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Welcome to The Thirsty Scholar newsletter
If you’re an international high school student aspiring to a top college in the US, UK, or beyond, this is exactly where you need to be!
IN THIS ISSUE
The Final Countdown to March Madness: Class of 2030 Decision Dates all in one place
The Long Wait is almost over
Ivy Day is March 26, 2026. That's less than a week away.
If you've been refreshing your email, checking portals at odd hours, or finding it hard to focus on much else - you're not alone. This is one of the most nerve-wracking weeks of the entire admissions process.
A few things to remember:
The decision is already made. There's nothing you can do now to change it. So take a breath. Go for a walk. Watch something that makes you laugh. The portal will update whether you're staring at it or not.
And whatever happens - a yes, a no, a waitlist - it doesn't define you. It's one outcome, from one committee, in one year. Your path forward will be shaped by what you do next, not by what an admissions office decided.
To help you stay organized (and give you one less thing to stress about), I've compiled the Regular Decision notification dates for the Class of 2030 below.
Bookmark this. Share it with friends. I am rooting for you. May the Force Be With You!
RD Decision Dates
Dates are subject to change. These are based on the latest guidance from the schools. Always check your applicant portal or correspondence from the school for the most up-to-date information.
To Be Announced
School | Decision Date |
|---|---|
Boston University | |
Brown University | |
Bryn Mawr College | |
Claremont McKenna College | |
Colby College | |
College of William & Mary | |
Columbia University | |
Cornell University | |
Dartmouth College | March 26, 2026 (source: IG story) |
Duke University | |
Emory University | |
Georgetown University | |
Georgia Institute of Technology | |
Grinnell College | |
Hamilton College | March 24, 2026 at 8pm ET (source: email) |
Harvard University | |
New York University | |
Northwestern University | March 25, 2026 (source: email) |
Princeton University | |
Rice University | |
Smith College | March 24, 2026 between 3-5pm ET (source: email) |
Stanford University | |
University of California, Berkeley | March 26, 2026 late afternoon/evening (source: email) |
University of California, Los Angeles | |
University of California, San Diego | |
University of Maryland, College Park | |
University of Michigan | |
University of Pennsylvania | March 26, 2026 at 7pm ET (source: email) |
University of Southern California | |
Vanderbilt University | |
Vassar College | |
Wellesley College | |
Wesleyan University | |
Yale University | March 26, 2026 at 7pm ET (source: admissions portal) |
Ivy Day: March 26, 2026
Yale, Dartmouth, and UPenn have officially confirmed March 26. The others list "Late March" or "End of March" on their websites but historically release on the same day.
School | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
Brown | TBD | |
Columbia | TBD | |
Cornell | TBD | |
Dartmouth | March 26, 2026 (source: IG story) | TBD |
Harvard | TBD | |
Princeton | TBD | |
UPenn | March 26, 2026 (source: email) | 7:00 PM ET |
Yale | March 26, 2026 (source: admissions portal) | 7:00 PM ET |
Colleges that have already announced their RD decisions
Already Announced
School | Decision Date |
|---|---|
American University | March 12, 2026 |
Amherst College | March 20, 2026 at 6:21pm ET (source: email) |
Babson College | March 12, 2026 |
Barnard College | March 21, 2026 in the evening (source: email) |
Bates College | March 14, 2026 (source: Instagram story) |
Boston College | March 17, 2026 |
Bowdoin College | March 20, 2026 at 7pm ET (source: email) |
Brandeis University | March 19, 2026 in the evening (source: email) |
Bucknell University | March 12, 2026 |
California Institute of Technology | March 12, 2026 |
Carleton College | March 19, 2026 |
Carnegie Mellon University | |
Case Western Reserve University | |
Colgate University | March 20, 2026 at 7:13pm ET (source: email) |
College of the Holy Cross | |
Colorado College | |
Connecticut College | |
Davidson College | March 21, 2026 at 10am ET (source: email) |
Drexel University | |
Fordham University | |
George Washington University | |
Harvey Mudd College | |
Haverford College | March 20, 2026 at 7pm ET (source: email) |
Johns Hopkins University | |
Macalester College | March 08, 2026 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | |
Middlebury College | March 21, 2026 at 8am ET (source: email) |
Northeastern University | |
Pomona College | |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | |
Santa Clara University | |
Sarah Lawrence College | |
Skidmore College | |
Southern Methodist University | March 16, 2026 at 7pm CT (source: email) |
Swarthmore College | |
Syracuse University | |
Tufts University | |
Tulane University | |
University of California, Davis | |
University of California, Santa Barbara | |
University of Chicago | |
University of Florida | March 13, 2026 |
University of Massachusetts, Amherst | March 6, 2026 in the evening (source: email) |
University of Miami | March 13, 2026 |
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | March 13, 2026 |
University of Notre Dame | |
University of Texas at Austin | |
University of Virginia | March 13, 2026 |
Virginia Tech | |
Washington and Lee University | |
Washington University in St. Louis | March 20, 2026 (source: IG story) |
Williams College | |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute | March 13, 2026 |
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That’s it for now. Catch you later!
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