 | |
| Lafayette College | November 15 | January 15 | January 15 | |
| Occidental College | November 15 | January 10 | January 10 | |
| Thomas Aquinas College | Rolling Admission | |||
| Franklin and Marshall College | November 15 | January 15 | January 15 | |
| Denison University | November 15 | January 15 | January 15 | |
| Trinity College | November 15 | January 14 | January 14 | |
| Union College | November 1 | November 1 | January 15 | January 15 |
| DePauw University | December 1 | November 15 | January 15 | February 1 |
| Dickinson College | November 15 | January 15 | January 15 | |
| Sewanee – the University of the South | December 1 | November 15 | January 15 | February 1 |
| Whitman College | November 15 | January 10 | January 15 |
Navigating Early Application Deadlines
Early action and early decision policies provide a few advantages for applicants. If you get into your dream school early decision or early action, you’re done with college applications for the rest of the semester. That being said, your decision should be a calculated one. Students who apply in the early rounds have their act together. Take a careful look at the early sections of the college application deadlines 2021-2022 and decide whether you’ll be ready to hit submit when November rolls around, considering that you’ll be going up against some very strong individuals.
Early decision II policies come in handy in case you need more time. Since you get more time but demonstrate an equal level of commitment by applying ED II, you can always apply in January if November isn’t the best time. However, early decision is a big commitment, and since you have to sign an agreement confirming that you’ll attend the institution if accepted, you need to make your decision very carefully.
You need to have to bring your A-game to early action schools too, especially because schools know that you may or may not commit to them. Applying to a school which only offers early action while you have a mediocre profile isn’t the best idea. Since schools know you’re not bound to commit, they’ll be less inclined to accept you if you don’t impress right off the bat. In that case, it’s better to wait for regular decision.
Tips to Follow When Looking at College Application Deadlines 2021-2022
- Don’t Submit Your Application Too Early – When looking through these college application deadlines 2021-2022, you might be wondering whether admissions officers evaluate your commitment towards the school based on how quickly before the deadline you submitted your application. The answer is no. You don’t get any type of advantage if you submit on October 1st instead of October 31st for a November 1st deadline. That being said, you must submit your Common App or Coalition App on the date and time mentioned on the school website.
- Watch Out for Portal Glitches – While you shouldn’t rush to finish up too far in advance, you shouldn’t risk submitting too close to college application deadlines 2021-2022 either. The application systems aren’t glitch-free and technical difficulties are always a possibility. In order to avoid any last-minute emergencies that can potentially mess up all of your hard work, work to finish up a day or two early so that you can take care of any unexpected scenarios.
- Think About Your Schedule – When it comes to planning around college application deadlines 2021-2022, you also have to remember that you are a teenager and you need to have fun once in a while. The early application deadlines are right after Halloween the regular application deadlines closely follow Christmas. If you wish to participate in the festivities, make a long-term schedule that ensures that you wrap up the final touches on all your requirements before college application deadlines 2021-2022 come knocking on your door.
College application deadlines are crucial in helping guide you through the admissions process. Keeping them in the back of your head as you work through your personal statement, test dates, and supplemental essays can help get things into motion and act as the driving force behind motivating you to not only finish everything on time, but to perfect them. By jotting down when your applications are due, you can make sure you’ve got all you need and take one step closer to impressing your dream college. Good luck!
