Don’t Panic! (Your College Decisions Are In Fact Coming)

Spring break is here. Your last bit of downtime before graduation. As the sun hits your face and you’re soaking it all in before hitting that final stretch of senior year, you’re struck by the most nerve-racking thoughts.

“Where are my college decisions?” 
“I heard back from the University of Pittsburgh, but why hasn’t UPenn sent me anything yet?

Followed by a frantic rush to your email to ensure nothing has been missed. Nothing.

“I must not have been good enough.”
“Should I ask Mark from 2nd period if he heard back already?”
“Should I send an email to the admissions department?”

The answer to all of these creeping doubts, as difficult as it may sound, is to be patient.

Colleges receive tens of thousands of applications from wonderfully talented and motivated students just like yourself. And despite what you may have heard in the past, admissions officers and readers love to spend their time with each and every one of these students’ stories. So, as much as you’d like to receive a decision as quickly as possible, rest assured that the lengthy wait to hear back is for a good reason! 

But why did little Suzy hear back from the University of Pittsburgh back in January, but still hasn’t heard back from UPenn? Well, Pitt works under rolling decision, while Penn works under regular decision release. 

And as it turns out, every school releases its decisions on its own time. As such, this varies based on whether the school you have applied to works under rolling decisions or regular ones.

Early vs. Rolling vs. Regular College Decisions

When will I hear back from schools with Rolling Decisions?

Although it can change each year and varies by school based on the number of applications they receive (earlier is better for schools with rolling admissions!), it takes about 6-10 weeks after you submit to receive your decision. It may take longer if there is a sudden influx of applications at once (especially right before the holidays), which may also elongate the decision time frame.

If you’re interested in learning more about rolling decisions and which schools use this strategy, you can find out more here!

How is this different from Early Action/Decision schools?

Let’s backtrack a bit. 

While rolling decisions can open as early as September and October, there is typically no hard deadline for these, and they continue to evaluate applications until they have filled all the spots for their incoming class. 

However, early action and decision schools typically have a deadline around November 1. While this varies by school, early decisions (including ED1, if available) will be released around December 15, though some may be as late as December 24.

For schools that have ED2 (with December/January deadlines) as an available option, these decisions are released anywhere from late January to the end of February.

Early action deadlines are typically around November 1 (but can be as early as October 15 for a school like UNC), and these decisions are released anywhere from mid-December to early February.

To learn more about Early Decision/Action schools, you can take a look here!

When will I hear from my Regular Decision schools?

Regular Decisions schools will start releasing as early as mid-March, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself waiting until the very end of March, especially as schools known to receive a higher number of applications may not notify you until those final days of the month.

While it isn’t common, sometimes RD decisions may even bleed into early April.

What’s this I’ve heard about Ivy Day? And the UC System?

It’s true. The Ivy League schools are known for their historic Ivy Day. This is the day when all 8 Ivy League schools release their decisions. It happens in the final days of March (last Thursday), with the 2024 Ivy Day having been on March 28 and the 2023 Ivy Day on March 30. Barring any technical issues, the institutions will release their decision simultaneously on this day.

As for the UC system with its one December 2 regular admissions deadline, they provide a window of March 1-31 for these decisions to be released.

For example, UC Riverside receives a smaller number of applications, so its decisions tend to be out by March 15. Meanwhile, UCLA and UC Berkeley, which receive the highest number of applications, have a common practice of releasing closer to March 31 (understandably so!).

While UC schools release their decisions on different dates, you will have heard back from all of them by March 31 at the latest.

Is there anything else I should do while I wait?

Now that you have a general idea of when these different types of admissions decisions are released, you might be thinking how long 3 months is to wait for a decision from a regular school. You may even feel tempted to send an email to an admissions department. This is not necessary, and you do NOT want to ask whether any special exception can be made to receive your decision. This will never be the case as it is not a precedent these schools like to set. 

So, what CAN you do?

Do a bit of research. Look at trends from previous years. Maybe you’re a spreadsheet person, and it can help you to make one for the schools you applied to. I’m an admissions consultant with years of experience for prestigious college admissions, and even I still find myself googling when decisions will come out, as it can, in fact, change from year to year.

It’s also great to follow the admissions pages of schools on social media platforms like Instagram. This year, UPenn made a post on their page notifying ED applicants of when decisions would be out. In today’s digital age, platforms like Instagram or even Reddit can be a great help!

So, all in all, here is my advice for you:

Take a breath. 
You’ve done everything you need to at this point.
Enjoy the rest of your senior year. 
The school you are meant to be at will come calling.