Class of 2027 Early Action and Early Decision Notification Dates

The 2022-2023 admissions cycle for the Class of 2027 has, in some ways, marked a return to normalcy after a couple of years significantly impacted by the pandemic. After months of canceled in-person college tours and a dearth of visits by regional admissions representatives from our nation’s elite universities to local high schools, campus tours and high school visits were back this year with gusto. One elite university, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, even chose to reinstate an SAT / ACT testing requirement after so many top universities went test-optional during the pandemic, joining Georgetown University in declaring that test scores, while surely flawed, still matter as a barometer to judge students from one high school against students from another.

Early Action and Early Decision 1 Notification Dates Are Right Around the Corner

And now we’re just a couple of weeks away from applicants to the Class of 2027 learning of their decisions stemming from the Early Action / Early Decision 1 round of admissions. Most colleges release Early Action and Early Decision 1 notifications around mid December (Early Decision 2 notifications tend to come out in February), but we know you want more specifics than that — if indeed the schools have been more specific in their verbiage. So we’ve got the Early Action, Decision 1, and even the Early Decision 2 notification dates for students and parents wondering just when they’ll learn their fates. But before we dive into those Early Action and Early Decision admission notification dates, let’s first put the 2022-2023 admissions cycle for the Class of 2027 in context.

2022-2023 Early Trends in Elite College Admissions

The Pandemic Served as an Impetus for Admissions Changes

Of course, some of the changes spurred by the pandemic are still in play for the Class of 2027. Most elite universities remain test-optional. Students do not need to submit SAT or ACT scores to these institutions. As we’ve long argued, all else being equal, applicants to top universities with great scores will always enjoy an advantage over applicants with no scores. In addition to most top colleges remaining test-optional, virtual information sessions, sparked by the pandemic, are still very much a part of the admissions process this cycle even though in-person information sessions are back in action. And, yes, students continue to be applying to more and more colleges.

The Pandemic’s Impact on Applications to the Class of 2025

During the 2020-2021 admissions cycle for the Class of 2025, applications soared to the most selective institutions, including 43% at Harvard College, 33% at Yale University, 12.56% at Princeton University (Princeton did not offer an Early Action round that cycle), 33% at Dartmouth College, 29.4% at Brown University, 25.07% at the University of Pennsylvania, and nearly 66% (that’s right — 66%!) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among others. Applications were up at just about every highly selective school across the board — and by a wide margin. It was a year without precedent.

The Pandemic’s Impact on Applications to the Class of 2026

Last year, during the 2021-2022 admissions cycle for the Class of 2026, applications were up at most elite universities in America — often by a wide margin — but there were some schools that saw slight application declines. Among the Ivy League institutions, applications soared at Harvard College, Yale University, and Brown University, while applications dipped slightly at Dartmouth College along with the University of Pennsylvania. The acceptance rates at Harvard, Yale, and Brown also dropped to historic lows. Among other elite schools, Duke University, Northwestern University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology also set new record application records. Yes, MIT’s applications went up again after climbing nearly 66% the prior year.

Our Forecast for the Class of 2027 Admissions Cycle

Most elite universities have not yet released their Early Decision / Early Action application tallies for the Class of 2027, though we got the early word at Dartmouth College where Early Decision applications are rumored to be up. This comes after applications to Dartmouth dipped slightly last year for the Class of 2026 — to a bit over 2,600 students after hitting a high of 2,664 for the Early Decision round of the Class of 2025. But we don’t need the early word to issue a crystal ball prediction. At Ivy Coach, as our loyal readers know all too well, we’ve got a crystal ball. We thus hereby forecast that applications will be up at most — though not all — highly selective universities. In short, we believe it will be more of a mixed bag: like last year rather than the year before. Applications will rise at some top schools while they will dip slightly at others.

The 2022-2023 Early Action and Early Decision Notification Dates

Without further ado, below are our compiled Early Action, Early Decision 1, and Early Decision 2 notification dates for the highly selective universities in America. Keep in mind that these dates are subject to change and we will update the information as it becomes available. Also keep in mind that some schools can jump the gun (hi, Tulane University which released Early Decision notifications to the Class of 2026 on November 22 last year!)? That was crazy. In any case, here are the announced 2022-2023 Early Action and Early Decision notification dates as they stand now:

Is a school you applied to in the Early Action or Early Decision round missing from the list? Let us know the school in question and we’ll be sure to update the chart!