2022-23 College Application Deadlines

The Common App went live on August 1, 2022 which means those applying to college for the 2022-23 cycle can begin completing the main sections of the Common App. The vast majority of colleges have made their supplemental applications live as well (Princeton and Carnegie Mellon like to take their time). But, for many applicants, the start date when you can begin work on the application is not as relevant as the college application deadlines. With that, let’s launch into an overview of the 2022-23 college application deadlines:

There are 6 major types of application deadlines. They are:

• Early Action (EA)
• Restricted Early Action (REA)/Single Choice Early Action (SCEA)
• Early Decision (ED)
• Early Decision II (ED 2)
• Regular Decision (RD)
• Rolling Admission (RA)

We will cover each type of deadline in detail beginning with Early Action.

Early Action Deadlines

The vast majority of colleges have their Early Action deadlines in November. November 1 and November 15 are the two most common options. Below, you’ll find some examples of prominent colleges with November deadlines in the 2022-23 admissions cycle:

However, there are some exceptions to this rule. The following schools have notably early EA deadlines that fall in October.

Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of schools with EA deadlines. This only covers the most prominent examples. Always check institutional websites for each of your prospective colleges for official deadlines.

REA/SCEA Deadlines

There are only a small number of highly-selective colleges that utilize a Restricted Early Action or Single-Choice Early Action option. Applying to an REA program is a nonbinding proposition, unlike with Early Decision. The “restricted” part has to do with whether you can apply EA/ED to other universities. It is very important to read the school-specific restriction put into place at each institution. At Georgetown, you can apply to other early action programs, but not an Early Decision program. Prominent REA/SCEA deadline examples include:

Early Decision Deadlines

Early Decision deadlines often (but do not always) align with a school’s Early Action deadline. ED differs in a variety of ways from EA. The primary difference is that Early Decision is a binding arrangement. As an applicant, you are agreeing that, if your ED school offers you an acceptance, you will enroll in that university and withdraw all other applications. Below you’ll find a sampling of current Early Decision deadlines at popular institutions:

Early Decision II Deadlines

If you missed the ED I deadline or received bad news from your ED school of choice, don’t fear! You still have a second chance to apply “Early”. Okay, it’s not actually early at all, but this round called Early Decision II is a second opportunity for a student to make a binding commitment to a top-choice institution. The primary reason you want to consider ED II is for the admissions advantage it offers. Again, the deadlines are not really early in the cycle at all. In fact, they are typically similar or identical to the Regular Decision deadlines. Some highly-desirable universities that offer ED II include:

Regular Decision Deadlines

Most applicants will be submitting a fair number of their applications by the Regular Decision deadline. The bulk of RD deadlines fall in early January, but there are numerous exceptions. For example, the University of California sports a very early RD deadline of 11/30. The California State University institutions have the same early “regular” deadline. You also see a substantial number of deadlines falling in early February. Below you’ll find some examples that demonstrate the typical range of RD deadlines at popular U.S. colleges.

Rolling Admission Deadlines

Deadlines not really your thing? No problem. There are many excellent colleges that offer rolling admission. Instead of a hard deadline for when your application must be received, colleges that offer rolling admission accept applications just about any time. There is usually a wide window of time in which applications are accepted. However, students should be mindful of “Priority Deadlines” sometimes posted by colleges with rolling admission. This is due to the fact that rolling schools accept students only until their class is full. Similarly, certain popular and/or highly-selective majors may fill up long before the official end of the rolling admission cycle.

The following schools offer rolling admission and also have a priority deadline:

For more information related to admissions deadlines, requirements, and acceptance rates, visit the College Transitions Dataverse.