Early Decision Schools: Complete List of ED Colleges

Did you know that early decision isn't necessarily early? Binding decision might be a better name for it, since some schools now offer "early" decision deadlines in January, as well as in November.



Either way, applying early decision is a big commitment. If you apply this way, you should be totally sure you want to attend that school. Let's review the pros and cons of early decision, as well as look at all the schools with early decision admission.

What Is Early Decision?

Early decision is a binding admission plan. When you apply early decision, you sign a statement agreeing to enroll in the college if you're accepted. Because of this binding agreement to enroll, you can only apply to one school early decision.

Applying this way is a great choice if you've done your research, weighed your options, and have zeroed in on your dream school. You also want to make sure you can attend the school regardless of the financial aid package it offers you. Since early decision requires this commitment, it may not be an option that's accessible to everyone.

This financial factor has been a point of controversy for the past few years, causing some schools to switch from early decision to non-binding early action plans. However, many schools still offer early decision, as you'll see below, perhaps to remain competitive and gain a more accurate sense of enrollment numbers. Rather than offering spots to students who may or may not attend, colleges can be sure that early decision applicants will enroll next fall.

Some schools appear to accept a higher percentage of early decision candidates than regular decision candidates. Since you're committing to a school when you apply this way, your enthusiasm for the school might make a good impression on admissions officers. However, early decision doesn't necessarily give you a better chance of getting accepted. Your first priority should be submitting the best application you can.

As I mentioned above, not all early decision deadlines are actually early. Traditionally, early decision deadlines are in November. You'll get notified in mid-December, meaning you might have your college plans finalized before the new year.

Some schools now also offer Early Decision II. Early Decision II has the same stipulations as Early Decision I, but its deadline is typically in January. Early Decision II is a good option for students who are ready to sign a binding agreement, but could benefit from a couple more months to prepare their application. Applying later gives you the opportunity to take the SAT or ACT again, if needed, as well as to send mid-year grades from your senior classes.

When you apply early decision in November, you might get accepted, denied, or deferred. Getting deferred means that your application will be pushed into the regular applicant pool to be reviewed again in February or March. If this happens, then you're no longer bound to the enrollment agreement you made and can apply to any other schools under regular decision. You might also consider sending along any other information, like a recommendation letter or mid-year grades, that could help make your application stronger.

Some popular schools with early decision include Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and the University of Pennsylvania. Some schools that offer both Early Decision I and Early Decision II deadlines are American University, Boston University, Bowdoin, Brandeis, Colby, NYU, Pomona, Smith, Tufts, Vanderbilt, and Wesleyan.

There are lots of other early decision schools besides these well-known, competitive schools. You'll find the full list below.

Complete List: Schools Offering Early Decision

* Indicates Schools Offering Early Decision I and II

Arizona
Prescott College	AZ
California
California State University Sacramento	CA
Claremont McKenna College*	CA
Harvey Mudd College*	CA
Loyola Marymount University	CA
Occidental College*	CA
Pitzer College*	CA
Pomona College*	CA
Santa Clara University	CA
Scripps College*	CA
University of San Francisco	CA
Colorado
Colorado College*	CO
Connecticut
Connecticut College*	CT
Fairfield University*	CT
Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts	CT
Mitchell College	CT
Quinnipiac University	CT
Sacred Heart University	CT
Trinity College*	CT
University of New Haven	CT
Wesleyan University*	CT
Washington, DC
American University*	DC
Catholic University of America	DC
George Washington University*	DC
Florida
Flagler College	FL
Florida Southern College	FL
Rollins College*	FL
University of Miami*	FL
Georgia
Agnes Scott College	GA
Emory University*	GA
Morehouse College	GA
Spelman College	GA
Wesleyan College	GA
Illinois
Augustana College	IL
Governors State University	IL
Lake Forest College	IL
Moody Bible Institute	IL
Northwestern University	IL
Indiana
DePauw University	IN
Earlham College*	IN
Saint Mary's College	IN
Wabash College	IN
Iowa
Cornell College*	IA
Grinnell College*	IA
Kentucky
Centre College	KY
Maine
Bates College*	ME
Bowdoin College*	ME
Colby College*	ME
College of the Atlantic*	ME
Maryland
Goucher College	MD
Johns Hopkins University	MD
Loyola University Maryland	MD
McDaniel College*	MD
Maryland Institute College of Art	MD
Salisbury University	MD
Washington College*	MD
Massachusetts
Amherst College	MA
Babson College	MA
Becker College	MA
Bentley University	MA
Boston University*	MA
Brandeis University*	MA
Clark University	MA
College of the Holy Cross	MA
Gordon College	MA
Hampshire College*	MA
Merrimack College	MA
Mount Holyoke College*	MA
Northeastern University	MA
Smith College*	MA
Springfield College*	MA
Stonehill College	MA
Tufts University*	MA
Wellesley College	MA
Williams College	MA
Michigan
Hillsdale College	MI
Kalamazoo College*	MI
Minnesota
Carleton College*	MN
Hamline University	MN
Macalester College*	MN
St. Olaf College*	MN
Missouri
Cox College	MO
Washington University in St. Louis	MO
Nebraska
Nebraska Wesleyan University	NE
New Hampshire
Dartmouth College	NH
New Jersey
Drew University*	NJ
Ramapo College of New Jersey	NJ
Stevens Institute of Technology*	NJ
The College of New Jersey*	NJ
New York
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences	NY
Alfred University	NY
Bard College	NY
Barnard College	NY
Clarkson University	NY
Colgate University*	NY
College at Old Westbury	NY
College of New Rochelle	NY
Columbia University	NY
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art	NY
Cornell University	NY
Elmira College*	NY
Five Towns College	NY
Fordham University	NY
Hamilton College*	NY
Hartwick College	NY
Hobart and William Smith Colleges*	NY
Ithaca College	NY
Manhattan College	NY
Manhattanville College	NY
Marist College*	NY
Nazareth College*	NY
New York University*	NY
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute*	NY
Rochester Institute of Technology	NY
Saint Norbert College	NY
Sarah Lawrence College*	NY
Siena College	NY
Skidmore College*	NY
St. Lawrence University	NY
State University of New York at Fredonia	NY
State University of New York at Oswego	NY
State University of New York College at Geneseo	NY
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry	NY
State University of New York Maritime College	NY
Syracuse University	NY
The Jewish Theological Seminary*	NY
Union College*	NY
University of Rochester	NY
Utica College	NY
Vassar College*	NY
Webb Institute	NY
Wells College	NY
North Carolina
Davidson College*	NC
Duke University	NC
Elon University	NC
High Point University*	NC
Meredith College	NC
Wake Forest University*	NC
Warren Wilson College	NC
Ohio
Case Western Reserve University*	OH
College of Wooster*	OH
Denison University*	OH
Kenyon College*	OH
Miami University	OH
Oberlin College*	OH
Ohio Wesleyan University	OH
Wittenberg University	OH
Oregon
Lewish & Clark College	OR
Reed College*	OR
Pennsylvania
Allegheny College*	PA
Bryn Mawr College*	PA
Bucknell University*	PA
Carnegie Mellon University	PA
Dickinson College*	PA
Drexel University	PA
Duquesne University	PA
Franklin & Marshall College*	PA
Gettysburg College*	PA
Grove City College	PA
Haverford College*	PA
Juniata College*	PA
Lebanon Valley College	PA
Lehigh University*	PA
Lycoming College	PA
Muhlenberg College	PA
Susquehanna University	PA
Swarthmore College*	PA
University of Pennsylvania	PA
Ursinus College*	PA
Washington & Jefferson College	PA
Rhode Island
Brown University	RI
Bryant University*	RI
Rhode Island School of Design	RI
South Carolina
Furman University	SC
Presbyterian College	SC
Wofford College	SC
Tennessee
Rhodes College*	TN
Sewanee: University of the South*	TN
Vanderbilt University*	TN
Texas
Austin College	TX
Rice University	TX
Southern Methodist University*	TX
Texas Christian University	TX
Texas Lutheran University	TX
Trinity University*	TX
Vermont
Bennington College*	VT
Champlain College*	VT
Marlboro College	VT
Middlebury College*	VT
Sterling College	VT
Virginia
Christopher Newport University	VA
College of William and Mary	VA
Emory & Henry College	VA
Hampden-Sydney College	VA
Hollins University	VA
Lynchburg College	VA
Roanoke College	VA
University of Richmond*	VA
Virginia Military Institute	VA
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA
Washington and Lee University*	VA
Washington
University of Puget Sound*	WA
Whitman College*	WA

*Offers Early Decision I and II

If you're thinking about applying early decision to any of these schools, make sure you've considered the following.

Should You Apply Early Decision?

Have you done research on your top school? Have you visited and explored the campus? Do you have solid reasons for wanting to attend, and have felt this way for at least several months? If you answered yes to these questions, then it sounds like you've been thorough in deciding on your top school.

If you're unsure, tend to change your mind a lot, or aren't excited about attending the school, then early decision wouldn't be a good choice for you. The most important point to remember about applying early decision is that you're making a binding commitment. That means you are agreeing to enroll in the school if accepted, regardless of whatever financial aid offer you receive.

Some schools say they meet all demonstrated financial need, but you won't have a guarantee that the package will be what you expected or wanted it to be. In addition to learning all about your school of choice, make sure you've considered this financial piece to applying early decision, as well. If you have questions or concerns, you can call the financial aid office for advice, too.

If you'd like to get your application in by the early deadline and find out early, you also want to make sure you're sending off the strongest application you can. It requires months of planning and prepping to achieve your target SAT or ACT scores, gather your recommendation letters, and write your personal essay. Below are suggestions for scheduling out your college planning in advance of an early decision deadline.

Schedule Out Your College Planning

Since applying to college has a lot of components that require time and help from your teachers and counselor, you want to start early and keep track of everything. Write down all the requirements, mark your progress, and set deadlines for yourself to make sure you get everything done. Perhaps the application requirement you should start preparing for earliest is the SAT or ACT, both in terms of test prep and taking the official tests.

Since August, September, or October of senior year would be the last time to take the ACT or SAT, you want to have enough opportunities to take the test and improve your scores. You might take it for the first time in the spring of sophomore year, again in the fall of junior year, and again in the spring of junior year. If you feel like two test dates junior year, along with the final one in the fall of senior year, is sufficient, then you could take your first test in the fall of junior year.

Your goal might be to have your SAT or ACT scores all set by the end of junior year, so you don't have to worry about achieving your target scores on that last test date senior year. If you're applying Early Decision II with the January deadline, then you'll have a little more wiggle room in terms of available test dates.

Beyond your standardized testing, you should plan out your recommendation letters and personal essay. Ask for your rec letters (and any other documents you need the school to send, like your transcript) at least a month in advance of deadlines, typically by October. You might also ask junior year teachers at the end of junior year. Asking at the end of 11th grade can be a good idea regardless of your college deadlines since your junior year teachers will remember you most clearly then.

Finally, work on your personal essay over the summer, leaving several months to brainstorm ideas and work through several drafts and revisions. Your personal essay is your chance to share your voice with the admissions committee. You want to give yourself time to say exactly what you want to say.

Beyond these components, you can work on your Common Application or school application during the fall, proofreading for any errors and gathering all the important information. Make sure to discuss with your counselor your reasons for applying early decision, and finally have your parents and counselor sign the early decision agreement form.

Applying this way will signal your commitment and excitement about a school to admissions committees. You can impress them even further with a thoughtful, thorough application that demonstrates exactly why you'd be a great fit at their college.

What's Next?

Now that you know all the schools with early decision, check out their Early Decision I and Early Decision II deadlines here.

If you're also interested in schools that offer the less binding option of early action, you can learn more about them here. This guide has the full list of early action schools and their deadlines.

Are you aiming to get into a competitive or Ivy League school? This in-depth guide gives valuable insight into the admissions procedures of selective colleges and advice on how to build the most impressive college application you can.

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