Plan Your College Applications: Full ED School List 2025–26
Early Decision (ED) is a binding admissions plan. What this means is that students may apply to only one ED school, and if admitted, they must withdraw applications to other institutions and commit to enrolling at that school.
There are often two iterations of Early Decision, although some colleges only offer one round:
- Early Decision I (ED I): deadlines typically fall in early November, with decisions sent in December.
- Early Decision II (ED II): deadlines typically fall in early January, with decisions sent by mid-February. Students cannot reapply to the same institution’s ED II after being rejected in ED I, but they may apply ED II at a different college.
Potential Benefits of Applying ED
1. Higher Acceptance Rates
In many cases, Early Decision applicants enjoy significantly higher admit rates than those applying Regular Decision. For the class of 2029, Brown University admitted 17.9% of ED applicants, compared with just 4.0% in the regular pool. Similarly, ED applicants to Duke University were more than three times as likely to get accepted than RD applicants. However, it’s important to note that a higher ED acceptance rate is not a guarantee; not all schools show large differences between ED and RD admission rates.
2. Demonstrated Commitment
Because it is binding, applying as ED signals a strong intent to enroll to the admissions officers. As a result, many colleges fill out more than half of their incoming class with ED admits, even before regular applications are reviewed. That means regular applicants will likely compete for fewer seats against more students. For example, University of Pennsylvania admitted 51% of its class of 2029 through ED, while Northwestern University enrolled roughly 55% of its incoming freshmen this way.
3. Earlier Decisions
ED applications receive their decisions by mid-December, months before regular decisions are released in April. This early notification can provide relief early in the process and allow students to plan ahead depending on the outcome.
Potential Downsides of Applying ED
1. Financial Aid Limitations
Because students must commit to the ED school before regular decisions are out, families cannot compare financial aid options among multiple schools. Although an ED offer can be declined if the financial aid package provided by the school is deemed insufficient, this is extremely rare: Duke University reported that fewer than 1% of ED admits rejected the offer due to financial reasons.
2. Potential Regret
Throughout the college application process, it’s common for students to change their minds about their interests and career goals, as well as their top school choice. Committing to an Early Decision school early can come at the cost of missing out on discovering another college that might be an even better fit. Therefore, ED should be reserved for students who are certain about their intention to enroll in the first-choice institution.
Strategy For 2025-2026 Applicants
- Certainty is essential. ED should be reserved for students who are confident that a college is their clear first choice academically, socially and financially.
- ED II as a second path. Applicants who are denied or deferred in ED I may find another chance through a different school’s ED II round.
- Maintain balance. A balanced college list should not rely too heavily on Early Decision. Make sure to include non-binding Early Action or Rolling Admission schools to keep options available if the ED path does not work out.
Complete List Of Colleges With Early Decision
October Deadlines
October 16:
Webb Institute
November Deadlines
November 1:
Agnes Scott College
Augustana College
Austin College
Babson College
Bard College
Barnard College
Baylor University
Beloit College
Berry College
Boston College
Boston University
Brandeis College
Brown University
Bryant University
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Chapman University
Claremont McKenna College
College of Charleston
College of New Jersey
College of William & Mary
College of Wooster
Colorado College
Columbia University
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Drew University
Drexel University
Elon University
Emerson College
Emory University
Flagler College
Florida Southern College
Fordham University
George Washington University
Grove City College
Hampden-Sydney College
Hanover College
Hartwick College
High Point University
Hillsdale College
Hollins University
Ithaca College
Jewish Theological Seminary
Johns Hopkins University
Kalamazoo College
Knox College
Lake Forest College
Lawrence University
Lehigh University
Lewis & Clark College
Loyola Marymount University
Macalester College
McDaniel College
Miami University—Oxford
Nazareth College
New York University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Queens University of Charlotte
Quinnipiac University
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhodes College
Rice University
Roanoke College
Rochester Institute of Technology
Santa Clara University
Sarah Lawrence College
Southern Methodist University
Southwestern University
Spelman College
St. John’s College Annapolis
St. Lawrence University
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
St. Olaf College
State University of New York at Geneseo
Texas Christian University
The Catholic University of America
Trinity University
Tufts University
Tulane University
University of Chicago
University of Denver
University of Mary Washington
University of Miami
University of Pennsylvania
University of Puget Sound
University of Richmond
University of Rochester
University of San Francisco
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University
Villanova University
Warren Wilson College
Washington and Lee University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College
Wittenberg College
Wofford College
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Yeshiva University
November 3:
Duke University
November 7:
Amherst College
November 8:
Pomona College
November 15:
Allegheny College
American University
Bates College
Bennington College
Bentley University
Bowdoin College
Bryn Mawr College
Bucknell University
Carleton College
Centre College
Champlain College
Christopher Newport University
Clark University
Coe College
Colby College
Colgate University
College of the Atlantic
College of the Holy Cross
Connecticut College
Davidson College
Denison University
DePauw University
Dickinson College
Fairfield University
Franklin and Marshall College
Furman University
Gettysburg College
Goucher College
Grinnell College
Hamilton College
Harvey Mudd College
Haverford College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Juniata College
Kenyon College
Lafayette College
Lycoming College
Manhattan College
Merrimack College
Middlebury College
Mount Holyoke College
Muhlenberg College
Oberlin College
Occidental College
Ohio Wesleyan University
Pitzer College
Providence College
Reed College
Rollins College
Salisbury University
Scripps College
Sewanee: The University of the South
Skidmore College
Smith College
St. John’s University (NY)
St. Mary’s College (IN)
Stevens Institute of Technology
Susquehanna University
Swarthmore College
Syracuse University
Trinity College (Hartford)
Union College (NY)
University of Redlands
Vassar College
Virginia Military Institute
Wabash College
Wake Forest University
Washington College
Wells College
Wesleyan University
Wheaton College
Whitman College
Williams College
December Deadlines
December 1:
Clarkson University
Marist College
Moody Bible Institute
Siena College
Springfield College
St. John Fisher College
State University of New York Maritime College
Stonehill College
Ursinus College
December 15:
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington and Jefferson College
Willamette University