Priority Deadline
Should I apply for a priority or a regular deadline in 2021 and 2022? The Link team will answer your questions in regards to the college admissions process.
What’s a priority deadline? Is it different from a regular deadline? Is it mandatory to apply for a priority deadline? Will priority deadlines hurt your chances if you don’t apply for it? The team at Link will assist you with these questions and how to make priority deadlines work for you and your student.
How Can I Tell What Is A Priority Deadline?
In college admissions, a priority deadline is a date to complete your college application prior to “Regular Decision” application deadlines. If a student applies after this deadline, the application can still be accepted, but it will not be considered a top priority early application. Depending on a college’s review procedures, some applications submitted before the deadline can get reviewed more immediately by that specific college admissions team. For instance, let’s say a college has a priority deadline of December 15th. If you apply after this, the application will be reviewed with “Regular Decision” applications and no longer be considered “Early Action” or “Early Decision”
Are colleges accepting Rolling Admissions?
“Rolling Admissions” consists of those colleges accepting applications throughout the year as long as there are still spots available. Even though students have more time to apply for rolling admissions, priority deadlines can help a student who is sure of which colleges they want to be admitted to receive clarity if their admission comes sooner. If a student applies by the priority deadline, they will then receive their decision earlier, along with a quicker conclusion to their application process.
Comparing Priority Deadline with Other Deadlines
Many words can be used to describe the same things in the world of college admissions, so here are some definitions to bring more clarity to these deadlines.
Regular Decision Deadline: The most common application date for students to apply to a given college or university. Likely to be somewhere between early December to late January, this deadline allows the most time for students to explore schools, majors, and write their application material before submission.
Early Decision Deadlines: Generally due in early November Early Decisions “ED” will be notified by the end of December of your admission. The caveat with ED is you will be required to attend the school you are admitted into, so you will need to be very sure of your choice prior to applying ED>. Statistics generally show that students who apply by this deadline will give them a greater chance of admission.
Early Action Deadlines: Generally due in November, Early Actions “EA” will also receive a decision from admissions a month later. However, unlike ED if the student gets accepted, they will have time to decide between other acceptances from competing schools.
Rolling Admission Deadlines: These deadlines are meant for students who are interested in admissions during less traditional seasons. This means students have a larger timeline in which they can explore and subsequently apply to their college or university of choice. Rolling deadlines can be anywhere between early fall to the summertime.
“Priority deadlines” are comparable to Early Action deadlines. Some schools use early priority deadlines interchangeably with the other terminology, but it all depends on the college. There is not much difference between the two.
What about an early decision? Priority deadlines and early decisions require students to apply before the deadline. Both can increase your chance of being accepted into a specific school. However, remember that Early Decision means the student is required to attend if admitted. For priority deadlines and Early Action they can attend any school, they are accepted into.
Students can still get accepted if they submitted a priority deadline after the registration, however, once a regular deadline passes admission officers will not accept it. Even if you give a good excuse you won’t be able to get your application reviewed.
What are the schools with priority deadlines in 2021?
Here are some schools that are using priority deadlines and how they compare to regular application deadlines. Schools with priority deadlines tend to be larger public schools, although this isn't always the case. If a school has a regular deadline (rolling), that means it will accept applications until it fills all the spots for the freshman class.
Who has a Priority Deadline or Early Action Deadlines?
Here is an expansive list of institutions that have these deadlines:
Institution Deadline
Adelphi University December 1
Agnes Scott College November 15/January 15
Assumption College November 1/December 15
Auburn University December 1
Augustana College November 1
Austin College December 1/February 1
Azusa Pacific University November 15
Babson College November 1
Bard College November 1
Bay Path University December 15
Baylor University November 2
Becker College November 16
Bellarmine University November 1
Beloit College November 1 / December 1
Bennington College December 1
Berklee College of Music November 1
Binghamton University—SUNY November 1
Biola University November 15 / January 15
Birmingham-Southern College November 16
Bloomfield College November 30
Bridgewater State University November 15
Bryant University November 15
Butler University November 1
Caldwell University December 1
California Baptist University December 1
California Institute of Technology November 1
California Lutheran University November 1
Carthage College Summer
Case Western Reserve University November 1
The Catholic University of America November 1
Centenary College of Louisiana December 1
Centre College December 1
Chapman University November 1
Christendom College December 1
Christopher Newport University December 1
Clark University November 15
Cleveland Institute of Art December 1 / January 15
Coe College December 10
College of Charleston December 1
College for Creative Studies December 1
College of Idaho November 15 / January 15
College of Mount Saint Vincent November 15
College of Saint Benedict November 15 / December 15
College of Wooster November 15
Colorado College November 1
Colorado State University December 1
Columbia University January 15/March 1
Concordia College New York November 15
Concordia University Irvine November 15 / February 15
Cornish College of the Arts December 1
Curry College December 1
Dean College November 1 / December 1
Delaware College of Art and Design December 1
DePaul University November 15
DePauw University December 1
Duquesne University December 1
Earlham College November 15 / January 1
Eckerd College November 15
Elon University November 1
Emerson College November 1
Emmanuel College November 1 / December 15
Fairfield University November 1
Fordham University November 1
Framingham State University November 15
Furman University December 1
George Fox University November 1
George Mason University November 1
Georgetown University November 1
Georgia College and State University October 15
Georgia Institute of Technology October 15/ November 2
Gordon College November 1 / December 1
Goucher College December 1
Gustavus Adolphus College November 1
Hamline University December 1
Hampden-Sydney College October 15 / December 1
Hampshire College December 1
Hampton University November 1
Hanover College November 1 / December 1
HarvardUniversity November 1
Hellenic College December 1
Hendrix College November 15 / February 1
High Point University November 15
Hofstra University November 15 / December 15
Hollins University November 15
Howard University November 1
Illinois College December 1
Illinois Wesleyan University November 15
Iona College December 1
Ithaca College December 1
James Madison University November 15
John Carroll University December 1
Kalamazoo College November 1
Kean University January 1
Knox College November 1 / December 1
La Salle University November 1
Lake Forest College November 1 / January 15
Lasell College November 15 / January 15
Lawrence University November 1 / December 1
Le Moyne College November 15
Lees-McRae College December 1
Lenoir-Rhyne University October 16
Lesley University December 1
Lewis & Clark College November 1
LIM College November 15
Longwood University December 1
Loyola Marymount University November 1
Loyola University Maryland November 15
Lycoming College December 1
Lynn University November 15
Maine Maritime Academy November 30
Manhattanville College December 1
Marist College November 15
Marlboro College January 15
Massachusetts College of Art and Design December 1
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy
and Health Sciences November 1/ December 1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology November 1
Massachusetts Maritime Academy November 15
The Master's University November 1
McDaniel College November 15 / December 15
Menlo College November 15
Mercer University October 15
Merrimack College November 15 / January 15
Miami University December 1
Michigan State University November 1
Millsaps College November 15
Minneapolis College of Art and Design December 1
Molloy College December 1
Monmouth University December 1
Montserrat College of Art December 6
Morehouse Colleg November 1
Mount Saint Mary's University December 1
Mount St. Mary's University November 1
New York Institute of Technology February 15
North Carolina State University November 1
Northeastern University November 1
Northwest Nazarene University November 15
Northwest University November 15 / January 15
Oglethorpe University November 15
The Ohio State University November 15
Ohio Wesleyan University December 1
Old Dominion University December 1
Oregon State University November 1
Pace University November 15 / December 1
(The New School) November 1
Patrick Henry College November 1
(all undergraduate campuses) November 1
Point Loma Nazarene University November 15
Pratt Institute November 1
Presbyterian College December 1
Princeton University November 1
Providence College November 1
Purchase College—SUNY November 15
Purdue University November 1
Radford University December 1
Randolph College November 15
Randolph-Macon College November 15
Regis College November 15
Rhodes College November 15
Rider University November 15
Roger Williams University November 15
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology November 1
Rutgers—New Brunswick November 1
The Sage Colleges December 1
Saint Anselm College November 15
Saint John's University November 15 / December 15
Saint Joseph's College of Maine November 15
Saint Joseph's University November 1
Saint Mary's College of California November 15
Salisbury University December 1
Salve Regina University November 1
Santa Clara University November 1
School of the Art Institute of Chicago November 15
Seattle Pacific University November 1
Seattle University November 15
Seton Hall University November 15 / December 15
Sewanee: The University of the South December 1
Shepherd University November 15
Siena College October 15
Simmons College November 1 / December 1
Southern Methodist University November 1
Southern New Hampshire University November 15
Southwestern University December 1
Spelman College November 15
St. John's College November 15
Stanford University November 1
Sterling College December 15 / January 15
Stonehill College November 1
Suffolk University November 15
SUNY Cortland November 15
SUNY New Paltz November 15
SUNY Oneonta November 15
Susquehanna University November 1 / December 1
Sweet Briar College December 1
Tarleton State University March 1
Temple University November 1
Texas Christian University November 1
Texas Lutheran University November 15
Transylvania University October 31 / December 1
Trinity University November 1
Tulane University November 15
United States Coast Guard Academy October 15
Unity College December 15
University of Akron November 1
University at Albany—SUNY November 15
University of Arkansas November 15
University at Buffalo—SUNY November 15
University of Chicago November 2
University of Cincinnati December 1
University of Colorado Boulder November 15
University of Dallas November 1 / December 1
University of Dayton November 1
University of Denver November 1
University of Evansville November 1
University of Georgia October 15
University of Illinois at Chicago November 1
University of Kentucky December 1
University of Maine December 1
University of Maine at Farmington November 15
University of Mary Washington November 15
University of Maryland November 1
University of Maryland, Baltimore County November 1
University of Massachusetts Amherst November 5
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth November 15
University of Massachusetts Lowell November 5 / January 5
University of Miami November 1
University of Michigan November 1
University of Minnesota—Twin Cities November 1
University of New England November 15
University of New Hampshire November 15
University of New Haven December 15
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill October 15
University of North Carolina at Charlotte November 1
University of North Carolina at Wilmington October 15
University of Notre Dame November 1
University of Oregon November 1
University of the Pacific November 15
University of Redlands November 15
University of Rhode Island December 1
University of San Francisco November 1
University of Scranton November 15
University of South Carolina October 15
University of St. Thomas November 1
University of Tampa November 15 / January 15
University of Utah December 1
University of Vermont November 1
University of Virginia November 1
University of Virginia's College at Wise December 1 / February 1
University of Wisconsin—Madison November 1
Ursinus College November 1
Utica College November 15
Vanguard University of Southern California December 1
Villanova University November 1
Wabash College December 1
Warren Wilson College November 15
Washington College December 1
Washington & Jefferson College January 15
Wells College December 15
Western Carolina University November 15
Westminster College November 15
Westmont College October 15 / November 1
Wheaton College October 15 / November 15
Wheaton College November 15
Whittier College December 1
Whitworth University November 15/January 15th
Willamette University November 15
Wittenberg University December 1
Wofford College November 15
Worcester Polytechnic Institute November 1/January 15
Worcester State University November 15
Yale University November 1
What happens if you apply before or after the priority deadline?
We recommend students apply for a school’s priority deadline if they are able to present strong application materials at the time. If a student goes that route they not only have a chance to get into a specific college but also receive financial aid information sooner. The only real negative effect for a student who applies by the priority deadline will be experienced if the student does not take the time to create a strong case for admission.
However, a student can still apply after the priority deadline and their application will be accepted with “reviewed with Regular or Rolling Decision deadline. With the masses being reviewed at the same time, the competition will be fierce with the number of applications increased during this time. Try to make priority deadlines by dedicating time to your application materials early and often.
College Application Consulting
For families who need assistance managing the college application process - we’re here to help! By following Link’s detailed year-long plan will help students become competitive applicants to a list of schools the student decides. They work alongside a consultant to comprehend and then complete the application process. For questions regarding packages, contact us.
