2013 Colleges and Universities with Early Action Admission Plans

We're back today with high school counselor Cigus Vanni who for eighteen years has created and maintained a series of lists that are great tools for students -- and counselors. Earlier this week, we posted his list of 2013 Colleges and Universities with Binding Early Decision Plans. Today, we are featuring 2013 Colleges and Universities with Early Action Plans. 

Early action plans are typically nonrestrictive. Students apply by a deadline that is earlier than the school's Regular Decision deadline and receive a decision earlier than the regular response date. Applicants are free to apply to other colleges and are not required to commit to a school until May 1, the National Candidates Reply Date.

However, please note, that a handful of schools listed here have Restrictive Early Action plans -- including Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Boston College, and several others. Note the schools' requirements for admission under these plans in bold. If you are applying under a Restrictive Early Action plan, check the website of that college to understand the specifics of their restrictions and requirements. 

In fact, while information is current with the compilation of this list in July 2013, as is the case with all aspects of college admission, use lists as guides and always double check with individual admission offices.

 

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN THE US WITH EARLY ACTION (NON-BINDING) ADMISSION DECISION PLANS

 

ALABAMA

            Auburn University

            Birmingham-Southern College

 

ARKANSAS

            Hendrix College

            Lyon College

            University of Arkansas

 

CALIFORNIA

            Azusa Pacific University

            Biola University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            California Baptist University

            California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech)

            California Lutheran University

            Chapman University

            Concordia University

            Loyola Marymount University

            Menlo College

            Mills College

            Mount Saint Mary’s College

            Notre Dame de Namur University

            Point Loma Nazarene University

            Santa Clara University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Soka University of America

            Saint Mary’s College of California

            Stanford University [restrictive plan—CANNOT apply ED or EA to any other schools.  EXCEPTIONS:  may apply to schools with early deadlines for scholarships and special academic programs IF NON-BINDING; may apply to rolling admissions programs; may apply to any schools outside United States regardless of admission program]

            The Master’s College

            University of San Francisco

            University of the Pacific

            Westmont College

            Whittier College

 

COLORADO

            Colorado College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Colorado State University

            University of Colorado at Boulder

            University of Denver

 

CONNECTICUT

          Fairfield University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            United States Coast Guard Academy

            University of Hartford

            University of New Haven

            Yale University [restrictive plan—CANNOT apply ED or EA to any other school.  EXCEPTIONS: any school with rolling admissions; any public university with non-binding EA plan; an ED II plan at another college, provided decision is post-January 1; any institution outside the United States]

 

DELAWARE

          Delaware College of Art and Design

 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

            Catholic University of America

            Georgetown University [restrictive plan—CANNOT apply to any binding Early Decision plan of any other school]

            Howard University

            Trinity Washington University

 

FLORIDA

            Eckerd College

            Jacksonville University

            Palm Beach Atlantic University

            University of Miami [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            University of Tampa

 

GEORGIA

            Agnes Scott College

            Georgia College and State University

            Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)

            Georgia State University

            Mercer University

            Morehouse College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Oglethorpe University

            Spelman College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            University of Georgia

            Wesleyan College

 

IDAHO

            College of Idaho

            Northwest Nazarene University

 

ILLINOIS

            DePaul University

            Illinois College

            Illinois Institute of Technology

            Illinois Wesleyan University

            Knox College

            Lake Forest College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            School of the Art Institute of Chicago

            University of Chicago

            Wheaton College

 

INDIANA

            Butler University

            DePauw University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Earlham College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Grace College

            Hanover College

            Taylor University

            University of Evansville

            University of Notre Dame

            Wabash College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

 

IOWA

            Coe College

            Cornell College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

 

KENTUCKY

            Bellarmine College

            Centre College

            Georgetown College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Transylvania University

 

LOUISIANA

           Centenary College of Louisiana

           Dillard College

           Tulane University

           Xavier University of Louisiana

 

MAINE

             Maine College of Art

            Saint Joseph’s College of Maine

            Thomas College

            Unity College in Maine

            University of Maine

            University of Maine at Farmington

            University of Maine at Machias

            University of New England

 

MARYLAND

            Goucher College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Hood College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Loyola University in Maryland

            McDaniel College

            Mount Saint Mary’s University

            Salisbury University

            Saint John’s College

            University of Maryland Baltimore County

            University of Maryland College Park

            University of Maryland Eastern Shore

            Washington College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

 

MASSACHUSETTS

            Assumption College

            Babson College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Bay Path College

            Becker College

            Bentley University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Berklee College of Music

            Boston College [restrictive plan—CANNOT apply to any binding Early Decision plan at any other school]

            Bridgewater State University

            Clark University

            Curry College

            Dean College

            Emerson College

            Emmanuel College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Framingham State University

            Gordon College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Hampshire College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Harvard/Radcliffe Colleges [restrictive plan—CANNOT apply ED or EA to any other school.  EXCEPTIONS: any public university with EA, rolling or regular plan; an ED II plan at another college, provided decision is post January 1; any institution outside the United States]

            Lesley University

            Massachusetts College of Art and Design

            Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

            Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

            Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

            Massachusetts Maritime Academy

            Merrimack College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Montserrat College of Art

            Nichols College

            Northeastern University

            Regis College

            Salem State University

            Simmons College

            Stonehill College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Suffolk University

            University of Massachusetts at Amherst

            University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth

            University of Massachusetts at Lowell

            Wheaton College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Wheelock College

            Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)

 

MICHIGAN

            Albion College

            Hillsdale College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Kalamazoo College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Michigan State University

            Olivet College

            University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

 

MINNESOTA

            College of Saint Benedict

            Gustavus Adolphus College

            Hamline University

            Minneapolis College of Art and Design

            Saint John’s University

 

MISSISSIPPI

          Millsaps College

 

MISSOURI

          Stephens College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

 

MONTANA

            Carroll College

 

NEW HAMPSHIRE

            Colby-Sawyer College

            Rivier College

            Saint Anselm College

            Southern New Hampshire College

            University of New Hampshire

NEW JERSEY

            Bloomfield College

            Caldwell College

            Drew University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Georgian Court University

            Monmouth University

            Montclair State University

            Princeton University [restrictive plan—CANNOT apply ED or EA to any other school.  EXCEPTIONS: any school outside the  United States; any school—public or private—with a non-binding rolling admissions policy]

            Ramapo College of New Jersey

            Rider University

            Rutgers University (all campuses)

            Seton Hall University

            William Paterson University of New Jersey

 

 NEW MEXICO

             Saint John's College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

             Saint John's College  Santa Fe University of Art and Design

 

NEW YORK

            Adelphi University

            Bard College

            College of Mount Saint Vincent

            College of Saint Rose

            Concordia College

            Dowling College

            Fordham University

            Hofstra University

            Houghton College

            Iona College

            Ithaca College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            LIM College

            Marist College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Mercy College

            Molloy College

            Nazareth College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Pace University, New York City

            Pace University, Briarcliff/Pleasantville

            Parsons The New School for Design

            Pratt Institute

            Siena College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            State University of New York (SUNY) College at Cortland

            SUNY College at New Paltz

            SUNY College at Oneonta

            SUNY College at Purchase

            SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome

            SUNY University at Albany

            SUNY University at Binghamton

            The King’s College

            The Sage Colleges

            Wells College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

 

NORTH CAROLINA

            Elon University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Greensboro College

            Guilford College

            High Point University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Lenoir-Rhyne College

            North Carolina State University

            Queens University of Charlotte

            Piedmont International University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            University of North Carolina at Asheville

            University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

            University of North Carolina at Charlotte

            University of North Carolina at Greensboro

            University of North Carolina at Wilmington

            Western Carolina University

            William Peace University

            Winston-Salem State University

 

OHIO

            Case Western Reserve University

            Cleveland Institute of Art

            College of Wooster [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Columbus College of Art and Design

            John Carroll University

            Miami University of Ohio [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Ohio Wesleyan University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            University of Dayton

            Wittenberg University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

 

OKLAHOMA   

          Oklahoma City University

           University of Tulsa

 

OREGON

            George Fox University

            Lewis and Clark College

            Linfield College

            Oregon State University

            University of Oregon

            Willamette University

 

PENNSYLVANIA

           Dickinson College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Duquesne University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            LaSalle University

            Moravian College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Saint Joseph’s University

            Susquehanna University [restrictive plan—applicant may apply EA only if s/he has a legacy with Susquehanna; also

supports an Early Decision plan]

            University of Scranton

            Ursinus College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Villanova University

            Washington and Jefferson College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

 

PUERTO RICO

            University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla

            University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez

 

RHODE ISLAND

            Bryant University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Providence College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Roger Williams University

            Salve Regina University

            University of Rhode Island

 

SOUTH CAROLINA

            College of Charleston

            Erskine College

            Furman University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Presbyterian College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            University of South Carolina at Columbia

           

TENNESSEE

            Fisk University

            Rhodes College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            University of the South (Sewanee) [also supports an Early Decision plan]

 

TEXAS

            Abilene Christian University

            Austin College

            Baylor University

            Southern Methodist University

            Southwestern University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Texas Christian University

            Trinity University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            University of Dallas

            University of Saint Thomas

 

UTAH

          Neumont University

 

VERMONT

            Bennington College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Green Mountain College

            Lyndon State College

            Marlboro College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Saint Michael’s College

            Sterling College

            University of Vermont

 

VIRGINIA

            Christendom College

            Christopher Newport University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Emory and Henry College

            George Mason University

            Hampden-Sydney College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Hampton University

            Hollins University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            James Madison University

            Longwood University

            Old Dominion University

            Patrick Henry College

            Radford University

            Randolph College

            Randolph-Macon College

            University of Mary Washington

            University of Virginia

            University of Virginia College at Wise

           

WASHINGTON

            Gonzaga University

            Northwest University

            Seattle Pacific University

            Seattle University

            Whitworth University

 

WEST VIRGINIA

          Shepherd University

 

WISCONSIN

            Beloit College [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Lawrence University [also supports an Early Decision plan]

            Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design

 

 

            This list was compiled by Cigus Vanni, a member of the New Jersey Association for College Admission Counseling Executive Board and former member of the NACAC Professional Development Committee (2007-2010).  Sources consulted included The College Handbook, 2014 by the College Board; individual college websites; the College Board Common Data Set; and various college admissions offices by telephone.  As is the case with all aspects of college admission, use lists as guides and be certain to double check with individual admissions offices