Can you clarify the Early Action with the Ivies? If you apply to one Ivy or private school, can you apply to public universities or is that not allowed?
– Jackie, a parent in Texas
All the Ivy League schools have different Early Action policies. We researched each of the 8 Ivy League schools policies and talked to a few insiders there to confirm.
See our originally-created chart and infographic below for an easy guide on Ivy League schools’ policies on simultaneous applications during the Early Decision round.
We ranked the schools with the most to least flexible policies on simultaneously applying to other schools during the early round:
More flexible:
- Cornell Early Decision (ED) – you must attend Cornell if accepted. You may simultaneously apply only to any non-binding school(s).
- Cornell is vague about their policies, so we contacted one of their admissions insiders this week.
We asked: “If a student commits to attending Cornell if she’s accepted, can she still apply to other schools simultaneously?”
A Cornell undergraduate admissions rep said, “I believe so but it’s intended to be binding.”
She put us on hold for a brief moment to consult with a colleague and confirmed her stance: “You can apply to other schools as long as they’re not binding.”
- UPenn Early Decision (ED) – you must attend UPenn if accepted. You may simultaneously apply only to any non-binding school(s).
- We spoke with a Penn admissions representative in the undergrad admissions office who confirmed that as long as the applicant commits to Penn if accepted, he or she may simultaneously apply to other schools.
- We spoke with a Penn admissions representative in the undergrad admissions office who confirmed that as long as the applicant commits to Penn if accepted, he or she may simultaneously apply to other schools.
