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Deadlines ยท Applying early

Colleges with a November 15, 2026 deadline

Updated Every fact checked at the source 4 min read

The short answer

If you missed November 1, you still have options. At least 14 colleges we checked have an early decision deadline on Sunday, November 15, 2026, and three more have early action that day for all applicants.

Every date below was read on the college's own site on 5 November 2026 for students entering in fall 2027. Where we couldn't tie a date to this year's cycle, we say "confirm on the college's site."

November 15 is a Sunday. Unless the college says otherwise, plan to submit by Sunday night in your own time zone. Better still, submit on Friday, so a crashed portal or a missing recommendation doesn't turn into an emergency.

On this page
  1. Before November 15
  2. Early decision on November 15 (binding)
  3. Early action on November 15 (non-binding)
  4. Regular deadline on November 15
  5. Scholarship and honors dates on November 15
  6. November 15 dates to confirm yourself
  7. What's next: December 1
  8. Get the dates onto your calendar
  9. Questions

Before November 15

  • Amherst's early decision deadline is Monday, November 9, 2026. It's Amherst's only ED round, and it's earlier than most people expect.
  • Tulane's early action deadline is Tuesday, November 10, 2026. It's non-binding, with decisions by January 10.

Early decision on November 15 (binding)

  • Bowdoin (ED 1; aid forms due the same day)
  • Swarthmore (fall ED)
  • Williams (decision by December 14)
  • Harvey Mudd (ED I; it accepts applications through the next business day, Monday, November 16)
  • Bates (ED I; you can switch from regular to ED I until December 1)
  • Davidson (ED I; admission and aid application both due)
  • Hamilton (ED I)
  • Grinnell (ED I)
  • Denison (ED 1; aid deadline is the same)
  • Holy Cross (ED I; CSS Profile and FAFSA also due November 15)
  • Wake Forest (ED I; decisions on a rolling basis)
  • Reed (ED I, extended from November 1, per Reed's homepage)
  • Trinity College (Hartford; ED I, notification by mid-December)
  • Bryn Mawr (ED I; decisions mid-December)

Remember what ED means: if you're admitted, you go. Use it for one college you're sure about, and run its net price calculator first. Our page on early decision acceptance rates at 97 colleges shows what ED did for last year's applicants at many of these schools.

Early action on November 15 (non-binding)

  • Virginia Tech, first-year early action. Your self-reported academic record is due December 1. Virginia Tech has no ED round this year.
  • CU Boulder, fall early action. Decision by February 1.
  • Auburn, the third of its four early action rounds. Decision by mid-December. The final round is December 1.
  • Reed, early action, extended to November 15.
  • Wake Forest, early action for first-generation college students only. Decision by January 15.

Regular deadline on November 15

November 15 is the University of Washington (Seattle)'s one and only first-year application deadline for summer and autumn 2027. There's no later round. If UW is on your list, this is the date.

Scholarship and honors dates on November 15

These aren't application deadlines, but missing them can cost you money:

  • Emory Scholar Programs: deadline November 15.
  • Wake Forest merit and talent-based scholarships: November 15.
  • University of South Carolina Honors College and Top Scholar awards: apply by November 15 (credentials by December 1).

November 15 dates to confirm yourself

These colleges show November 15 for early decision, but their pages don't tie the date to this year's cycle. The date is probably right. Confirm on the college's site before you count on it.

  • Wesleyan (ED I)
  • Vassar (ED I; art portfolio November 17)
  • Carleton (fall ED)
  • Smith (ED)
  • Pitzer (ED I)
  • Franklin & Marshall (ED I)

What's next: December 1

If November 15 is too soon, these December 1, 2026 dates are checked:

  • Early action at Kentucky, Minnesota (EA II) and Auburn (final EA round, also its merit deadline).
  • Regular deadlines at UT Austin, Texas A&M (College Station), Florida State, Rutgers-New Brunswick, South Carolina, and Juilliard for most programs.
  • Merit and priority dates that apply even if you apply regular decision: Vanderbilt merit, BU merit, Claremont McKenna merit, Richmond Scholars, Washington and Lee's Johnson Scholarship, Pitt, UConn, LSU, Missouri and Penn State (recommended).

University of California applications close on November 30 for UCLA, Berkeley, UC San Diego and UC Irvine.

Get the dates onto your calendar

The planner builds your list with each college's deadlines and exports them to your calendar, so a Sunday deadline doesn't catch you out. You don't need an account, and your info stays in your browser. Still deciding about testing? Some of these colleges require the SAT or ACT for fall 2027; here's the full list. For the aid side, see CSS Profile deadlines.

Questions

Which colleges have a November 15, 2026 early decision deadline?
Bowdoin, Swarthmore, Williams, Harvey Mudd, Bates, Davidson, Hamilton, Grinnell, Denison, Holy Cross, Wake Forest, Reed, Trinity College and Bryn Mawr, among the colleges we checked.
Which colleges have early action on November 15, 2026?
Virginia Tech, CU Boulder, Auburn (its third early action round) and Reed (extended), plus Wake Forest for first-generation students only.
November 15, 2026 is a Sunday. Does the deadline move?
Not unless the college says so; Harvey Mudd accepts applications through Monday, November 16, but you should assume Sunday night everywhere else.
Is it too late to apply early if I missed November 1?
No: 17 of the colleges we checked still have an early decision or early action deadline on November 15, and several more have early action or scholarship dates on December 1.
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Checked on 5 November 2026.

Each college's own site: Amherst (amherst.edu/admission/apply/firstyear), Tulane (admission.tulane.edu/apply/deadlines-forms), Bowdoin (bowdoin.edu/admissions/apply/dates-deadlines), Swarthmore (swarthmore.edu, application materials and deadlines), Williams (williams.edu first-year page, read from the Internet Archive copy of 20 October 2026 because the live site blocks automated reads), Harvey Mudd (hmc.edu/admission/apply), Bates (bates.edu, application options), Davidson (davidson.edu, admission and aid timeline), Hamilton (hamilton.edu/admission/apply), Grinnell (grinnell.edu, first-year requirements), Denison (denison.edu, applying for financial aid), Holy Cross (holycross.edu, financial aid), Wake Forest (admissions.wfu.edu, Class of 2031), Reed (reed.edu homepage), Trinity College (trincoll.edu, application process), Bryn Mawr (brynmawr.edu, apply), Virginia Tech (vt.edu, dates and deadlines 2026-2027), CU Boulder (colorado.edu/admissions), UW (admit.washington.edu, dates and deadlines; washington.edu 2026-27 academic calendar), Emory (apply.emory.edu, plans and deadlines), South Carolina (sc.edu 2026-2027 application guide), and the December 1 colleges' admissions pages.

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