We’re continuing to follow the University of Michigan’s Early Decision updates and notifications. On Monday, January 5, 2026, the University of Michigan released what it is calling its first wave of Early Action notifications. 

The first wave of “Early Action” acceptances included both postponed Early Decision students and those who had applied Early Action. Michigan has indicated that more decisions will be forthcoming later this month. Not receiving an acceptance in the first wave is not a negative indication, and applications from both Early Action and the postponed Early Decision pools are still under review. 

Importantly, students were accepted in this first wave regardless of whether they had already submitted an Expression of Continued Interest (ECI) form. 

Additionally, some families have noticed confusion in applicant portals, where students postponed from Early Decision may still see language about requesting release from their binding agreement. This appears to be a portal lag rather than a policy issue. To clarify, any student deferred or postponed from Early Decision is automatically released from their binding agreement; this is standard practice across colleges and universities, as confirmed by the University of Michigan this morning.

A simple way to confirm this in the portal is to check the enrollment deposit deadline. If the deadline listed is May 1, the student has been released and is free to consider and enroll at other institutions.