The College Application Timeline

	AugSAT	SeptSAT/ACT	OctSAT/ACT	NovSAT	DecSAT/ACTNov 15th AP Exam Registration	Jan	FebACT	MarchSATMarch 15th AP Exam Registration	AprilACT	MaySAT	JuneSAT/ACT	JulyACT
9th	GPAM Priority	Explore Activities2-3 Clubs 1-2 Volunteer Sports/PVA	Start Early Competitions			Plan Yearly Competitions					Early SAT Start	Explore Top 3 Majors
10th	SAT ITop 1%: 1540 Top 5%: 1480 Top 10%: 1400		Choose MajorCompetitive Summer Program Apps begin	Competitive Summer Program Applications begin.		Plan Yearly Competitions	Summer AppsAP Prep	Summer Apps	Summer Apps	AP ExamsSummer Apps	Summer Apps
11th	SAT ITop 5%: 1540 Top 10%: 1480 Top 25%: 1400		National Merit PSAT	SAT I			AP PrepGPA Summer Apps IP ACT	SAT IThen, GPAM AP/IB Summer Finalization		AP ExamsRequest Letters	College ListSAT?	Draft UC/CA PS 650wACT
12th	SAT I	Early Window 0Sept 1 – Early Decision 0 Pre-App Interview Request Other Letters ACT/SAT I	Oct 15Art/Music Early Deadline SAT I	Early Window INov 1 – Early Deadline Early Decision Early Action Restrictive Early Action	Dec 1UC/CSU Deadlines Merit Deadline Dec 15 – Early ResultsAccepted Rejected Deferred	Regular Window IIJan 1–15 ED II, EA II, REA II Non-UC	InterviewPost-App, Invite Only	March 1–30 ResultsAccepted Rejected Waitlisted	Campus TourEarly Waitlist Results	May 1 – SIR deadline$200–800+ NR Deposit	Waitlist Commence	Waitlist Results

The Application Windows

Window 0 — The Earliest Deadline

The earliest window is Window 0 and will have deadlines starting September, with results released around mid October. This is new and exclusive to only a handful of colleges.

Window I — The Early Window (Oct 15 – Nov 1)

This is when students apply for Early Decision I, Early Action, and Restrictive Early Action, and include special deadlines for supplemental portfolios and merit/residency priority considerations. The results for these applications generally come out in mid to late December, with many EA applications coming out later in January and February.

Window II — The Regular Window (Jan 1–15)

There are some applications are due in February, but for the most part, we consider the first 2 weeks of January as the key weeks to lock in and submit all regular college applications. Results for regular applications will generally come out in March. Below is an example of estimated result notification dates for 2026:

Date (Approx/Confirmed)	University	Notes
Friday, March 13	UChicago	Historically the second Friday of March.
Saturday, March 14	MIT & Caltech	Pi Day (3.14) is the traditional release date for both.
Wednesday, March 18	Johns Hopkins	Confirmed: March 18, 2026.
Friday, March 20	UCLA, UVa, UNC	The "Public Ivy" Friday. Typically the 3rd Friday of March.
Wednesday, March 25	NYU, Vanderbilt, Emory	Schools often release the day before Ivy Day to beat the traffic.
Thursday, March 26	Ivy Day All 8 Ivies Harvard · Yale · Princeton · UPenn · Brown · Columbia · Cornell · Dartmouth	Confirmed. UC Berkeley also releases March 26.
Friday, March 27	Carnegie Mellon	Usually releases on the final Friday of March.
Wednesday, April 1	Georgetown	Confirmed: Georgetown traditionally releases exactly on April 1.
Friday, April 3	Stanford	Traditionally the first Friday in April.

After Results

April Through May 1st

After receiving all results, students and families will have April to decide, aligning spring break with plans to visit top accepted choices to check out the dormitories, campuses, etc. Then, by May 1st, students will have to submit their Statement of Intent to Register or equivalent, along with usually a non-refundable deposit of $200 to $800, to their top choice. This locks their choice into that one college and confirms their intent to attend.

The Waitlist

After May 1st, colleges will assess how many additional spots are available for waitlist candidates and convene the waitlist deliberations. In the past, waitlist results were announced relatively quickly, but as of late, I've seen waitlist results come out as late as July.

If a student gets accepted through the waitlist and wishes to attend that college, the student would simply put in a new deposit to that college and notify the May 1st deposited college of the change. Nothing much to that; pretty simple.

Two Key Points

Two Key Points When We Look at the Year Overview

Key Point 1

Applying early means your GPA up until the end of junior year will matter. Applying regular means your GPA up until your 1st semester of senior year will likely be considered. This can be important for students who are aiming to boost their GPA or employ a V-shape recovery strategy.

Key Point 2

Chances are, you will get waitlisted. That means you will still have the opportunity to update colleges April through June. The #1 killer of waitlisted potential is senioritis. Therefore, your academic and extracurricular efforts still matter, all the way until the end of senior year.

In between these windows are either pre-application interviews or post-application interviews, which will be a subject for another post.

I do not track financial aid deadlines, as that is not my area of expertise. I do get glimpses of that side from my students, and would advise parents/students to finalize a college list in June and then proceed to looking into each colleges' financial aid website to confirm any college-specific requirements or deadlines.