Most acceptance letters have been sent and now it’s time for students to decide where to go. Decision Day has traditionally been May 1st of each year. It marks the deadline that students have to commit to their schools and communicate their intention to enroll for the following fall semester. The May 1st date has normally given students several weeks, if not months, to review financial aid packages from schools they’d been accepted to.
This year that day is coming faster than ever due to FAFSA Delays related to the update of the application, where it was completely overhauled at the end of last year, only being released via a soft launch just a few days before New Years. The late start and some additional fine tuning since it’s release has delayed the delivery of financial aid information to schools, which in turn is causing financial aid packages to go out much later than usual, likely the middle to end of March or possibly even later.
For students wanting time to assess their options, taking a moment to consider their financial circumstances, this situation doesn’t leave much time and schools are sensitive to this. More than 100 schools have extended their decision day deadlines according to a list published by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Schools look to have extended the decision deadline by two weeks to a one month in most cases.
Wondering if your school has extended it’s deadline? See the list below. We recommend that if you see your school on this list, that you confirm the updated deadline with the school just to be sure. You certainly don’t want to miss your deadlines.
This is not an exhaustive list. If you don’t see your school on the list, there’s still hope. Contact your school, tell them your situation. Many schools have said they would be “flexible” given the circumstances.
| Name of School | State | New Decision Day Date |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Arizona University | Arizona | June 1st |
| Cal State System | California | May 15th (some schools: June 1st) |
| Mount Saint Mary's University | California | May 15th |
| Otis College of Art and Design | California | May 15th |
| Saint Mary's College of California | California | May 15th |
| University of California, Berkeley | California | May 15th (in-state students only for now) |
| University of California, Davis | California | May 15th |
| University of California, Irvine | California | May 15th |
| University of California, Los Angeles | California | May 15th |
| University of California, Merced | California | May 15th |
| University of California, Riverside | California | May 15th |
| University of California, San Diego | California | May 15th |
| University of California, Santa Barbara | California | May 15th |
| University of California, Santa Cruz | California | May 15th |
| University of San Diego | California | May 15th |
| Colorado State University | Colorado | June 1st |
| Fort Lewis College | Colorado | June 1st |
| University of Colorado Boulder | Colorado | June 1st |
| University of the District of Columbia | DC | May 31st |
| Bradley University | Illinois | June 1st |
| Columbia College Chicago | Illinois | June 1st |
| DePaul University | Illinois | June 1st |
| Eastern Illinois University | Illinois | After May 1st, half refund until June 1st |
| Illinois College | Illinois | June 1st |
| Illinois State University | Illinois | June 1st |
| Illinois Wesleyan University | Illinois | June 1st (domestic students) |
| Millikin University | Illinois | June 1st |
| Monmouth College | Illinois | June 1st |
| University of Illinois Chicago | Illinois | June 1st |
| DePaul University | Indiana | May 15th |
| Purdue University Fort Wayne | Indiana | August 1st |
| University of Indianapolis | Indiana | June 1st |
| University of Saint Francis | Indiana | June 1st |
| Coe College | Iowa | June 1st |
| Drake University | Iowa | June 1st |
| Northern Kentucky University | Kentucky | June 1st |
| University of Southern Maine | Maine | June 1st |
| Goucher College | Maryland | June 1st |
| Montgomery College | Maryland | May 15th |
| Morgan State University | Maryland | May 15th |
| Mount St. Mary's University | Maryland | May 15th |
| University of Maryland System | Maryland | May 15th |
| Assumption University | Massachusetts | June 1st |
| Emerson College | Massachusetts | June 1st |
| Framingham State University | Massachusetts | June 1st |
| Fitchburg State | Massachusetts | June 1st |
| Mass College of Art | Massachusetts | June 1st |
| Suffolk University | Massachusetts | June 1st |
| UMass Boston | Massachusetts | June 1st |
| UMass Dartmouth | Massachusetts | June 1st |
| UMass Lowell | Massachusetts | June 1st |
| Williams College | Massachusetts | May 15th |
| Worcester State University | Massachusetts | June 1st |
| Kalamazoo College | Michigan | June 1st |
| College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University | Minnesota | June 1st |
| Gustavus Adolphus College | Minnesota | June 1st |
| University of Minnesota Crookston | Minnesota | On or after June 1st |
| University of Minnesota Duluth | Minnesota | June 1st |
| University of Minnesota Morris | Minnesota | June 1st |
| University of Minnesota Rochester | Minnesota | June 1st |
| University of Minnesota Twin Cities | Minnesota | May 15th |
| University of St. Thomas | Minnesota | June 1st |
| The College of New Jersey | New Jersey | June 1st |
| Georgian Court University | New Jersey | June 1st |
| Montclair State University | New Jersey | June 1st |
| Rutgers | New Jersey | June 1st |
| CUNY System | New York | June 1st |
| Mercy University | New York | June 1st |
| Stony Brook University | New York | May 15th |
| SUNY Albany | New York | June 1st |
| SUNY Binghamton | New York | May 15th |
| SUNY Buffalo State | New York | June 1st |
| SUNY Buffalo | New York | May 15th |
| SUNY Canton | New York | June 1st |
| SUNY Geneseo | New York | May 15th |
| SUNY Maritime College | New York | June 1st |
| SUNY Oswego | New York | June 1st |
| Vaughn College td> | New York | June 1st |
| Queen's Univ of Charlotte | North Carolina | June 1st |
| Bowling Green State University | Ohio | May 15th |
| Kent State | Ohio | June 1st |
| Miami University | Ohio | May 15th |
| Ohio State University | Ohio | May 15th |
| The University of Akron | Ohio | May 15th |
| University of Dayton | Ohio | May 15th |
| University of Toledo | Ohio | June 1st |
| Wittenberg University | Ohio | June 1st |
| Xavier University | Ohio | May 15th |
| Youngstown State | Ohio | June 1st |
| Oklahoma State University | Oklahoma | June 1st |
| Lewis & Clark College | Oregon | June 1st |
| Linfield University | Oregon | June 1st |
| Oregon State University | Oregon | June 1st |
| University of Oregon | Oregon | June 1st |
| University of Portland | Oregon | June 1st |
| Carlow University | Pennsylvania | June 1st |
| Geneva College | Pennsylvania | May 31st |
| Moravian University | Pennsylvania | June 1st |
| Penn State | Pennsylvania | May 15th |
| Universities in Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education | Pennsylvania | May 15th |
| Washington & Jefferson College | Pennsylvania | June 1st |
| York College of PA | Pennsylvania | June 1st |
| University of Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | May 15th |
| Rhode Island College | Rhode Island | June 1st |
| Landmark College | Vermont | June 1st |
| Vermont State | Vermont | June 1st |
| Christopher Newport University | Virginia | May 15th |
| Eastern Mennonite University | Virginia | June 1st |
| George Mason University | Virginia | May 15th |
| Old Dominion | Virginia | June 1st |
| Radford University | Virginia | June 1st |
| Regent University | Virginia | June 1st |
| Sweet Briar College | Virginia | June 1st |
| University of Virginia | Virginia | May 15th |
| Virginia Tech | Virginia | May 15th |
| Virginia Union University | Virginia | June 1st |
| Virginia Wesleyan University | Virginia | June 1st |
| William & Mary University | Virginia | May 15th |
| Washington State University | Washington | June 1st |
| Pacific Lutheran University | Washington | June 1st |
| University of Washington | Washington | June 1st |
| Western Washington University | Washington | June 1st |
| West Virginia University | West Virginia | June 1st |
| Whitworth University | Washington<span<> </span<> | June 1st |
| Northland College | Wisconsin | June 1st |
| DePaul University | Wisconsin | May 15th |
| Whitworth University | Washington<span<> </span<> | June 1st |