{"answer":"For fall 2027 entry, the Common App opened August 1, 2026 with more than 1,200 member colleges and the same 7 essay prompts; the UC and CSU systems both run an October 1 - November 30, 2026 filing period with no early plans, and ApplyTexas opened August 1, 2026 with UT Austin's Early Action due October 15, 2026 and Regular Decision due December 1, 2026. Most private colleges in our list close Early Decision or Early Action around November 1, 2026 and Regular Decision in early-to-mid January 2027.","as_of":"October 2026","date":"2026-10-22","dek":"Open dates, early and regular deadlines at 50 of the most-applied-to colleges, the 7 Common App prompts, and how many applications students really send.","faq":[{"a":"The Common App opened for the 2026-27 season on August 1, 2026, and the University of California and Cal State applications opened the same day.","q":"When did the fall 2027 college applications open?"},{"a":"November 1, 2026 is the most common deadline date in our table of 50 colleges.","q":"What is the busiest deadline date this fall?"},{"a":"All nine University of California campuses in our table show one fall 2027 deadline: November 30, 2026.","q":"Do the UC campuses have different deadlines?"},{"a":"There is no Early Decision and no Early Action anywhere in the UC system, so there is no way to signal a first choice by applying sooner.","q":"Does the University of California offer Early Decision?"},{"a":"The Common App asks for one personal essay chosen from 7 prompts, and those 7 prompts did not change for 2026-27.","q":"How many essay prompts does the Common App have for 2026-27?"},{"a":"The average Common App applicant submitted 7.06 applications in the 2025-26 season, up 4% from 6.79 the year before.","q":"How many colleges does the average student apply to?"},{"a":"Fees in our table run from 70 dollars to 90 dollars at the 60 colleges shown, with Stanford highest at 90 dollars.","q":"How much do application fees cost at these colleges?"},{"a":"Five colleges in our table -- Clemson, Pitt, UVA, Columbia and CU Boulder -- did not yield deadline dates from their own pages in this research pass.","q":"Why are some deadline cells blank?"}],"findings":[{"h":"November 1, 2026 is the single busiest deadline date","p":"In our deadline table, more colleges close an early plan on November 1, 2026 than on any other date. Harvard, Stanford and Yale all set Restrictive or Single-Choice Early Action on November 1, 2026. Cornell, Brown, Northwestern, Penn, NYU and Northeastern set Early Decision on the same day. Public flagships pile on too. Ohio State, Illinois, Maryland, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, Penn State and Arizona all use a November 1, 2026 Early Action date. USC and Michigan list that date as well, for both Early Decision and Early Action. That one night carries more weight than any other in the fall."},{"h":"California gives families no early option and one hard close","p":"Every University of California campus in our table shows the same fall 2027 date: November 30, 2026. The UC application opens August 1, 2026, and the filing period runs October 1 - November 30, 2026. The CSU campuses follow the same pattern. Cal State LA confirms that the fall 2027 filing period opens October 1, 2026. There is no Early Decision and no Early Action anywhere in either system. A California family plans around one night, not three."},{"h":"The average student sent 7.06 applications last season","p":"Common App's end-of-season report shows 7.06 applications per applicant in 2025-26, up 4% from 6.79 the year before. In total, 1,527,328 distinct first-year applicants sent 10,786,782 applications, a 6% rise in volume. UC runs lower. Its own reporting puts applicants at an average of 4.5 campuses for Fall 2025, out of about 205,000 unduplicated freshman applicants. Seven is the real-world middle, not twenty."}],"license":"CC BY 4.0 \u2014 quote with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach)","method":"Deadline dates come from each college's own published admissions page for fall 2027 entry, read in October 2026, covering 50 of the 100 most-applied-to colleges in the United States. Essay prompt text and season facts come from the Common App's own blog posts announcing the 2026-27 prompts and the August 1, 2026 launch; application-volume figures come from the Common App End-of-Season Report for 2025-26 and the University of California Accountability Report 2026. Application fees come from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023-24 (APPLFEEU, undergraduate application fee) and may have changed since that collection year. Excluded: transfer, international-only and graduate deadlines; colleges outside the top-100 applicant list; and any date we could not read on the college's own page, which is left blank rather than estimated. Clemson, Pitt, UVA, Columbia and CU Boulder returned no dates in this pass, the Common App personal-essay word limit could not be confirmed from a Common App-owned page, UC's prior-year average campuses per applicant was not confirmed, and Common App does not publish the share of students applying to 7 or more colleges, so none of those values appear here.","question":"When do fall 2027 college applications open and close, and what do they ask?","related":[{"label":"Early decision vs regular","url":"/research/early-decision-vs-regular"},{"label":"Acceptance rates at the 100 most-applied-to colleges","url":"/research/acceptance-rates-100-colleges"},{"label":"Application fees at the 100 most-applied-to colleges","url":"/research/application-fees-100-colleges"},{"label":"Parent explainers","url":"https://www.prepgurus.com/explainers"}],"sections":[{"h2":"When did the fall 2027 applications open?","paragraphs":["The Common App opened for the 2026-27 season on August 1, 2026, and the University of California and Cal State applications opened the same day. ApplyTexas and the UT Austin application also opened August 1, 2026. So the first week of August was the true start of the fall 2027 cycle for most students in the country.","Opening day matters more than it sounds. The Common App launched with more than 1,200 colleges and universities worldwide. It also welcomed 64 new members for the 2026-27 season, including 23 Illinois community colleges. A student who logs in early can see the full college list, the questions, and the supplements before the fall term gets busy.","Common App also carries drafts forward. With account rollover, the platform keeps a student's answers in the My Common Application section, including the personal essay, when the new cycle opens. A rising senior who started a draft in the spring does not have to retype it in August.","Opening early does not mean submitting early. The UC and CSU systems will not accept a submission until October 1, 2026, even though the forms open August 1, 2026. For families, the useful move is to treat August and September as build time. October and November are send time."]},{"h2":"What is the single most common deadline date for fall 2027?","paragraphs":["November 1, 2026 is the most common deadline date in our table of 50 colleges. It shows up as Early Decision at Cornell, Brown, Northwestern, Penn, NYU, Northeastern, Michigan and USC. It shows up as Restrictive or Single-Choice Early Action at Harvard, Stanford and Yale. It shows up as Early Action at Ohio State, Illinois, Maryland, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, Penn State, Tennessee, Florida and Arizona.","That means one night in the fall can carry eight or ten of a student's applications at once. Each one may need its own short answers. A family that plans backward from November 1, 2026 has about three months from the August 1, 2026 open date. That is the window for the main essay and the supplements.","A few colleges sit just ahead of the crowd. Florida State, UT Austin, Georgia Tech, UNC Chapel Hill and UCF all set October 15, 2026 deadlines. Boston University uses November 2, 2026 for Early Decision I, and USF uses November 2, 2026 for Early Action.","The practical lesson is simple. If your student has any October 15, 2026 college on the list, the real first deadline is two weeks before the big one. Build the calendar around that earlier date instead."]},{"h2":"Why do the University of California campuses all show the same date?","paragraphs":["All nine University of California campuses in our table show one fall 2027 deadline: November 30, 2026. The UC application opens August 1, 2026, and the submission period runs October 1 - November 30, 2026. UCLA, UC San Diego, Berkeley, Irvine, Davis, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Riverside and Merced all list the same window.","That is because UC runs one application for the whole system. A student fills out a single form and checks a box for each campus. There is no Early Decision and no Early Action anywhere in the UC system, so there is no way to signal a first choice by applying sooner.","UC Merced's own admissions page did not load for us in this pass, so its row uses the UC systemwide filing period. We confirmed that same window on the other eight UC campuses listed here, which is why we are comfortable showing it.","For families, the UC pattern changes the shape of the fall. One essay set covers every campus a student picks. The hard part is that November 30, 2026 lands right after Thanksgiving, four weeks after the November 1, 2026 rush. Students who leave the UC answers for the last week of November tend to write them tired."]},{"h2":"How do the Cal State deadlines compare?","paragraphs":["The Cal State system runs the same October 1 - November 30, 2026 filing period as UC for fall 2027. Cal State LA's own page says the fall 2027 application filing period opens on October 1, 2026. CSU Long Beach confirms the full pattern. Applications open August 1, 2026, and the filing period runs October 1 to November 30, 2026.","Our table shows San Diego State, CSU Long Beach and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo all closing on November 30, 2026. Cal Poly's own admissions pages did not load for us in this pass. Its row uses the CSU systemwide period, which we confirmed on two other CSU campuses.","Like UC, Cal State Apply is one form that covers many campuses. There is no early plan in the CSU system either. A California student can cover both systems with one late-November push, as long as the writing is already done.","The cost side matters here. In our fee table, San Diego State, CSU Long Beach and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo each charge 70 dollars. Each UC campus charges 80 dollars. A student adding four UC campuses and three CSU campuses pays seven separate fees, not one."]},{"h2":"What do the public flagships outside California do?","paragraphs":["Most public flagships in our table use one Early Action date near November 1, 2026 and a Regular date between January and February 2027. Ohio State closes Early Action on November 1, 2026 and Regular Decision on January 15, 2027. Wisconsin and Florida use the same pair of dates. Illinois uses November 1, 2026 and January 5, 2027.","Maryland sits a few days later with November 1, 2026 and January 20, 2027. Indiana uses November 1, 2026 and February 1, 2027. Michigan lists November 1, 2026 for both Early Decision and Early Action, with Regular Decision on February 1, 2027.","Texas runs on its own clock. UT Austin closes Early Action on October 15, 2026 and Regular on December 1, 2026. Texas A&M lists a window of August 1, 2026 to December 1, 2026. Both are done before many private colleges even reach their January dates.","Florida publics are early as well. Florida State uses October 15, 2026 for both Early Decision and Early Action, with December 1, 2026 for Regular. USF uses November 2, 2026 and December 16, 2026. UCF closes Early Action on October 15, 2026 and Regular on May 1, 2027, the latest date in our table."]},{"h2":"Which colleges use rolling or priority deadlines instead?","paragraphs":["Five colleges in our table list a priority date rather than a firm regular close. Penn State shows Early Action on November 1, 2026 and a priority date of December 1, 2026. Pitt shows December 1, 2026. Alabama shows December 4, 2026. Arizona State shows priority on November 1, 2026 with regular admission on February 1, 2027. Michigan State shows a priority date of February 1, 2027 and a regular date of April 1, 2027.","Priority is not the same as a last chance. Penn State's page says applying by November 1 gets a decision by December 24. Michigan State says applications finished by February 1 are guaranteed an initial decision by March 31. Pitt's December 1, 2026 date is for automatic scholarship consideration on a rolling process.","Rolling means the college reads files as they arrive and fills seats over time. The earlier a strong file lands, the more open seats and scholarship dollars are still in play. Waiting does not change the student's record, but it can change what is left to award.","Arizona and Alabama both run on a rolling or priority-only basis on their own pages, with no fixed final regular date stated. We left those regular cells blank rather than guess. For a family, a blank regular cell is a signal to apply by the priority date and stop worrying about the rest."]},{"h2":"What does the Common App actually ask students to write?","paragraphs":["The Common App asks for one personal essay chosen from 7 prompts, and those 7 prompts did not change for 2026-27. The Common App announced on February 27, 2026 that the prompts would stay the same. The choice was based on feedback from students, counselors, teachers and colleges.","The 7 prompts cover a background or talent, a setback and what it taught, and a belief the student questioned. They also cover a moment of gratitude, a period of growth, a topic that makes the student lose track of time, and an open choice. The full text of each sits in our prompt table above.","Prompt 7, topic of your choice, was the most popular pick in 2025-26 at 28%. Facing adversity, prompt 2, came next at 23%. So more than half of all essays landed in just two of the 7 slots. That is not a reason to avoid them, but it does mean the story has to carry the piece.","We could not confirm the personal-essay word limit from a Common App-owned page in this pass, so we do not print one here. What we can say is that the same essay goes to every Common App college a student picks. The college-specific questions, often called supplements, are separate. They are where most of the extra writing hours go."]},{"h2":"How many colleges does the average student apply to?","paragraphs":["The average Common App applicant submitted 7.06 applications in the 2025-26 season, up 4% from 6.79 the year before. In all, 1,527,328 distinct first-year applicants sent 10,786,782 applications, a 6% rise in volume over 10,157,068 the prior season. Applicant counts rose 2%.","The long trend is steeper than the one-year change. Applications per applicant on Common App grew 49% between 2016-17 and 2025-26. Over that same decade, total applications grew 154% and the number of applicants grew 70%. More students are applying, and each one is applying to more places.","The University of California runs lower because it is one form. UC reports applicants applying to an average of 4.5 campuses for Fall 2025, out of about 205,000 unduplicated freshman applicants. That count fell 1% from 2024 to 2025.","Common App does not report how many students apply to 7 or more colleges, so we cannot say what share sits above the average. The mean of 7.06 is the only published figure. For a parent deciding whether a list of nine feels like too much, the honest answer is that nine sits a little above the national middle."]},{"h2":"What will the application fees add up to?","paragraphs":["Fees in our table run from 70 dollars to 90 dollars at the 60 colleges shown, with Stanford highest at 90 dollars. Eight colleges charge 85 dollars, including USC, UNC Chapel Hill, Columbia, Harvard, UMass Amherst, Duke, Syracuse and NC State. Every UC campus in the table charges 80 dollars.","Private colleges do not always cost more than publics here. UNC Chapel Hill, a public, charges 85 dollars, the same as Harvard and Duke. Rutgers, Georgia and Clemson, all public, charge 70 dollars, the same as Princeton and Johns Hopkins.","The fee file we used reports 100 colleges, of which 5 charge no application fee at all. This page shows the first 60 rows. The full list of 100 lives on our fees page, linked below.","Fee waivers exist for families who qualify, and they are requested inside the application itself rather than paid and refunded. Students who do not qualify can still trim costs by checking whether a target college charges nothing. In a list built around the national average of 7.06 applications, two fee-free colleges change the total by a lot."]},{"h2":"Which colleges' deadlines could we not confirm?","paragraphs":["Five colleges in our table -- Clemson, Pitt, UVA, Columbia and CU Boulder -- did not yield deadline dates from their own pages in this research pass. We left those cells blank instead of filling them from other sites.","The reasons differ. Clemson's admissions pages never showed a date in the text we could read. Pitt moved its admissions site mid-pass and the new deadlines page could not be found. UVA and Columbia both returned a block on every direct attempt. CU Boulder's pages confirmed that the 2027 application is open but printed no dates.","Three more rows carry a caution. Michigan's November 1, 2026 and February 1, 2027 dates come from a search excerpt of Michigan's own page rather than a direct read. Purdue's deadline table did not render for us at all, so its row shows no dates. UNC Chapel Hill's October 15, 2026 Early Action date was found, but its regular date was not.","We say this plainly because a missing date is not the same as no deadline. Each of those colleges has one. Families with any of these five on the list should treat the published date on that college's own site as the one that counts."]},{"h2":"How early can a student start, and what can be done in August?","paragraphs":["The forms were live on August 1, 2026, so the whole summer before senior year was open for draft work. The Common App launched that day with more than 1,200 colleges and universities worldwide. The UC and CSU forms opened the same day, even though they do not take a submission until October 1, 2026.","August is the month for the parts that do not change. The list of colleges, the activities section, and the personal essay draft all travel with the student. Account rollover keeps the answers in My Common Application, including the personal essay, when the new cycle opens.","September is the month for supplements. Each college asks its own short questions, and those stack up fast when a list runs near 7.06 colleges, the national average. A student who waits until late October is writing supplements and finishing the main essay at the same time.","October is for the first wave. Five colleges in our table close on October 15, 2026: Florida State, UT Austin, Georgia Tech, UNC Chapel Hill and UCF. A student with any of those on the list has a mid-October finish line, not a November one."]},{"h2":"How should a family read a blank cell in the deadline table?","paragraphs":["A blank cell in our table means one of two things, and 5 colleges show blanks for every plan. Either the college does not offer that plan, or the date did not appear on the college's own page in this pass. We did not fill either case with a guess.","Take Penn State as an example. Its regular cell is blank because the college uses rolling admission with no single firm close date on its own page. Only the November 1, 2026 Early Action date and the December 1, 2026 recommended date were published there.","Arizona and Alabama read the same way. Both describe a rolling or priority-only process, so no fixed final regular date is stated. Arizona lists November 1, 2026 for Early Action. Alabama lists December 4, 2026 as its priority date.","Then there are the true gaps. Clemson, Pitt, UVA, Columbia and CU Boulder blocked or did not show dates at all. Purdue's page loaded but its deadline table did not render, so its row is blank as well. A blank is a prompt to check that college's own site, not proof that the deadline is late."]}],"slug":"college-applications-fall-2027-deadlines-prompts-and-how-many","sources":[{"label":"IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023-24 (APPLFEEU, undergraduate application fee)","url":"https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/"},{"label":"Common App - 2026-27 season launch","url":"https://www.commonapp.org/blog/common-app-opens-application-launch-2026-27-season/"},{"label":"Common App blog: Announcing the 2026-2027 Common App essay prompts","url":"https://www.commonapp.org/blog/announcing-2026-2027-common-app-essay-prompts/"},{"label":"Common App essay prompts page","url":"https://www.commonapp.org/apply/essay-prompts"},{"label":"Common App, End-of-season report 2025-2026: First-year application trends","url":"https://www.commonapp.org/files/DAR/deadline-updates/2025-26/Common-App-End-of-Season-Report_25-26.pdf"},{"label":"University of California Accountability Report 2026, Chapter 2","url":"https://accountability.universityofcalifornia.edu/2026/chapters/chapter-2.html"},{"label":"UC Admissions - UCLA apply page (systemwide dates)","url":"https://admission.ucla.edu/apply"},{"label":"UC San Diego - Apply","url":"https://admissions.ucsd.edu/apply/index.html"},{"label":"UC Berkeley - Apply","url":"https://admissions.berkeley.edu/apply"},{"label":"UC Irvine - How to Apply","url":"https://admissions.uci.edu/apply/how-to-apply/index.php"},{"label":"UC Davis - First-Year Timeline","url":"https://www.ucdavis.edu/admissions/undergraduate/first-year/timeline"},{"label":"UC Santa Barbara - Dates & Deadlines","url":"https://admissions.sa.ucsb.edu/deadlines"},{"label":"UC Santa Cruz - Dates & Deadlines","url":"https://admissions.ucsc.edu/posts/dates-deadlines"},{"label":"UC Riverside - Admissions home","url":"https://admissions.ucr.edu/"},{"label":"UC systemwide - Dates & Deadlines","url":"https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/applying-as-a-first-year/dates-and-deadlines.html"},{"label":"Cal State LA - Fall 2027 Admission Deadlines","url":"https://www.calstatela.edu/admissions/fall-2027-admission-deadlines-undergraduates"},{"label":"CSU Long Beach - First-Time First-Year Application Process","url":"https://www.csulb.edu/admissions/first-time-first-year-student-application-process"},{"label":"SDSU - First-Year Students","url":"https://admissions.sdsu.edu/first-years"},{"label":"UT Austin - Apply as a Freshman","url":"https://admissions.utexas.edu/apply/freshman/"},{"label":"Texas A&M - Apply as a Freshman","url":"https://www.tamu.edu/admissions/how-to-apply/apply-as-freshman.html"},{"label":"NYU - All Freshmen Applicants","url":"https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/all-freshmen-applicants.html"},{"label":"Northeastern - Admissions FAQ","url":"https://admissions.northeastern.edu/application-information/frequently-asked-admissions-questions/"},{"label":"University of Michigan - Requirements & Deadlines","url":"https://admissions.umich.edu/apply/first-year-applicants/requirements-deadlines"},{"label":"Penn State - How to Apply","url":"https://www.psu.edu/admission/undergraduate/how-to-apply/"},{"label":"USC Admission Blog - EA/ED Deadline FAQ","url":"https://www.admissionblog.usc.edu/p/early-action-and-early-decision-application"},{"label":"Boston University - Important Deadlines","url":"https://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/deadlines"},{"label":"Florida State - First-Year Apply","url":"https://admissions.fsu.edu/first-year/apply"},{"label":"Purdue - Admissions Deadlines","url":"https://admissions.purdue.edu/become-student/deadlines/"},{"label":"Ohio State - Apply Step-by-Step (Columbus freshmen)","url":"https://undergrad.osu.edu/apply/freshmen-columbus/apply-step-by-step"},{"label":"ASU - First-Year Student","url":"https://admission.asu.edu/apply/first-year"},{"label":"UIUC - First-Year Dates & Deadlines","url":"https://www.admissions.illinois.edu/apply/freshman/dates"},{"label":"Cornell - First-Year Applicants","url":"https://admissions.cornell.edu/how-to-apply/first-year-applicants"},{"label":"University of Florida - Freshman Deadlines","url":"https://admissions.ufl.edu/apply/freshman/deadlines/"},{"label":"USF - Freshman Dates & Deadlines","url":"https://www.usf.edu/admissions/freshmen/admission-information/dates-deadlines.aspx"},{"label":"UW-Madison - Apply as a Freshman","url":"https://admissions.wisc.edu/apply-as-a-freshman/"},{"label":"UW Seattle - Apply","url":"https://admit.washington.edu/Apply/"},{"label":"UCF - Undergraduate Admissions","url":"https://www.ucf.edu/admissions/undergraduate/"},{"label":"Clemson - Admissions","url":"https://www.clemson.edu/admissions/"},{"label":"UPenn - First-Year Applicants","url":"https://admissions.upenn.edu/how-to-apply/first-year-applicants"},{"label":"University of Maryland - Application Deadlines","url":"https://admissions.umd.edu/apply/application-deadlines"},{"label":"Michigan State - First-Year Dates and Deadlines","url":"https://admissions.msu.edu/apply/first-year/dates-and-deadlines"},{"label":"University of Alabama - Apply","url":"https://admissions.ua.edu/apply/"},{"label":"University of Pittsburgh - Admissions","url":"https://admissions.pitt.edu/"},{"label":"UNC Chapel Hill - Apply Deadlines","url":"https://admissions.unc.edu/apply/deadlines/"},{"label":"Columbia Undergraduate Admissions","url":"https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/"},{"label":"Harvard College - Apply","url":"https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply"},{"label":"UVA - Office of Undergraduate Admission","url":"https://admission.virginia.edu/"},{"label":"University of Arizona - Admissions Deadlines","url":"https://www.arizona.edu/admissions/deadlines"},{"label":"CU Boulder - First-Year Students","url":"https://www.colorado.edu/admissions/apply/first-year-students"},{"label":"Indiana University Bloomington - Admissions","url":"https://bloomington.iu.edu/admissions/"},{"label":"Stanford Undergraduate Admission","url":"https://admission.stanford.edu/"},{"label":"Georgia Tech - First-Year Deadlines","url":"https://admission.gatech.edu/first-year/deadlines"},{"label":"Yale Admissions - Apply","url":"https://admissions.yale.edu/apply"},{"label":"Northwestern - Application Deadlines","url":"https://admissions.northwestern.edu/apply/application-deadlines.html"},{"label":"Brown Admission - How to Apply","url":"https://admission.brown.edu/apply/how-apply"},{"label":"UT Knoxville - Important Dates and Deadlines","url":"https://admissions.utk.edu/important-dates-and-deadlines/"}],"tables":[{"columns":[{"fmt":"str","key":"name","label":"College"},{"fmt":"str","key":"ed1","label":"Early Decision I"},{"fmt":"str","key":"ed2","label":"Early Decision II"},{"fmt":"str","key":"ea","label":"Early Action"},{"fmt":"str","key":"rea","label":"Restrictive Early Action"},{"fmt":"str","key":"regular","label":"Regular"},{"fmt":"str","key":"priority","label":"Priority"},{"fmt":"url","key":"source_url","label":"Source"}],"h2":"What are the fall 2027 deadlines at 50 of the most-applied-to colleges?","intro":"These are the dates each college published for fall 2027 entry, as of October 2026. A blank cell means that plan does not exist or the date was not found on the college's own page in this research pass.","note":"Five colleges in this list -- Clemson, Pitt, UVA, Columbia and CU Boulder -- blocked or did not show deadline dates on their own pages in this pass, so their date cells are not reported. Pitt's December 1, 2026 date is a scholarship-consideration deadline on a rolling process.","rows":[{"ea":null,"ed1":null,"ed2":null,"name":"University of California-Los Angeles","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2026-11-30","source_url":"https://admission.ucla.edu/apply"},{"ea":null,"ed1":null,"ed2":null,"name":"University of California-San Diego","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2026-11-30","source_url":"https://admissions.ucsd.edu/apply/index.html"},{"ea":null,"ed1":null,"ed2":null,"name":"University of California-Berkeley","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2026-11-30","source_url":"https://admissions.berkeley.edu/apply"},{"ea":null,"ed1":null,"ed2":null,"name":"University of California-Irvine","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2026-11-30","source_url":"https://admissions.uci.edu/apply/how-to-apply/index.php"},{"ea":null,"ed1":"2026-11-01","ed2":"2027-01-01","name":"New York University","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2027-01-05","source_url":"https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/all-freshmen-applicants.html"},{"ea":null,"ed1":null,"ed2":null,"name":"University of California-Santa Barbara","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2026-11-30","source_url":"https://admissions.sa.ucsb.edu/deadlines"},{"ea":"2026-11-01","ed1":"2026-11-01","ed2":"2027-01-01","name":"Northeastern University","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2027-01-01","source_url":"https://admissions.northeastern.edu/application-information/frequently-asked-admissions-questions/"},{"ea":null,"ed1":null,"ed2":null,"name":"University of California-Davis","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2026-11-30","source_url":"https://www.ucdavis.edu/admissions/undergraduate/first-year/timeline"},{"ea":"2026-11-01","ed1":"2026-11-01","ed2":null,"name":"University of Michigan-Ann Arbor","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2027-02-01","source_url":"https://admissions.umich.edu/apply/first-year-applicants/requirements-deadlines"},{"ea":"2026-11-01","ed1":null,"ed2":null,"name":"Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus","priority":"2026-12-01","rea":null,"regular":null,"source_url":"https://www.psu.edu/admission/undergraduate/how-to-apply/"},{"ea":null,"ed1":null,"ed2":null,"name":"San Diego State University","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2026-11-30","source_url":"https://admissions.sdsu.edu/first-years"},{"ea":"2026-11-01","ed1":"2026-11-01","ed2":null,"name":"University of Southern California","priority":"2026-12-01","rea":null,"regular":null,"source_url":"https://www.admissionblog.usc.edu/p/early-action-and-early-decision-application"},{"ea":null,"ed1":"2026-11-02","ed2":"2027-01-05","name":"Boston University","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2027-01-05","source_url":"https://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/deadlines"},{"ea":null,"ed1":null,"ed2":null,"name":"California State University-Long Beach","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2026-11-30","source_url":"https://www.csulb.edu/admissions/first-time-first-year-student-application-process"},{"ea":"2026-10-15","ed1":"2026-10-15","ed2":null,"name":"Florida State University","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":"2026-12-01","source_url":"https://admissions.fsu.edu/first-year/apply"},{"ea":null,"ed1":null,"ed2":null,"name":"Purdue University-Main Campus","priority":null,"rea":null,"regular":null,"source_url":"https://admissions.purdue.edu/become-student/deadlines/"},{"ea":"2026-11-01","ed1":null,"ed2":null,"name":"Ohio State University-Main 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Students pick one.","note":"The personal-essay word limit could not be confirmed from a Common App-owned page in this research pass, so it is not reported here.","rows":[{"n":1,"prompt":"Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story."},{"n":2,"prompt":"The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?"},{"n":3,"prompt":"Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?"},{"n":4,"prompt":"Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?"},{"n":5,"prompt":"Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others."},{"n":6,"prompt":"Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?"},{"n":7,"prompt":"Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design."}]},{"columns":[{"fmt":"str","key":"measure","label":"Measure"},{"fmt":"int","key":"value","label":"Value"},{"fmt":"int","key":"prior_year_value","label":"Prior year"},{"fmt":"str","key":"prior_year","label":"Prior season"},{"fmt":"pct","key":"growth_pct","label":"Change"},{"fmt":"url","key":"source_url","label":"Source"}],"h2":"How many applications does the average student send?","intro":"These are the published averages from Common App's end-of-season report for 2025-26 and from the University of California's own 2026 accountability report.","note":"Common App does not report how many students apply to 7 or more colleges, so that share is not reported.","rows":[{"growth_pct":4,"measure":"Common App applications per applicant, 2025-26 season","prior_year":"2024-25","prior_year_value":6.79,"source_url":"https://www.commonapp.org/files/DAR/deadline-updates/2025-26/Common-App-End-of-Season-Report_25-26.pdf","value":7.06},{"growth_pct":2,"measure":"Common App distinct first-year applicants, 2025-26 season","prior_year":"2024-25","prior_year_value":1495475,"source_url":"https://www.commonapp.org/files/DAR/deadline-updates/2025-26/Common-App-End-of-Season-Report_25-26.pdf","value":1527328},{"growth_pct":6,"measure":"Common App total first-year applications, 2025-26 season","prior_year":"2024-25","prior_year_value":10157068,"source_url":"https://www.commonapp.org/files/DAR/deadline-updates/2025-26/Common-App-End-of-Season-Report_25-26.pdf","value":10786782},{"growth_pct":null,"measure":"UC average campuses applied to per applicant, Fall 2025","prior_year":null,"prior_year_value":null,"source_url":"https://accountability.universityofcalifornia.edu/2026/chapters/chapter-2.html","value":4.5},{"growth_pct":-1,"measure":"UC systemwide unduplicated freshman applicants, Fall 2025","prior_year":null,"prior_year_value":null,"source_url":"https://accountability.universityofcalifornia.edu/2026/chapters/chapter-2.html","value":205000}]},{"columns":[{"fmt":"str","key":"college","label":"College"},{"fmt":"str","key":"state","label":"State"},{"fmt":"str","key":"control","label":"Control"},{"fmt":"int","key":"applicants","label":"Applicants"},{"fmt":"money","key":"application_fee","label":"Fee"}],"h2":"What does each application cost?","intro":"These are the undergraduate application fees from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023-24, for the first 60 of the 100 most-applied-to colleges, sorted by fee and then by applicant count.","link_base":"/colleges/","note":"This table holds 60 of the 100 colleges in the fee file. Fees come from IPEDS 2023-24 and may have changed since.","rows":[{"applicants":53733,"application_fee":90,"college":"Stanford University","control":"Private nonprofit","state":"CA"},{"applicants":80808,"application_fee":85,"college":"University of Southern California","control":"Private nonprofit","state":"CA"},{"applicants":57902,"application_fee":85,"college":"University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill","control":"Public","state":"NC"},{"applicants":57613,"application_fee":85,"college":"Columbia University in the City of New York","control":"Private nonprofit","state":"NY"},{"applicants":56937,"application_fee":85,"college":"Harvard University","control":"Private nonprofit","state":"MA"},{"applicants":50424,"application_fee":85,"college":"University of Massachusetts-Amherst","control":"Public","state":"MA"},{"applicants":46365,"application_fee":85,"college":"Duke University","control":"Private nonprofit","state":"NC"},{"applicants":42089,"application_fee":85,"college":"Syracuse 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nonprofit","state":"OH"},{"applicants":38926,"application_fee":70,"college":"Johns Hopkins University","control":"Private nonprofit","state":"MD"},{"applicants":35780,"application_fee":70,"college":"San Jose State University","control":"Public","state":"CA"},{"applicants":35750,"application_fee":70,"college":"James Madison University","control":"Public","state":"VA"},{"applicants":32748,"application_fee":70,"college":"California State University-Los Angeles","control":"Public","state":"CA"}]}],"title":"Fall 2027 College Application Deadlines, Prompts, and How Many to Send","updated":null,"url":"https://highschoolreach.com/research/college-applications-fall-2027-deadlines-prompts-and-how-many"}