Students considering early application programs, such as Early Action (EA), Restricted Early Action (REA), and Early Decision (ED), should carefully track their application deadlines. Most EA, REA, and ED deadlines fall on November 1, including Yale, Harvard, and Princeton (REA), as well as UPenn, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Brown (ED). Other schools like MIT and Georgetown, which use their own applications instead of the Common Application, also have November 1 deadlines.

The University of California (UC) system does not offer an early admission program, and applications for all UC schools are due by November 30. Another common early deadline is November 15, observed by several prestigious colleges, including many liberal arts schools like Bates, Boston College, Reed, and Williams. Additionally, some state universities set different early application deadlines for in-state students.

Ultimately, staying aware of each college’s deadlines and understanding early application options can help you keep all opportunities open for the schools on your list.