Conquer US Admissions: International Students' Guide to 2024 Deadlines

US University Application Deadline for International Students 2024: From Early Action to rolling admissions the article is an ultimate guide to help international students choose the US university deadlines to apply. This is a roadmap for 2024 admissions based on the international applicant’s choice of deadline for applying to US universities. Check out the details below.

US universities have certain deadlines based on the intake the international student chooses to apply. The intakes and deadlines vary across US universities based on the level of course or type of course opted for. There is a detailed section on what deadlines are followed across universities in the USA and what are their benefits. 

Which Intake to Apply in USA Universities?

There are two major intakes in the USA, the primary intake is the Fall intake in USA and the secondary intake is the Spring intake in USA. Based on these intakes, students can choose their universities.

While some courses are available in the Fall intake, the same may be available in the Spring intake also but it is not necessary. Thus, applicants must check all course and university details before they decide to study in the USA. 

To understand in detail, a brief comparison of Fall vs Spring intake in the USA has been given below:

Factors	Fall Intake in USA	Spring Intake in USA
Application Deadlines	December	May
Competition Level	Very high	Lower than Fall intake
Financial Aid Offered	Maximum students are offered	A few students are offered
Internships	A maximum number of students can get good opportunities	Opportunities may be limited in this intake
Accommodation	Easily available on-campus or off-campus	Can take time to find the right accommodation because of fewer options

Based on the intake, applicants can choose the intake they wish to apply to for US universities. The deadlines for US universities can vary based on the course type. For more details, applicants can check - Which Intake Season to Choose?  Let us understand the various US application deadlines. 

Types of 2024-25 Deadlines in US Universities

There are different types of application deadlines for international students applying for admission in the USA. These deadlines are as follows:

• Early Action
• Early Decision I & II
• Regular Decision I & II
• Rolling Admissions
• Priority Deadline
• Regular Deadline
• Round wise Deadline (course/department specific)

Each of these US application deadlines varies based on the deadlines they accept applications for. The following sections will look at the US university application deadlines for international students for 2024-2025. 

US University Application Deadline for International Students 2024

The US university's deadlines are different from one another and each university follows a different pattern altogether. The following sections will discuss in brief about the application deadlines and universities in the USA following those deadlines.

Early Action vs Early Decision

As the name suggests, Early Action and Early Decision are two application deadlines for international students at US universities. These deadlines basically are for those undergraduate students who wish to apply early and get a decision early. These US application deadlines are valid only for those who are prepared to apply for admission. 

Factors of Differentiation	Early Action Deadline in USA	Early Decision Deadline in USA
Meaning	Apply early for early action on the application	Apply early to get an early decision on the application
Binding / Non-Binding	Non-binding admissions can accept offers elsewhere	Binding admissions, cannot accept any other offers
Application Deadline	December	November
Admission Decision	January / February	By December
Re-Application	Applicable whether or not received an offer letter	Not applicable if received an offer letter

Thus, these are two different deadlines for applications in USA, but not necessary that if one deadline is available, the other one will also be available. 

Early Action US Application Deadlines

There are over 400+ US universities which offer admission to undergraduates in the Early Action deadline. The following universities in USA accept applications for early Action from international students:

Early Action US Universities	Deadlines for the University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	November 1
Harvard University
Princeton University
University of Miami
Yale University
University of Chicago
University of Michigan
University of Delaware
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth	November 15
University of Georgia	October 15
University of Tampa	May 1

The above-given deadlines for all major universities can be applied for the Spring 2025 intake because the 2024 deadlines have passed. Except for the last university, for which admission can be taken for Fall intake 2024 only. 

Early Decision USA Admission Deadline 

In some US universities, there are two Early Decision deadlines, one is in November and the other in January ideally. The following universities in USA accept applications for its Early Decision and they are as follows:

Early Decision US Universities	Deadlines
American University	Early Decision I: November 15 Early Decision II: January 15
Boston University	Early Decision I: November 1 Early Decision II: January 4
Brandeis University	Early Decision I: November 1 Early Decision II: January 2
Johns Hopkins University	Early Decision I: November 15 Early Decision II: January 15
New York University (NYU)	Early Decision I: November 1 Early Decision II: January 1
Tufts University	Early Decision I: November 1 Early Decision II: January 4
University of Chicago	Early Decision I: November 1 Early Decision II: January 2
Vanderbilt University	Early Decision I: November 1 Early Decision II: January 1
Wesleyan University	Early Decision I: November 15 Early Decision II: January 1
University of Miami	Early Decision I: November 1 Early Decision II: January 1

It is beneficial to apply for the Early Action and Early Decision deadlines in US universities because of the following reasons:

• These ‘Early Deadlines’ are for those international students who have researched thoroughly and made up their minds.
• Also, those who have their standardised scores of either SAT or ACT available with them for submission.
• Those applicants who have a good GPA and have the confidence to make it through the admission process in one go and get an offer letter as well.
• Finally, Early Action or Decision deadlines are suitable for those applicants also who are well-equipped and have a backup plan if this doesn’t work.

However, applicants who still miss a mark can apply for the next rounds of admission, which they should be aware of. 

Regular Decision I & Regular Decision II for US Universities

The Regular Decision deadline as the name suggests is the regular deadline for applying to any university. The Regular Decisions are also two in some cases but the admission decision is delivered on or before April 1. The following universities offer admission in the Regular Deadline to international students:

Regular Decision US Universities	Deadlines
Harvard University	January 1
University of Georgia
Johns Hopkins University	January 2
Northwestern University	January 3
MIT	January 4
Rice University
NYU	January 5
Santa Clara University	January 7
University of California, Berkeley (UCB)	November 30
University of California, Davis

There are over 200 US universities which offer admissions in Regular Decision to international students. Thus, it's up to students to choose how well prepared they are to apply for either the Early Deadlines or the Regular Deadlines. The benefits of applying for the Regular Deadlines are:

• International applicants have enough time to prepare their applications, essays and resumes.
• They can take time to prepare for the SAT or ACT and then sit for the exam keeping buffer for score submission to universities.
• There will also be sufficient time to choose the recommenders and request them to fill out the applicant's letters of recommendation (LOR). 
• Finally, applicants can prepare their applications in such a manner that they can submit all their documents together in the application. 

The only disadvantage of applying in the Regular Decision deadline is that there is a lot of competition among applicants. Thus, applicants will have to be at the top of their academics to make it for US university admissions for the Regular Decision. 

Rolling Admissions US Universities Admission Deadlines

There is also a case where US universities accept applications from students for a particular course until the seats are full. This type of admission application deadline in the US universities is termed as rolling admissions. The following Universities accept admission applications on a rolling basis:

Rolling Admissions at US Universities
Michigan State University	Andrews University	Pennsylvania State University
Arkansas State University	University of New Haven	Bellevue University
University of Pittsburgh	Brigham Young University	University of Tulsa
California State University	Clark University	Dakota State University

The rolling admissions universities in USA are more than 500+ for international students. Thus, students who apply for rolling admissions can apply for admissions at any point in time till the university accepts them. The only benefit of applying for admission in the rolling admission deadline is that the applicant can apply at any time and at his/her ease. 

Round Wise Admission Deadlines for US Universities Application

The round-wise deadlines are basically for those who are applying for MBA courses at US universities. There may be exceptions to course or department-specific admissions at US universities as well. Following US universities offering MBA conduct round-wise admissions for international students are as follows with their deadlines: 

US Universities Accepting Round-Wise Admissions	Course	Deadlines
Stanford University	MBA	Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3
University of Pennsylvania	MBA	Round 1: September 6 Round 2: January 4 Round 3: April 2
Harvard University	MBA	Round 1 & Round 2
MIT	MBA	Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3
Columbia University	MBA	Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3
Northwestern University	MBA	Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3
UCB	MBA	Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3
University of Chicago	MBA	Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3
University of California, LA	MBA	Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3
Yale University	MBA	Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3

The round-wise admission deadlines in the USA are mostly for graduate courses, especially the MBA. There are different rounds for application submission and each round has a specific deadline. The applicants who wish to apply can check which round of application is suitable for them and apply before the deadlines. The average time for application processing is 6-8 weeks and this may vary with the university of application also. Students who have the knack can apply for the very first round of application also. Check out about MBA in USA. 

Priority Deadlines in US Universities 

The priority deadline is another application deadline for international students in USA where the students are encouraged to apply before the deadline so that their applications are considered for acceptance. This deadline is basically for graduate students applying for admission to US universities. Some of the US universities accepting applications under priority deadlines are as follows:

• Arizona State University: November 1
• Purdue University: November 1
• University of Arkansas: November 1
• University of Texas - Austin: November 1
• Drexel University: November 1
• Texas Tech University: December 1

In some cases, the priority deadline is also for those who are applying for a scholarship. Hence, it is beneficial to apply within this deadline. In case students miss out, they can apply to the university after the deadline. 

Thus, these are the deadlines that international students can find across various US universities while applying for admission. The applicants must check the intake and then choose their deadlines to apply. The deadlines vary for undergraduate and graduate students. This is more or less the way deadlines are understood while applying to the US for higher education. 

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