Early Decision Frequently Asked Questions

Our Early Decision I deadline is November 15, and our Early Decision II deadline is December 15. The Early Decision Plan is highly recommended for all students who list Champlain as a top-choice school.

Our Early Decision I (ED I) deadline is November 15, and our Early Decision II (ED II) deadline is December 15. Students who apply by the ED I deadline will receive their decision by mid-December, and will be considered first for admission to Champlain College (which is particularly useful for students applying to competitive majors with number caps). Students who apply by the ED II deadline will receive their decision by mid-January, and will be considered before Regular Decision students.

Yes. While we can't guarantee admission, your chances are far higher of gaining admission to Champlain through Early Decision because you are competing for admission against a smaller overall pool of applicants. This is particularly true in our high-demand majors like Game Design, Game Art, Computer Science & Innovation, Computer Digital Forensics, among others.

There are only a few small differences between applying Regular vs Early Decision. You can apply for Early Decision by indicating your preference on your Champlain Application or your Common Application. The only other thing you need to do in addition to the regular supporting materials (transcript, letter of recommendation, etc.), is submit the Champlain College Early Decision Admission Agreement by the application deadline.

Yes, as an Early Decision applicant at Champlain, you can apply to any other school as an Early Action or Regular Decision applicant. You should not, however, apply to any other Early Decision plan. If you are admitted to Champlain as an Early Decision applicant, you agree to withdraw all other applications and enroll at Champlain—unless your Champlain financial aid offer does not meet enough of your demonstrated financial need, in which case you may request to be released from the agreement.

If you have submitted your application and all supporting materials by the first Early Decision deadline (Nov. 15) and are admitted, you will be notified of your admission decision and financial aid estimate online via the Application Dashboard in mid-December, and you will receive your letter of admission and financial aid offer by mail a few days after that. If you applied by the second Early Decision deadline (December 15), you'll receive your decision in mid-January.

Your financial aid estimate will be included with your admissions packet.

For Early Decision, please submit our Champlain Student Aid Estimator Form (emailed to ED applicants) by these deadlines to ensure that your estimated Financial Aid offer includes ALL the financial aid for which you may be eligible:

• Early Decision I - Tuesday, January 16, 2024
• Early Decision II - Tuesday, January 16, 2024

To receive Federal Student Aid, you will need to complete the 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The Office of Financial Aid will then send a revised aid offer including merit scholarships, need-based scholarships and federal financial aid eligibility once you have submitted your 2024-2025 FAFSA.

Absolutely. Our financial aid process is exactly the same for Early Decision applicants as it is for Regular Decision applicants. What that means is you will receive the same financial aid consideration as all other applicants (this may not be true at other institutions). More than 95% of students receive financial aid in the form of scholarships and grants that do not need to be repaid. Applying Early Decision also allows you to work more closely with our Financial Aid Counselors after you receive your financial aid offer. We will not be releasing decisions for our Regular Decision applicants until early March. Learn more on our Financial Aid page.

The Admissions and Financial Aid process at Champlain is highly personalized. We do everything we can to make Champlain affordable for the students we admit. If you would like us to know more about your unique situation, please contact the Office of Financial Aid to discuss options—which could include additional scholarship assistance. If your Champlain financial aid offer does not meet enough of your demonstrated financial need, you may request to be released from the Early Decision agreement.

The percentage of students who are admitted through the Early Decision Plan varies from year to year, but typically about a third of our first-year class is admitted and enrolled through the Early Decision Plan. The Early Decision Plan offers a significant competitive advantage in the admissions process. Because the number of Early Decision applicants will be in the hundreds rather than the thousands who will apply Regular Decision, the acceptance rate for Early Decision applicants is typically far higher than it is for Regular Decision applicants.

Yes! If you applied Regular Decision and want to switch to the Early Decision Plan, you may do so any time before November 15, or before December 15 for the second Early Decision Plan.

If you would like to change your application plan, please contact the Office of Admission at admission@champlain.edu or call or text (802) 625-0201, and we will help you change your application. You will also need to submit the Champlain College Early Decision Admission Agreement by the November 15 deadline if you would like to receive your admission decision in mid-December (or by December 15 to receive your decision in mid-January).