Yahoo Finance Hundreds of Colleges Still Accepting 2016 Applications
It's not too late to apply to college if you're looking to move into a dorm room and hit the books this fall.
There are more than 350 public and private colleges and universities still accepting applications for the fall 2016 semester, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling's annual College Openings Update.
The list shows which of the organization's member institutions still have space for freshmen and transfer students, even though the May 1 national response date for college acceptances is past. Schools on the list can modify their information as their number of openings changes and more schools may be added to the list, according to the organization. The list will be available online through July 1.
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Students can also see which schools have financial aid and housing still up for grabs.
The number of available spots at these institutions may be limited, so interested students should get started on the application process sooner rather than later. For example, DePauw University in Indiana is looking to admit around 10-15 more students, says Cindy Babington, vice president for admission and financial aid at the liberal arts school.
But Claire Fitzgibbon, director of undergraduate admission at Hofstra University in New York, says potential applicants shouldn't feel intimidated by such small numbers of open spots: "There's no reason that you couldn't be one of those people."
Late applicants should call the school they are considering and speak with an admissions officer. They should ask if a school is, in fact, still accepting applications before they invest time and effort in actually putting one together, experts say.
[Consider when applying late to college makes sense.]
Students should also ask about the availability of merit-based and need-based financial aid. "That's going to be a strong consideration, I'm sure, for both students and institutions past the deadline," says Babington.
About a dozen of the schools on the NACAC list indicated that they don't have any financial aid available, as of Thursday.
Colleges and universities of different sizes are featured on the list, but the majority of institutions have 5,000 students or fewer. Among the bigger schools are large state institutions such as Oregon State University, the University of Arizona and the University of Utah. Public colleges make up 34 percent of the schools on the list.
The institutions still accepting applications are located all over the country: 46 of the 50 states had at least one school represented on the list, as of Thursday. There are also a handful of schools located outside the U.S. in countries such as Canada and the U.K., for students who are interested in earning a degree abroad.
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Kelly Mae Ross is an education staff writer at U.S. News. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at kross@usnews.com.
