Are you wondering when the Regular Decision application deadlines are for the eight Ivy League schools? If so, you’ve come to the right place! Now that the Early Decision/Early Action deadline of November 1st is drawing closer for each each of the eight Ivy League schools, you might be wondering when their next deadline, the Regular Decision deadline, will be drawing near. 

When Do Ivy League Regular Decision Applications Come Out?

Of course, to set yourself up in the best possible position for Ivy League admission, it behooves you to apply in the Early round to your top school of choice (as all of Ivy Coach’s package clients do). Early round applicants are seen as more enthusiastic by the admissions officers tasked with evaluating them (after all, they’ve committed to foregoing admission to other schools, in the case of Early Decision, for the sake of getting into their Early school. Wouldn’t you want to admit such applicants if it were your job to admit an incoming class?).

In any event, it’s still important to know when you can expect Regular Decision applications to come out if your child seeks to be Ivy League-bound. So, let’s find out!

2026-207 Ivy League Regular Decision Deadlines

Below are the deadlines for the 2026-2027 admissions cycle around the Ivy League:

Ivy League School	Regular Decision Application Deadline
Brown University	January 5, 2027
Columbia University	January 1, 2027
Cornell University	January 2, 2027
Dartmouth College	January 1, 2027
Harvard University	January 1, 2027
Princeton University	January 1, 2027
University of Pennsylvania	January 5, 2027
Yale University	January 2, 2027

Rationale for Some 2026-2027 Ivy League Regular Decision Deadlines

So, three of the Ivies, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Princeton, have the typical January 1st deadlines, while Cornell and Yale have January 2nd deadlines. This year’s outliers? Brown’s and UPenn’s January 5th deadline.

Why would Brown and UPenn extend their deadlines? That’s an easy one. The more applications a school receives, invariably, the lower their admission rate will be and the higher they’ll be ranked in the all-important US News & World Report annual ranking. Students have four extra days to complete their Brown and UPenn supplements. 

This way, these schools can scoop up some additional applicants who didn’t have the time to complete their essays before the New Year but suddenly found some inspiration after they submitted most of their Regular Decision applications. Wait, Ivy Coach, so you’re saying it’s all a numbers game, that colleges really just want to attract as many applicants and application fees as possible?

Yes, that’s exactly what we’re saying. It’s the same reason why colleges claim not to care about Demonstrated Interest or student financial status, yet they give an admissions advantage to the students who show interest or do not apply for financial aid. Don’t be fooled by their brochures; these schools are all about making ends meet.

Assistance with Your Ivy League Regular Decision Applications

If you did not work with Ivy Coach through the Ivy League admissions process and learn in mid-December that you’ve been deferred or denied admission to your dream school, fill out our complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch to delineate our college counseling services for seniors led by our team of former elite college admissions officers, including our former Ivy League admissions officers: Chad Faber, Susan Chan Shifflett, Jayson Weingarten, and Ben Schwartz.

Spoiler Alert: our services begin with a PostMortem application review to precisely pinpoint what went wrong and what needs to change, ensuring you can expect better results in the Regular Decision round. We’ll equip you with a new competitive strategy that rights the wrongs of your previous application(s) and sets you up for success by not only shedding light on what went wrong with your application, but why it failed. You must reach out to us before Regular Decision deadlines roll around (immediately after Early Decision/Action notifications are released), as once those applications are sent and squared away, there’s nothing that can be done.