Colleges Still Accepting Applicants

I have never liked deadlines. My own personal motto has always been: I work best under pressure. But when it comes to the college admissions process, deadlines are everything. Miss a deadline, miss a test. Miss a deadline, you aren’t part of the early admissions pool. Miss a deadline, your financial aid is compromised.

The good news, however, is all is not lost. There are hundreds of colleges who are open to late applicants. There are also colleges who have a rolling admissions policy—apply anytime for admission. According to U.S. News Education, there are more than 220 colleges who are still accepting applications for the fall 2015 semester. The National Association for College Admission Counseling just released their College Openings Update list. Using the list, you can search for member colleges and universities- both public and private- that are still accepting applications.

Strong Applicants

Colleges caution students to consider that even though admission is still open, they are still looking for the same quality of applicants as they did during previous application windows. Just because colleges are accepting applicants, it doesn’t mean they will sacrifice quality.

As Jeff Mavros, Director of Admissions for Illinois State University, said in a U.S. News interview, "It’s the same sort of process. We’re going to look for the same things and I would hope that they would give that same sort of effort applying to Illinois State University this late in the game.

Apply Today & Don’t Delay

Because housing and financial aid are in limited quantities, it’s important for students to move fast. Once the college’s aid is dispersed, there is no money available. Once student housing is filled, in some cases like Bowling Green State University, colleges will only be accepting local applicants who can commute.

Even though space is available now, when it’s filled, it’s filled. Even those colleges with “rolling” admissions eventually fill their seats.

Check With Individual Colleges

After reviewing the list of openings, check online with each individual school to see if they are still accepting applications. If necessary, speak with an admissions officer and discuss what options are still available. Once you speak with admissions, talk to financial aid about any type of merit aid that could still be available.

Other Ways to Check Available Openings

In an article on Examiner.com, It's not too late: Colleges still accepting applications for fall 2015, other suggestions are offered to help find colleges that are still accepting applicants:

• You can look on the Common Application website, click on the Member Colleges tab at the top, search for colleges, and input the data regarding the deadlines. Choose Spring 2015 and Other 2015 and it will provide you with a list of colleges still accepting applications.
• You can also search on the Universal College Application site by clicking on the Fall 2015 link to find a list of colleges that are accepting late applications or have rolling admission policies.
• The College Board’s Big Future site allows you to do the same type of search but requires additional input to narrow down your search. Once your search is narrowed, you can click on the Application Deadline and see an extensive list of colleges with their deadlines posted. They are listed by date and start with January, so you will have to go to the end pages to find the schools with late deadlines and no deadlines.