Early Decision Deadlines 2026: Nov. 1 Is a Sunday, Some Use Nov. 2

Nov. 1, the early decision deadline most 2026–27 applicants know best, falls on a Sunday this year, and several colleges have set their early deadlines for Monday, Nov. 2, instead. Duke University's admissions page says "Early Decision applications are due November 2," and Boston University, Tufts University and Washington University in St. Louis also list Nov. 2. A first wave of deadlines arrives sooner, on Thursday, Oct. 15, including the University of Florida's new binding Early Decision plan.

The dates affect high school seniors applying for fall 2027 entry under early decision (ED) or early action (EA) plans. Many colleges, including Harvard, Penn, Princeton and MIT, list Nov. 1. Common App's 2026–27 requirements grid, updated Sept. 25, 2026, shows Nov. 2 deadlines for 17 member colleges, among them Carnegie Mellon and the University of Chicago.

Early Decision and Early Action Deadlines for 2026–27

The table lists dates exactly as each college states them on its official admissions page, checked Oct. 9, 2026. Some pages omit the year.

Deadlines can differ by program. USC's performing arts majors do not take part in its early plans, and Florida State excludes talent-based majors from Early Decision.

What Time the Deadline Ends

Most pages in the table give a date but no time. Two are explicit. Harvard says Restrictive Early Action applicants' "portions of the application are due by November 1 at 11:59pm (your local time)," and Georgia Tech says "All deadlines are 11:59 p.m. in your time zone." Where no time is stated, the safest course, as a recommendation, is to submit a day or more early or to ask the admissions office.

Several colleges give school officials extra time. Harvard lets counselors submit supporting materials up to one week later, and Columbia accepts recommendation letters and school reports after the deadline.

ED vs. EA vs. Restrictive Early Action

• Early decision (ED) is binding. USC says admitted ED applicants "must enroll at USC and withdraw any outstanding applications to other schools." Florida State's Early Decision Agreement must be signed by the student, a parent or guardian and a school counselor.
• Early action (EA) is not binding. Students get an earlier answer but can apply elsewhere and wait until May 1 to decide, as at MIT and Georgia Tech.
• Restrictive early action (REA) is also nonbinding but limits other early applications. Harvard's REA applicants "may not apply to any other private institution under an Early Decision, Early Action, or Restrictive Early Action plan, or to a binding early program at a public university." Princeton calls its version single-choice early action. Notre Dame's REA, due Nov. 1, is looser: it allows other EA applications but bars binding Early Decision 1 plans.

Tufts, Vanderbilt, Boston University and WashU also offer a second binding round, Early Decision II, with January deadlines.

Does the Early Decision Lawsuit Change Anything?

A federal antitrust case challenging early decision is moving forward, but it has not changed this cycle's published deadlines. In Miller v. Consortium on Financing Higher Education (No. 1:25-cv-12221, D. Mass.), students allege that 32 private colleges agreed not to compete for students admitted early decision elsewhere, according to the National Law Review.

On Aug. 7, 2026, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley denied the colleges' motion to dismiss and granted a separate motion dismissing the non-school defendants, including the Common Application, according to the court docket. The ruling did not decide whether the colleges broke the law. Some defendants have asked the judge to allow an immediate appeal, and a hearing on those requests is set for Oct. 14. Defendants including Duke, Columbia, Penn and Vanderbilt still describe their ED plans as binding this cycle.

What Applicants Should Do Now

The steps below are recommendations based on the colleges' published rules.

1. Submit the application before the deadline weekend. Harvard notes that Common App supporting materials cannot be released to a college until the student submits. Finishing before Saturday, Oct. 31, leaves time to fix payment or upload problems.
2. Track financial aid deadlines separately. The CSS Profile is a College Board financial aid form that some colleges, including USC, Duke, BU and WashU, ask aid applicants to submit along with the FAFSA, the federal aid application. The 2027–28 FAFSA went live Sept. 23, 2026, according to the Education Department's FSA Partners site, and the CSS Profile site is open for fall 2027 applicants. Early aid deadlines vary: Nov. 1, 2026, at Vanderbilt (priority), Nov. 2 at Duke and BU, Nov. 15 at Columbia, Nov. 17 at WashU and Nov. 30 at MIT. BU recommends registering for the CSS Profile "two to three weeks before the financial aid deadline."
3. Sign an ED agreement only after checking cost. Florida State encourages families considering Early Decision to use its net price calculator first.
4. Check each applicant portal. Colleges such as Harvard, Duke and Tufts send login details for their own applicant portals after submission, and Georgia Tech requests added documents through its portal. A missing item can stall a file. For a broader checklist, see what to do after submitting a college application.
5. Re-check the college's page in the final week. Dates can change, and one page may list several plans with different cutoffs.