When do college decisions come out? Fall 2027 entry

The earliest answers come from Georgia. Its early action round, with an October 15 deadline, releases in-state decisions in mid to late November and out-of-state decisions in mid-December; the page gives no year. Georgia Tech's first early action round, for the 2026-2027 cycle, releases in early December.

Then comes the mid-December wave. Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Notre Dame, Rice, Duke, Boston University, Clemson and the University of Southern California all print mid-December for their first early round, whether they call it early decision, restrictive early action or single-choice early action. Duke's page names the 2026-27 cycle; the others give the month without a year. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology says early action decisions are released in mid-December. Penn's fall 2027 page says early decision applicants are notified in December, and its page for applicants narrows that to mid-December. Northwestern prints December 2026.

A few schools name the day. Johns Hopkins releases early decision I on December 11, 2026. Florida releases early decision on December 11 for its 2026-27 cycle. Northeastern prints December 14 for early decision I, and New York University December 15. Georgetown and Emory say by December 15, Florida State says December 17, and North Carolina at Chapel Hill tells North Carolina residents who applied early action to expect a decision by December 20. Penn State says early action applicants who applied by November 1 get a decision by December 24. Howard says early action and early decision answers come by email in late December, and Spelman says early action decisions go out by December 31.

January belongs to the big public universities, and most of them print a day. Texas at Austin releases early action decisions by January 15, 2027. Indiana, Purdue and Michigan State all promise early action applicants who applied complete by November 1 a decision by January 15; Michigan State names fall 2027, the other two give no year. Florida's early action decisions come on January 22. Illinois prints January 29.

Private schools with a second early round land here too. Rice says early decision II decisions come by late January. Boston University and the University of Southern California release early action decisions in late January. Georgia Tech's second early action round, with a November 2 deadline, releases in late January.

The reply dates for binding early decision also fall in January. Johns Hopkins early decision I admits confirm by January 15, 2027, Florida's by January 8, and Florida State's deposit is due January 15. Rice wants its early decision I deposit by January 4.

Maryland tells early action applicants to expect a decision by February 1 and regular applicants by April 1; its page still uses fall 2024 in its example sentences, so treat those as last cycle's dates. Northeastern releases early decision II on February 8, Johns Hopkins on February 12, 2027, and Emory by February 15. New York University releases early decision II by February 15.

Some big publics finish in February. Texas at Austin says every remaining applicant, including anyone deferred from early action, has a decision by February 15, 2027. North Carolina at Chapel Hill gives out-of-state early action applicants a decision by February 15. Clemson releases regular decision in mid-February, Florida State on February 18, and Illinois on February 26.

March is the main month. Indiana answers regular applicants on March 15. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology releases regular action in mid-March, and Georgia and Georgia Tech both print mid-March for their final release. Florida's regular decision date is March 19 and Johns Hopkins' is March 24, 2027. Northwestern prints March 2027.

The Ivy League schools we could read all point at the same window. Harvard says by the end of March, Princeton and Cornell say late March, Penn's page for applicants says late March, and Dartmouth says late March or early April. Duke says late March or early April too, and Notre Dame says mid to late March. Purdue and Michigan State promise regular applicants a decision by March 31 (Michigan State's promise is for applications complete by February 1), and North Carolina at Chapel Hill prints March 31. Alabama says applicants who met its December 4 priority deadline can expect a decision by late March, if not sooner.

The University of California system releases fall 2027 decisions between March 1 and March 31, and notes that some campuses may release before March. Los Angeles says late March for most first-year applicants. Berkeley says the end of March, with the exact day sent to applicants in their portal.

A group of schools print April 1 as their regular decision date: Georgetown, Rice, Emory, New York University, Boston University, the University of Southern California, Maryland and Spelman. Stanford and Brown say by early April, Howard says early April, and Penn's fall 2027 page says April. Dartmouth tells early decision applicants it deferred that they hear on or before April 1.

The rolling rounds run into April too. Florida State's rolling round, with a March 1 deadline, releases on a rolling basis in April. Michigan State reviews applications received between February 1 and April 1 on a rolling basis and keeps taking applications until April 1. Illinois sends honors and scholarship news by April 1, and Florida State and Texas at Austin release honors decisions on February 18 and March 1.

Almost every school prints May 1 as the day you must accept one offer and pay the deposit: Princeton, Stanford, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins (May 1, 2027), Georgetown, Notre Dame, Rice, Dartmouth, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Maryland, Howard, Berkeley and the whole University of California system, which calls it the statement of intent to register deadline. Harvard says early May. Illinois calls May 1 National College Decision Day.

The waitlist moves after that. North Carolina at Chapel Hill says it likely will not know whether it can admit anyone from the waiting list until after the May 1 enrollment deadline, and tells you to reserve a spot elsewhere first. Florida State says waitlisted students should not expect an update until after May 1, with final waitlist decisions by July. Notre Dame says waitlisted students get a final decision by mid-summer. Berkeley says it may admit students from the waitlist to start in January.

Arizona State prints a November 1 priority date and a regular date but no decision timing beyond saying that the earlier you apply, the earlier you will receive a decision. Penn State gives a date only for early action and prints no timing for everyone else. Northeastern prints early decision dates but none for regular decision. Alabama gives late March for priority applicants and nothing for later ones.

Four schools are missing because we could not read them, not because they are silent. Columbia, Michigan and Minnesota refused our request (their servers returned a forbidden error on October 23, 2026). Ohio State's dates and deadlines page returned a server error on every try that day, and again on October 30, 2026. None of the four is quoted here.