Key application & aid dates
Confirm each school's exact deadlines. The dates below are the common, canonical milestones for this cycle. Deadlines vary by school and by year — many colleges set their own admissions and financial-aid dates, and some publish more than one. Always check each college's admissions and financial-aid pages, and file the FAFSA and CSS Profile as early as you can. Nothing here is admissions or financial advice.
Milestone timeline
| Milestone | Typical date | What it is & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Common Application opens | August 1, 2026 | Start and submit applications to most colleges for fall 2027 entry. Other platforms open around the same time (see “Application platforms” below); the UC application submits October 1–November 30. |
| FAFSA opens (2027-28) | On or before October 1, 2026 | The federal student-aid form for fall 2027 entry. Federal law requires an on-time October 1 launch; recent cycles also opened an earlier beta. File as soon as it opens. Some aid is first-come. |
| CSS Profile opens (2027-28) | Around October 1, 2026 | A separate, nonfederal aid application required by many private colleges and scholarship programs for institutional aid. Not every school uses it. |
| Early Decision I / Early Action | Around November 1, 2026 | Early rounds. Early Decision (ED) is a binding commitment; Early Action (EA) is non-binding. Some colleges use November 15 or other dates. |
| Financial-aid priority: early rounds | Mid-to-late November 2026 | Many colleges want your CSS Profile (and FAFSA) submitted by the early-round admissions deadline to be considered for full institutional aid. |
| Early Decision II / Regular Decision | Around January 1-15, 2027 | The main application round. Regular Decision deadlines cluster in early-to-mid January; some public flagships and rolling-admission schools extend to February 1 or later. |
| Financial-aid priority: regular round | January-February 2027 | Institutional CSS Profile / FAFSA priority dates. State grant FAFSA deadlines vary widely by state (some as early as winter), so check your state agency. |
| Decisions & enrollment deposit | March-April 2027; deposit commonly due May 1, 2027 | Most Regular Decision results arrive in spring. The national reply/deposit date is commonly May 1, but confirm each college's date. |
Application platforms: where you apply
Most colleges accept the Common Application, but not all. Some use a different platform, and several large public systems have their own. Many colleges accept more than one; you only apply once per college. Check each college's admissions page for which application(s) it accepts.
| Platform | Who uses it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Common Application | 900+ colleges nationwide | The most widely accepted platform. Opens August 1; one application submits to many schools. |
| Coalition Application (on Scoir) | ~150 colleges, incl. public flagships (e.g., UNC, UVA, UW, Maryland) | The Coalition's standalone portal was retired. You now apply to Coalition member colleges through a Scoir account. Unlike the Common App's single August 1 opening, the Coalition Application on Scoir has no single opening date Start dates vary by college (many open around the same time as the Common App). Create a free Scoir account to begin, then confirm each college's own opening and deadline dates. Most Coalition schools also accept the Common App. |
| University of California (UC) application | All 9 UC campuses (UCLA, Berkeley, San Diego, …) | One dedicated application for all UC campuses; it does not use the Common App. Submission window is October 1–November 30, 2026 for fall 2027 entry. |
| Cal State Apply | The 23 California State University campuses | The separate CSU system application. Priority filing commonly October 1–November 30. |
| ApplyTexas | Texas public universities (and some private/community colleges) | Opens around August 1; deadlines vary by campus (e.g., UT Austin and Texas A&M around December 1). |
| A school's own portal / other | A few colleges, plus QuestBridge applicants | Some colleges accept applications only through their own website. QuestBridge is a separate path for eligible high-achieving students from lower-income households. |
Go to the source
Start your applications and aid forms directly at the official sites, and confirm each college's own deadlines on its admissions and financial-aid pages:
- Common Application (commonapp.org) : the application platform used by most colleges.
- Apply Coalition with Scoir (scoir.com) : the Coalition Application, now submitted through Scoir.
- University of California application (universityofcalifornia.edu) : the single application for all nine UC campuses.
- Cal State Apply (calstate.edu) : the California State University system application.
- ApplyTexas (applytexas.org) : Texas public universities and many others.
- FAFSA at Federal Student Aid (studentaid.gov) : the federal aid form and official deadlines.
- SAT registration (collegeboard.org) : the federal aid form and official deadlines.
- ACT registration (act.org) : the federal aid form and official deadlines.
- CSS Profile at College Board (cssprofile.collegeboard.org) : the nonfederal and institutional aid form, with participating-school deadlines.
How to use these dates
- Make a list of every college you're applying to and write down its admissions deadline and its financial-aid deadline. They are often different.
- File the FAFSA (and the CSS Profile, if the college requires it) as early as you can; some grants are awarded until funds run out.
- Give yourself a two-week buffer before any deadline for documents (tax records, W-2s) to process.