Admission

Early Applicant Information

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Colorado College offers applicants several application plans to choose from, including both binding and non-binding options. How do you know which one is right for you? Review our information about the differences in our decision plans.

Apply Early

Decision Plan Selector

Decision plan options based on student preferences
If this describes you... Apply
Colorado College is my first choice, and I would enroll if admitted Early Decision I or II
Colorado College is one of several top choices, and I want to compare offers Early Action
I need more time to strengthen my application Regular Action

Early Action (nonbinding) vs. Early Decision (binding)

Comparison of Early Action and Early Decision application plans, deadlines, and requirements
Question Early Action Early Decision
Binding? No Yes
Deadline Nov. 1 Nov. 1 (ED I) or Jan. 15 (ED II)
Decision release January December (ED I) or February (ED II)
Eligible for financial aid? Yes Yes
Can compare offers? Yes No
Best for Students exploring options Students committed to CC

Admission Statistics

Admission criteria are consistent across all rounds. Differences in admit rates reflect differences in applicant pools.

Class of 2030 (entering Fall 2026)

Overall Admit Rate

26%
26% of all applicants to CC were admitted for the class of 2030, entering Fall 2026.

Early Decision I & II

33%
of students who applied through Early Decision I or II were admitted.

Early Action

32%
of students who applied through Early Action were admitted.

Regular Action

18%
of students who applied through Regular Action were admitted.

Financial Aid and Early Decision

Early Decision students can qualify for both need-based financial aid and merit scholarships. Use the Net Price Calculator to receive an early estimate of the types and amounts of financial aid for which you might qualify. If you or your family have concerns about affordability after reviewing these estimates or meeting with Student Financial Services, we recommend that you consider applying Early Action or Regular Decision rather than the binding Early Decision route.

Should you apply for financial aid and not be offered an award that makes attendance possible, you may decline the offer of admission and be released from the Early Decision commitment. 

Admission Deferral Process

Each year, the Admission Committee must make tough decisions about students who possess many of the strengths we look for in our applicant pool. Students who are deferred in either our Early Decision I or Early Action round are not eliminated from consideration. In fact, we believe those applications deserve another review.

However, for us to further consider your application, we require you to opt in via the deferral response survey. Deferred students will be contacted in mid-January via email. The deadline to complete the deferral survey is in early February for binding consideration and mid-February for nonbinding consideration. 

Students may elect to be considered in either our Early Decision II round (binding) or Regular Action round (nonbinding). You can also consider alternate start programs, ranging from a gap semester (Winter Start) to a gap year. Students who enroll after a gap semester or a gap year report having rewarding and exciting experiences prior to beginning their studies on campus. By listing more than one option, CC is able to consider you for any of these programs, which could enhance your chances of admission. We encourage you to carefully research all alternate entry options, but only list options that are of genuine interest to you.

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about the deferral process at Colorado College:

Yes. If you choose Early Decision II and are admitted to Colorado College for any of the entry terms you select, you agree to submit your enrollment deposit, withdraw all active applications, and not submit any additional applications.

We will begin reading Early Decision II applications in mid-January and expect to release decisions by mid-February. As long as you submit a completed deferral survey by early February, your application will be reviewed in the round you selected.

Regular Action decisions will be released in late March.

On occasion, we will place deferred students on the waiting list if we believe they might be competitive for admission in May.

Students should indicate an interest in pursuing a gap year on their application or on the deferral survey. Students admitted for the upcoming fall term can write to us directly to request a gap year. See our gap experience page for more on how to request a gap year.

We cannot guarantee admission to another entry term once you are offered admission. However, you can write directly to us to request an alternate entry term.

Typically, we will admit around 40% of deferred students who complete the deferral survey. While many of these students are admitted for the fall semester, some are offered a place in our gap semester (Winter Start) or gap year entry terms.

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Report an issue - Last updated: 07/16/2026