Early College Deadlines Are Here—Is Your Application Ready?

Early college application deadlines—including Early Action and Early Decision—are fast approaching, with most falling in early November. Now is a good time for current seniors to “take stock” of all components of their applications, including essays, SAT/ACT scores, extracurricular development, and other supplemental materials like additional information responses, honors essays, and scholarship essays.

B2A typically recommends students apply to around 10 colleges in total: 2 long shots, 4 reaches, 2 matches, and 2 safeties. You can adjust this list based on your own circumstances and goals, but regardless of the total number of applications, it’s crucial to ensure you are submitting only the highest quality materials. 

Although applying early to certain schools can increase your chances of admission, you should consider these three important factors when deciding whether to apply early or hold off until your application is stronger:

1. Evaluate your progress on essays and other written materials

Although acceptance statistics for Early Action and Early Decision applicants are generally more favorable compared to Regular Decision applicants, students who submit early—but with rushed essays, incomplete materials, or less thoroughly developed profiles—are less likely to see positive admissions outcomes compared to more prepared students.

Here are some questions to consider when evaluating your college essays:

• How many rounds of editing have your drafts undergone?

• Do your essays have a compelling topic and a clear message that Admissions Officers will understand?

• What concerns, if any, do you still have with your essays? If you had more time, what changes would you be able to make?

2. Reassess your standardized testing plan and goal score

Another way for you to decide whether to submit for early deadlines or to hold off until regular deadlines is to consider whether you can improve your standardized testing scores. Ideally, students will have a “goal score” in mind based on the average scores of students admitted to their chosen colleges. For example, for the 2024-2025 application cycle, students accepted to Emory University had a middle 50% SAT score range (the 25th-75th percentile) of 1470–1550 and an ACT score range of 32–35. This means a student should aim to score at the high end of (or above) these numbers.

Students should also consider the total number of tests they've taken in addition to their current score. B2A recommends that students take no more than three official tests for a single testing format (SAT or ACT). If a student has taken three or more tests and not seen significant improvement, it is often best to consider more intensive preparation for one final attempt, switching testing formats, or reassessing the school list to add more match and safety schools that are achievable with the student’s existing high score.

3. Consider your capacity to expand on your extracurricular achievements

Don’t forget you have the opportunity to increase your involvement in school clubs, volunteering organizations, internships or shadowing experiences, or to earn more prestigious awards and honors in the first half of senior year. For example, if you just recently joined two new clubs related to your intended major, you will have a lot more to say about your involvement in those clubs by the time most regular decision deadlines come around in December or January. Or, you could be anticipating success in a competition for activities like Speech & Debate, DECA, or science fairs and olympiads.

Even if you decide to submit for early deadlines, these continued efforts in various extracurriculars can still be of value in the college admissions process. In the event that you are deferred, you may have the opportunity to fill out update forms or submit letters of continued interest to share your recent progress with colleges.

See the list below for approaching Early Action (EA), Restrictive Early Action (REA), Single-Choice Early Action (SCEA), Early Decision (ED), and Early Decision I (ED I) application deadlines for popular colleges among B2A students:

*University of California schools have a single Regular Decision deadline of December 1, so they are not featured on this list

Colleges (alphabetical order)	Early Application Deadlines
American University	EA: November 1 ED I: November 1
Baylor University	EA: November 1 ED: November 1
Boston College	ED I: November 1
Boston University	ED I: November 1
Brown University	ED: November 1
Caltech	REA: November 1
Carnegie Mellon University	ED I: November 3
Case Western Reserve University	EA: November 1 ED I: November 1
Claremont McKenna College	ED I: November 1
Columbia University	ED: November 1
Cornell University	ED: November 1
Dartmouth College	ED: November 1
Duke University	ED: November 3
Emory University	ED I: November 1
Georgetown University	REA: November 1
Georgia Institute of Technology	EA I (GA): October 15 EA II (non-GA): November 3
Harvard University	REA: November 1
Harvey Mudd College	ED I: November 15
Indiana University	EA: November 1
Johns Hopkins University	ED I: November 1
MIT	EA: November 1
New York University	ED I: November 1
Northeastern University	EA: November 1 ED I: November 1
Northwestern University	ED: November 1
The Ohio State University	EA: November 1
Penn State University	EA: November 1
Pepperdine University	EA: November 1 ED: November 1
Princeton University	SCEA: November 1
Purdue University	EA: November 1
Rice University	ED I: November 1
Southern Methodist University	EA: November 1 ED I: November 1
Stanford University	REA: November 1 (October 15 for Optional Arts Portfolio)
Texas A&M University	Rolling RD: December 1
Tufts University	ED I: November 3
University of Chicago	EA: November 3 ED I: November 3
University of Colorado – Boulder	EA: November 15
University of Florida	EA: November 1
University of Georgia	EA: October 15
University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign	EA: November 1
University of Massachusetts Amherst	EA: November 5
University of Michigan	EA: November 1 ED: November 1
University of Pennsylvania	ED: November 1
University of Southern California	EA: November 1 ED (Business only): November 1
University of Virginia	EA: November 1 ED: November 1
University of Washington	RD: November 15
University of Wisconsin	EA: November 1
Vanderbilt University	ED I: November 1
Washington University in St. Louis	ED I: November 3
Yale University	SCEA: November 1

Need help assessing your chances at specific colleges and polishing your applications for early deadlines or Regular Decision? B2A is here to help! We are ready to provide the support, structure, and strategy you need to ensure you’re set up for admissions success. 

Contact us today to register and take the first step towards your college dreams!