College Admissions Calendar - Important Dates

During my many years working at “Big Tech” there was a lot of change, but one constant was the rhythm of the business. 

You always knew, for instance -

• When the financial year (and quarters) were coming to a close

• When planning for headcount and new projects would take place

• When key activities for people evaluations and reviews was happening

• When your team’s leadership retreat would occur <sigh>

• And even when development systems would "freeze" during the holiday season, so you could avoid emergencies when fewer people were in the office

It was a deliberate, structured calendar designed to help you and your team know what to expect, and to plan ahead.

There’s a similar rhythm to the college admissions calendar. Knowing these dates in advance can help you prepare, and avoid surprises!

College Admission Calendar Important Dates

For Juniors:

• October: PSAT

• February - May: SAT/ACT

• May: Recommendations - ask two junior year teachers for letters of recommendation to be completed in fall of your senior year. Do this early, so they have time to start thinking/preparing.

For Seniors:

• August 1: Common App opens

• October: FAFSA, the federal financial aid application, open date (though in 2023 it was December due to process updates)

• November 1 & 15: Early Admissions Deadlines at many schools

• November: CA System (and other state schools such as University of Washington) can have very early regular admissions deadlines. Be aware!

• January: Regular Admissions Deadlines

• January: Many scholarship and honours college applications deadlines

• March: Most students receive admissions decisions in late March

• May 1: Decision day, this is your college enrollment deadline

There can be quite a bit of variation in dates and timetables, so it is always important to double-check the deadlines for the schools you are interested in.

Some examples from Fall 2024 enrollment:

SCHOOL	EARLY ADMISSIONS	REGULAR ADMISSIONS
University of Washington	N/A	Nov-15
Washington State University	N/A	Mar-31
Gonzaga University	N/A	Dec-1 [Regular Decision] Feb-1 [Late Consideration]
Whitman College	Nov-15 [Early Decision I] Jan-10 [Early Decision II]	Jan-15
University of Oregon	Nov-1 [Early Action, Honours]	Jan-15
CalTech	Nov-1 [Restrictive Early Action]	Jan-3
University of California, Berkeley	N/A	Nov-30
Arizona State University	Nov-1 [Early Action]	Jan-15 [Regular Decision]
NYU	Nov-1 [Early Decision I] Jan-1 [Early Decision II]	Jan-5 [Regular Decision]
Duke University	Nov-1 [Early Decision]	Jan-2 [Regular Decision]

How to Not Miss an Important Deadline

Tip - Add Important College Admissions Dates To Your iPhone Calendar!

STEPS:

1. Google “<semester> <year> application deadlines <name of school>” (e.g. “fall 2024 application deadlines University of Washington”) to find the admissions websites with the important dates. You can also get this information in the ‘College Search’ tab of the Common Application.

2. Open the iPhone calendar app

3. Add a new entry for each deadline

4. Use the name of the school and the deadline in the event name, to make it easy to understand at a later date what the calendar event is signaling

5. Create the event for 1 hour and during the time of day you normally check your calendar, so you don’t easily overlook the entry if your calendar is extra busy

6. Create an alert to happen two weeks before the deadline so you don’t miss it!