T14 Early Decision Guide: Which Schools Have It, and Which Ones Do Not
Yale, Harvard, and Stanford have no binding early decision. Eleven do. Cornell's deadline is January 1 — later than every other T14 ED by six weeks.
Which application cycle this covers
Early Decision policies and deadlines change year to year. The schools listed here, and the dates they published for fall 2027 entry, are the current ones — but if you are reading this for a later cycle, verify each school's own page before you plan around a binding deadline.
Binding Early Decision is the least uniform part of T14 applications. Three of the fourteen do not offer it. One offers it with a deadline six weeks later than everyone else. Several publish scholarship commitments attached to it. And one treats it as effectively the same as regular decision.
This is what the published terms actually say for fall 2027 entry, and what each structure means for the decision you are making.
Confirm before you rely on this
Deadlines and terms are set by each school and change between cycles. Several of the schools below label their own calendars as estimates rather than confirmed dates, and at least one had not posted fall 2027 terms at the time of writing. Verify on the school's admissions page before signing anything — and read the binding agreement itself, not just the date.
The four structures
| Structure | Schools | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| No binding ED | Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Notre Dame | No ED decision to weigh; the whole list runs on rolling review |
| Single binding ED round | Columbia, NYU, Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, Chicago, Vanderbilt | One binding deadline, usually early-to-mid November |
| Two binding ED rounds | Duke, Penn | An early round plus a January round; a second bite if the first did not work out |
| ED shares the regular deadline | Georgetown | Applying ED early still helps, but the commitment is not made in November |
| Unusually late binding ED | Cornell | January 1 — late enough that it functions differently from every other T14 ED |
Published terms for the fall 2027 cycle. Several schools describe these as estimates; Cornell's January date is drawn from its published regular-decision cycle.
Cornell is the outlier worth understanding
Cornell's binding early decision deadline is January 1 — later than every other T14 ED by roughly six weeks. That makes it a different decision. Cornell's own framing is that binding ED is for an applicant who has already determined it is the first choice. If you are still comparing schools in January, binding ED is the wrong instrument.
The November cluster
Most T14 binding deadlines fall in a two-week window in early-to-mid November. If binding ED is on your list, this window is the single most important item on your calendar.
| School | Binding ED | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Northwestern (Pritzker) | Nov 1 | ED admits receive a published scholarship commitment |
| Vanderbilt | Nov 1 | Minimum annual award published with the ED offer |
| Duke | Nov 6 (Round 1) | Two rounds; Round II closes in early January |
| Columbia | Nov 15 | Single round; aid decisions typically not until late March |
| NYU | Nov 15 | Applicants not admitted in December move to a hold, then regular review |
| Penn | Nov 15 (Round 1) | Second round typically early January |
| Michigan | Nov 15 | Incomplete ED applications roll automatically into regular review |
| Berkeley | Nov 16 | Decisions released December 14; November 11–14 is the last LSAT accepted |
| UCLA | Nov 16 | ED carries explicit scholarship consideration |
| UC Irvine | Nov 15 (Round 1) | Confirmed by UCI Law Admissions (Nov 2026): all materials due Nov 15; submit by Nov 1 to be complete; final LSAT Oct 2026; no GRE for ED |
| Chicago | Dec 1 | One round; November LSAT is the last accepted for ED |
Published fall 2027 terms. Dates are school-set and subject to change — verify on each admissions page.
The November 11–14 LSAT is the last one that works for most T14 ED
Berkeley states it directly: its November 11–14 administration is the last LSAT accepted for Binding Early Decision, with scores releasing December 2. A January 2027 sitting does not release until February 3, long after every November deadline. If binding ED is the plan, the sitting is not a choice.
Where ED carries money
The argument for binding ED usually rests on faster decisions. For several schools it also rests on money, which changes the calculation considerably.
- Berkeley guarantees $120,000 for admitted BED candidates, split across three years, and does not charge an application fee for the binding option — applicants not admitted through it move to the regular pool.
- Northwestern publishes a guaranteed scholarship commitment for ED admits.
- Vanderbilt publishes a minimum annual award for ED admits.
- UCLA ties ED to scholarship consideration explicitly.
- Columbia states that financial aid decisions are typically not expected until late March — so an ED admit learns the money picture later, not earlier.
Money is where ED genuinely differs
If you need a scholarship to attend, an ED offer with a published award can be worth more than a later regular-decision offer from a school you prefer. If you are financially independent, the tradeoff is mostly speed and certainty, which is real but smaller. Our acceptance versus tuition analysis shows how little tuition correlates with selectivity, which is worth weighing here.
How to decide whether to bind
- Binding ED is not a speed option, it is a commitment
You cannot hold an ED offer while waiting for another school's money. The point of binding is to give a school certainty about yield in exchange for faster consideration and sometimes more money. Treat it as a decision, not an optimisation.
- Only bind where you would actually attend
The penalty structure varies. Some schools ask you to withdraw immediately; others allow a withdrawal window if your aid does not move. Read the agreement before submitting, and if the financial picture is uncertain, ask the admissions office in writing what happens if you decline.
- Do not bind on a school you have not visited or researched
An ED deadline in November falls before most of the season's admissions events and campus visits. If your knowledge of the school comes from rankings alone, that is not enough to bind to.
- Consider what you give up elsewhere
Applying elsewhere is still permitted under most binding agreements. What you give up is the ability to compare an ED offer against a later offer. If the school is not a genuine first choice, the flexibility is worth more than the speed.
Our deadline overview covers the full calendar including regular-decision dates, and the application timeline guide covers what to do in each month leading up to these deadlines.
Questions we get asked
Do all T14 schools offer early decision?
No. Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and Notre Dame do not offer a binding early decision program. Among the schools that do, Cornell's deadline is January 1 — unusually late — and Georgetown's binding option shares the regular decision date rather than closing in November.
Can I apply binding early decision at more than one school?
No. Standard practice is one binding ED at a time, and most agreements prohibit holding another binding application simultaneously. You may apply to other schools while your binding ED is pending, but if admitted under binding ED you must attend that school and withdraw your other applications.
Which T14 early decisions offer the most scholarship money?
Berkeley publishes a guaranteed $120,000 for admitted binding ED candidates across three years. Northwestern and Vanderbilt publish scholarship commitments for ED admits, and UCLA ties ED to scholarship consideration. Columbia notes that aid decisions typically do not arrive until late March even for ED admits.
What LSAT is the last one accepted for T14 early decision?
For most schools, the November 2026 administration. Berkeley states November 11–14 is the last LSAT it accepts for Binding Early Decision. The January 2027 sitting does not release until February 3, after every November deadline, so it cannot support an ED application.
How much does the LSAT cost, and can I take it more than once?
Registration is $253 for the 2026–2027 testing year and includes LSAT Argumentative Writing. LSAC limits sittings to five within the current reportable score period and seven over a lifetime, with no per-year cap; cancelled scores count toward both limits. Need-based fee waivers cover registration for eligible applicants, and a Tier 1 waiver can cover up to two LSATs within the waiver period.
Deadlines and Early Decision terms are set by individual schools and change between application cycles; several of the schools referenced have published only estimated dates for the fall 2027 cycle, and at least one had not posted confirmed terms when this article was written. Verify every date and read the binding agreement in full on the school's own admissions page before submitting. This article is educational and is not admissions advice.
Sources
- Individual law school admissions pages for Fall 2027 entry (Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Duke, Columbia, NYU, Berkeley, UCLA, Penn, Michigan, Chicago, Cornell, Georgetown)
- LSAC — 2026–2027 LSAT test dates and score release schedule, lsac.org
- UC Irvine School of Law Admissions — email confirmation (November 2026): Binding ED Round 1 deadline Nov 15, 2026; final LSAT Oct 2026; submit by Nov 1 to be marked complete
Figures reflect the most recent published data available as of November 2, 2026. Always confirm current policy on lsat.lsac.org.