Feb 2, 2018
Last year about this time, we did an episode on colleges with late application deadlines. We would like to do that again today, realizing that some colleges have changed their deadlines, of course, since our episode last January. It is amazing to me--still--that so many colleges have deadlines well past early January, even as we seem to focus our high school seniors every year on meeting a January 1 deadline for their college applications. Apart from those colleges that have mid-January or late January deadlines, there are many colleges still accepting applications for next fall’s freshman class. So, let’s take a look.
As I recently watched kids getting rejections or deferments from Early Decision and Early Action applications gone awry, I wondered whether they might want to take a second look at their college list and see how happy they were with it now, given their new information. For kids who had pinned their hopes to an Early Decision choice or to a couple of Early Action choices, even if those Early Action choices were just safety schools, a chance to take one last look at the college landscape might be just what they need. It doesn’t mean that they will choose to apply to another college or two or three, but it might be that this last look serves as a pressure-release valve while they begin the long wait till March or April.
Let us say that there are still a lot of good colleges accepting applications. Many of those deadlines are this month in February, but some are in March, April, May, and even beyond that. I used The College Board’s website, Big Future, to look at a full list. However, I found mistakes or, at least, miscommunications. So, please double check the deadlines of any colleges that appear on any such list--The College Board’s list or any other compiled list--by going to the college’s own website, as The College Board itself advises.
Here are a few things worth noting, though I’m afraid that these points are going to be much more useful for parents with younger high school students still at home. Let me start with the opposite of today’s topic of colleges with late application deadlines, and that is colleges with super-early application deadlines. As I was doing the research for today’s episode, I stumbled across a number of good colleges with regular decision application deadlines well before January 1, such as December 1 for the Colorado School of Mines (see our virtual nationwide tour some episodes back for information about this excellent school known for its engineering and sciences). So, pay attention, parents of younger high school students, before the fall of your kid’s senior year.
And, speaking of super-early application deadlines, sometimes the date given for the application deadline is actually a whole year before the year you want to enroll. The Big Future website, under “Colleges with Later Application Deadlines,” lists the application deadline for Iowa State University, an excellent public university, as July 1. But here is what Iowa State actually says this on its website (emphasis added):
Iowa State University operates on a rolling admissions basis. Admission of applicants for fall semester begins in July of the preceding year. Admission for other terms begins approximately 12 months prior to the beginning of the term. Admission offers are issued for a specific term and are valid only for the term specified. (quoted from the website)
Here is something else to pay attention to when looking at compiled lists of colleges with later application dates: Sometimes the date given for the application deadline is actually for transfer students. Or for graduate students. For example, The Big Future website, under “Colleges with Later Application Deadlines,” lists the application deadline for Alfred University (a good private university in upstate New York, with publicly sponsored engineering and art and design programs) as August 1. Actually, Alfred’s regular decision deadline is February 1 for new freshmen, July 1 for transfer students, and August 1 for graduate students.
And here is something even more distressing. What comes up first on a Google search for Rollins College application deadlines is this:
Deadlines. Fall Semester Admission The application deadline for fall semester applicants is March 1 for Priority Consideration and April 15 for Regular Decision.
Application Instructions | Full-Time Undergraduate ... - Rollins College
www.rollins.edu/admission/requirements-deadlines/index.html
But, that information is taken from the transfer student portion of the admissions information—not that a reader can tell that. The deadline for first-year applicants was February 1, so you would have missed it! And sometimes that information that comes up first is from U.S. News &World Report, and it is sometimes wrong as well.
Here is another thing to remember: Sometimes different programs or schools within a university can have different application deadlines. Or one school or program can have two application deadlines, such as a performing arts school within a university that has one deadline for the regular application and a second deadline for the audition.
And one last note of caution: Sometimes the deadline for scholarship consideration is earlier than the actual application deadline. For example, at Kent State University, January 15 is the deadline to be considered for freshman scholarships, though March 1 is the deadline to submit applications for the following fall. So, if financing is an issue for you--as it very often is--then apply as early as you can (this is especially important information for those of you with younger high school students at home).
Just to underline that, here is some important information from the website for the University of Arkansas (emphasis added):
Students interested in applying to the University of Arkansas for the fall semester are urged to apply before the early admission deadline of November 1. By applying early, students can take advantage of priority scholarship, housing, and orientation privileges. However, applications for the fall semester will be accepted until August 1. (quoted from the website)
So, the moral of the story is, pay attention and trust no list or outside organization. Go to the college’s own website only, and read the information on that website carefully. Let me add, that--oddly enough and for whatever reason--it is not always a snap to find the application deadline information on a college website, though I can’t imagine why. Finally, we are going to say again, apply as early as you can--regardless of where you are applying--especially because of the number of colleges that say they have rolling admissions.
We want to say again this year that there is no perfect way to generalize about the colleges with later deadlines, though I have noticed--again--that quite a few of them are the branch campuses of large public universities (e.g., University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of North Carolina at Asheville, University of Texas at El Paso, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, University of Tennessee: Chattanooga, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Massachusetts Boston).
Other than those, you can find great public flagship universities, small liberal arts colleges, larger liberal arts universities, faith-based colleges, HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities), single-sex colleges, specialized colleges (e.g., fine arts, maritime) --really, just about anything. They are large and small. They are urban, suburban, small town, and rural. They include some selective colleges and, perhaps not surprisingly, many not-so-selective colleges. They include colleges in the North, South, East, and West (including in our 49th and 50th states). The truth is that your kid could find a reasonable college choice from this list of late-deadline colleges if you all started the college search today.
As we did last year, let me read you a tiny sample of colleges with late application deadlines to peak your interest. Here are just some of the colleges your kid could apply to by February 15 (and really that should be plenty of time to pull off some of these applications, if you all are interested):
And what about March 1? You really have no excuse not to apply to one of these, if you are interested:
And I really can’t resist telling you a few of the colleges with an April 1 deadline (which seems truly far away):
And even May 1 deadlines (yes, really):
Okay, you get the point. And some colleges have even later application deadlines than that. In fact, one of our favorite colleges here at USACollegeChat has a July 1 deadline: Richmond, The American International University in London. If your kid is not captivated with what’s ended up on his or her list or where he or she finally gets in, think again and consider how much happier he or she might be in London at a truly one-of-a-kind university!
So, parents of high school seniors, if either you or your high school senior is truly questioning the choices you all have now, it’s not too late. Again, the options that we have just read are a small sample of colleges still accepting applications (though I think I have probably read you a lot of the academically better options). If you and your high school senior are intrigued, take an hour or two now and have a last look at your kid’s list. It might not make any difference in the final analysis, but you will both know that you left no stone unturned.
As always, call us, if you could use some free advice!