What is Rolling Admission when Applying to College

Unlike a regular admission process with a firm application deadline, rolling admission applicants are often notified of their acceptance or rejection within a few weeks of applying. A college with rolling admission typically accepts applications for as long as spaces are available. Key Takeaways: Rolling Admission Colleges with rolling admission dont shut down the admission process until all spaces in the class are filled.Rolling admission applicants often receive a decision from the college within a few weeks of applying.Applying early in the process can improve your acceptance chances and give you advantages when it comes to financial aid and housing. What Is a Rolling Admission Policy? While many colleges and universities in the United States employ a rolling admission policy, very few of the most selective colleges use it. Highly selective schools tend to have a firm application deadline in January or February, and a specific date when students are notified of an admissions decision, often in late March. With rolling admission, students have a large window of time during which they can apply to a college or university. The application process typically opens up in the early fall, and it may continue right through the summer until classes begin. Rolling admission schools rarely have a specific date when students are notified if they have been accepted. Instead, applications are reviewed as they arrive, and admissions decisions are delivered as soon as they are available. Rolling admission should not be confused with open admission. The latter pretty much guarantees that any student who meets some basic requirements will be admitted. With rolling admission, the college or university may still be quite selective and send out a high percentage of rejection letters. It is also a mistake to think that it doesnt matter when you apply to a rolling admission college or university. Early is always better. The Advantages of Applying Early to a Rolling Admission School Applicants should realize that it is a mistake to view rolling admission as an excuse to put off applying to college. In many cases, applying early improves an applicants chance of being accepted.   Applying early carries many other perks as well: Applicants may receive a decision long before the March or April notification period of regular admission colleges.Applying early can improve an applicants chance of being accepted since it both demonstrates your interest and ensures that programs havent yet filled.Applying early may improve an applicants chance of receiving a scholarship, for financial aid resources may run dry late in the application season.Applying early often gives an applicant first choice for housing.Most rolling admission colleges still give students until May 1 to make a decision; this allows an applicant plenty of time to weigh all options.A student who applies early and is rejected may still have time to apply to other colleges with winter deadlines. The Dangers of Applying Late While the flexibility of rolling admission may sound attractive, realize that waiting too long to apply can have several disadvantages: While the college may not have a firm application deadline, it may have set deadlines for scholarships and financial aid. It is also possible that financial aid is simply first come, first served. Waiting too long to apply can hurt your chances of getting good funding for college.Your chances of being admitted will be better if you apply early. There may be no application deadline, but programs or even the entire entering class can fill. If you wait too long, you run the danger of learning that no spaces are available.Campus housing most likely has a priority deadline, so if you put off applying, you may find that all on-campus housing is filled, or that you get placed in one of the schools less desirable residence halls. Some Sample Rolling Admission Policies The schools below are all selective, but they do accept applications until the enrollment goals have been met. University of Minnesota: Application review begins late in the summer; priority is given to applications received by January 1st; after January 1st, applications are considered on a space-available basis.Rutgers University: December 1st priority deadline; February 28th notification date; May 1st decision deadline; after December 1st, applications are considered on a space-available basis.Indiana University: November 1st priority date for merit-based scholarships; February 1st priority date for admission; April 1st deadline to be considered for admission.Penn State: November 30 priority date for admission.University of Pittsburgh: Applications accepted until class is full; January 15th deadline for scholarships. Learn About Other Types of Admission Early Action  programs typically have a deadline in November or December, and students receive a notification in December or January. Early Action is non-binding, and students still have until May 1st to decide whether or not to attend. Early Decision  programs, like Early Action, typically have deadlines in November or December. Early Decision, however, is binding. If you are admitted, you must withdraw all of your other applications. Open Admission policies guarantee admission for students who meet some minimum requirements related to coursework and grades. Community colleges tend to have open admissions, as do quite a few four-year institutions. A Final Word You would be wise to treat rolling admission like regular admission: submit your application as early as possible to increase your chances of being admitted, getting good housing, and receiving full consideration for financial aid. If you put off applying until late in the spring, you may be admitted, but your admission may come with significant costs because college resources have been rewarded to students who applied earlier. Rolling admission schools can also serve as a fallback if you find that you are rejected or waitlisted from all the schools to which you applied. Getting that kind of bad news in the spring doesnt mean that you cant go to college—plenty of reputable schools are still accepting applications from qualified candidates.