How You Should Judge Colleges: What Students Should Look For: Admissions Plans

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What are the Different Admissions Plan?

Colleges offer different types of admission plans with varying deadlines and commitment levels. Before discussing each plan, the concept of yield needs to be introduced in order for you to understand why some of these plans were developed. Yield is the percentage of students who are admitted to an institution who plan to enroll. Colleges need to be able to accurately predict how many students will attend their university, so they have an idea of how many students to accept on early action or early decision plans. Determining a university’s yield is actually quite tricky as circumstances (economic and otherwise) change, and universities implement various strategies in order to increase or adjust their yield rate.

If the number of students who plan to attend is higher than anticipated, too many students enroll, which could impact housing, class size, and other campus issues. If too few students agree to enroll, colleges have fewer students than anticipated, and that can also impact the college’s budget and other issues. Colleges that under-predict enrollment go to their waitlist to fill up a class to capacity or they may extend admissions deadlines. Students unknowingly can benefit from the unpredictable business of determining an accurate yield rate.

Rolling Admissions

Many colleges offer rolling admissions plans. There is no specific deadline to apply and students are encouraged to apply to these schools in late summer or early fall. Colleges review these applications as they come in, and you usually receive a decision within four to six weeks. It is suggested that you apply early to these schools, as the freshman class can start filling up rather quickly. There is no downside to applying to schools with rolling admission, as you hear back from these colleges much earlier than other colleges and there is no commitment to attend. Students feel encouraged when they receive an early positive response from a college, and they know that they have one college acceptance under their belt. You definitely need to complete these applications early, so don’t delay if you are interested in any of the schools in this category. The admissions standards may be more stringent the later you apply to these schools.

Some Rolling-Admissions Schools

• University of Alabama
• Arizona State University
• City University of New York (CUNY)
• Farleigh Dickinson University
• Indiana University–Bloomington
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania
• Johnson & Wales University
• Kansas State University
• Kettering University
• New York Institute of Technology
• Pennsylvania State University–University Park
• Seton Hall University
• University of Colorado–Denver
• University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Rhode Island

Early Action Plans

Early action, sometimes called a priority application, is a plan where you usually submit your application by November 1, November 15, or December 1. It is a nonbinding application, where you will receive an application decision in January or February, but you will not need to decide if you will attend until May 1. Some colleges also offer a second opportunity to apply early action, referred to as early action II, with later deadlines. Early action is my favorite plan, and one of the most popular ways to apply. You obtain early feedback about your application status and it gives you plenty of time to revisit these campuses. Early action applications are increasingly popular, because it gives students the security of an early acceptance without any commitment. There are many colleges which offer this plan, and if you can get your application completed at the beginning of the school year, it is strongly suggested that you apply to schools with early action. If you are not a viable candidate (i.e. below admission standards), you may be rejected or deferred to the regular decision pool and then you will be notified of a final decision in March or April.