Regular decision deadlines for 2026-27 run from November 30 (UC) to February 1. See the date for 35 colleges, aid deadlines and the last SAT and ACT that fit.
Larry Learns Team
There is no single regular decision deadline. For the 2026-27 cycle, most selective private colleges set it between January 1 and January 5, 2027, a few public universities run later (UNC is January 15, Michigan is February 1), and the University of California closes much earlier, on November 30, 2026. Decisions come back between mid-March and early April, and you have until May 1 to choose.
The table below lists the regular decision deadline for 35 popular colleges, each read from the college's own admissions page in the first days of October 2026. After the table: which deadlines aren't really in January, what "the deadline" does and doesn't include, the financial aid dates that sit next to it, and the last SAT and ACT that still fit.
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Colleges publish these in different ways. Some print the year, some print only a month and day, and some give a decision date while others say "late March". We've kept each college's own wording. The last column shows a test-date cutoff only where the college publishes one for Regular Decision.
Dates and policies change between cycles, and a college can move a date after we read it. Treat this table as a map and your applicant portal as the final word.
The Regular Decision Deadlines That Are Not in January
The January cluster makes it easy to assume every regular deadline is "after winter break". Four kinds of exceptions catch students every year.
The University of California. UC has one application for its undergraduate campuses and one filing period: October 1 to November 30, 2026 for fall 2027. There is no early round and no January option. If UCLA or Berkeley is on your list, your regular deadline is eight weeks away, not three months.
Arts and audition programs. USC's Regular Decision deadline is December 1 for performing arts majors, Carnegie Mellon's is December 1 for drama and music, and Stanford asks for the Common App by December 5 if you're sending an optional arts portfolio.
Scholarship deadlines inside the regular round. Vanderbilt's merit scholarship applications are due December 1, 2026, a month before its January 1 application deadline. Georgia Tech says students who want to be considered for its academic and merit-based scholarships must apply through Early Action.
Later public deadlines. UNC-Chapel Hill is January 15 and Michigan is February 1. UIUC's regular deadline is January 5, but it answers early, on February 26.
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What the Regular Decision Deadline Actually Covers
The date in the table is for your part: the application, the college's own questions and the fee or fee waiver. Supporting documents often get a few more days. Harvard says counselors may submit materials up to one week after its January 1 deadline. UVA gives teachers and counselors until January 10, WashU wants school materials by January 11, and Georgia Tech's document deadline is January 22. Cornell lists January 19 for all other required materials.
Times matter too. Brown, Harvard and Northwestern each state 11:59 p.m. in your local time, while UIUC states 11:59 p.m. Central. Don't plan on submitting in the last hour.
Regular Decision is not binding. You can apply to as many colleges as you like, and if you're admitted you have until May 1 to reply. If you'd rather make a binding commitment in January, that's Early Decision 2, which at many colleges shares the same deadline. For the fall rounds, see early action vs early decision.
Financial Aid Deadlines Next to the Regular Decision Deadline
Aid runs on its own calendar, usually a few weeks behind the application. These are the Regular Decision aid dates the colleges publish:
College
RD financial aid date
Boston University
January 5 (CSS Profile and FAFSA)
Johns Hopkins
January 15, 2027
Dartmouth, Princeton, WashU
February 1
Vanderbilt
February 1, 2027 (priority)
USC
February 3, 2027
Emory
February 10
Columbia, MIT, Northeastern
February 15
Cornell
February 15 (priority date for domestic students)
Michigan, UNC-Chapel Hill
March 1
University of California
March 2 (FAFSA or California Dream Act Application, plus the GPA Verification Form)
Both Michigan and UC list October 1 as the day the aid forms open, so you can file well before these dates. Missing an aid deadline doesn't cancel your application, but it can delay or shrink your offer, and that's the number you'll need in April to compare colleges.
The Last SAT and ACT for Regular Decision
For a January deadline, the last tests that fit are the December 5 SAT and the December 12 ACT.
Test
Register by
Scores released
For a January 1 to 5 deadline
SAT November 7
October 23 (late October 27)
November 20
Safe everywhere, and leaves December as a backup
SAT December 5
November 20 (late November 24)
December 18
Fits. Scores arrive two weeks before January 1
ACT December 12
November 6 (late November 29)
December 22
Fits. Scores arrive about ten days before January 1
Those dates come from College Board and ACT. The October 3 SAT has already been given (scores come out October 16), and late registration for the October 17 ACT closed on September 29. So if you aren't registered for October, your next chances are the November 7 SAT and the December 12 ACT. There is no November ACT. The full calendars are in our SAT test dates and ACT test dates guides.
Most colleges that publish a cutoff agree on December. Duke and Penn name December 5 for the SAT and December 12 for the ACT. Brown says testing "must be completed by the last December test date". Princeton, Dartmouth, Northwestern, Rice and Tufts all say December, Stanford says by the end of December, and MIT and Caltech say tests must be taken before December 31. Carnegie Mellon prefers testing done by January 3, and NYU says the exam should be completed before its application deadline.
A few colleges leave more room, but none of it helps much in practice. Yale says January or February exams are generally available for its regular round, Columbia says February test scores can be provided in time, and Harvard says February ACT scores are possible. The catch is the calendar: after December, the next ACT is February 27, 2027 (scores March 16) and the next SAT is March 6, 2027. That makes December the last national SAT that works anywhere on this list.
One more step: getting the score to the college. Many colleges accept self-reported scores, which count as soon as you type them in. Michigan and Georgia Tech even publish separate self-report deadlines (February 1 and January 22). If your college wants an official report, order it as soon as scores are released. Our guides to sending SAT scores and sending ACT scores explain delivery times, and should I submit SAT scores helps if the college is test-optional.
A Regular Decision Timeline From Now to May 1
October. Finish your college list and write down every deadline, including UC's November 30 and any December 1 scholarship or arts dates. File the FAFSA, and the CSS Profile if your colleges use it.
By October 23. Register for the November 7 SAT if you want one more score with room for a December retake.
By November 6 (ACT) or November 20 (SAT). Register for the December test if you need it.
November. Ask teachers and your counselor for recommendations now, not in the last week of December when schools are closed.
Mid-December. Early decisions arrive. If you were deferred or denied, your regular applications need to be ready to send within two to three weeks.
January 1 to 15. Submit, then check each portal for missing items.
February. Midyear grades and aid forms are due.
Mid-March to early April. Decisions. Reply by May 1.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Regular Decision Deadline
When is the regular decision deadline for most colleges?
For 2026-27, most selective private colleges fall between January 1 and January 5, 2027. Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth and Georgetown use January 1. Yale, Cornell and Johns Hopkins use January 2. Duke, MIT, Northwestern and Rice use January 4. Brown, Penn, Stanford and NYU use January 5.
Is January 1 the regular decision deadline everywhere?
No. Of the 35 colleges in our table, nine use January 1. The rest range from November 30 (University of California) to February 1 (Michigan), and several have earlier dates for arts programs or scholarships.
What is the UC application deadline for fall 2027?
November 30, 2026. The University of California lists its fall 2027 filing period as October 1 to November 30, and the application has been open to work on since August 1. The same deadline applies to every UC campus.
Can I take the December SAT for regular decision?
Yes, at every college in our table that publishes a cutoff. The December 5 SAT releases scores on December 18. Register by November 20, or by November 24 with a late fee.
When do regular decision results come out?
Between mid-March and early April for most colleges. MIT, Caltech and Georgia Tech say mid-March, Johns Hopkins lists March 24, 2027, Boston University lists March 28, and many others say by April 1. UC campuses notify during March.
Can I still apply after the regular decision deadline?
Sometimes, but don't count on it at selective colleges. If a real emergency gets in the way, contact the admissions office before the deadline. UChicago, for one, tells applicants delayed by circumstances outside their control to email their regional admissions counselor about an extension.
A December test is the last piece of a regular decision application you can still improve. Take a free practice quiz to see where you stand, or create a free Larry Learns account for daily SAT and ACT practice on web, iPhone or Android, with 3 quizzes and 3 AI explanations a day on the free tier.
