Applying Late
This week’s been a rush in regards to applying to college. Several colleges I wanted to apply to - the University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, and University of Illinois - all had deadlines January 3rd or earlier. By the time I realized this, it was January 5th. Not good. Fortunately, I was able to apply to 2 of the 3, though I ended up only applying to one. University of Michigan I didn’t apply to because of the already limited admissions into their business school - they also didn’t say I could apply late. University of Pennsylvania I could apply to late because their admissions was still open, though their website said differently. I didn’t apply because with an epidemically high GPA, SAT, ACT, and class rank average, I didn’t stand much of a chance of admissions even without being late. University of Illinois, on the other hand, is my home state. They said I could go ahead and apply, but that I should explain why my application was late - which I did.
If you miss the deadline to apply to college, life’s not over.
My recommendations for applying late:
- Don’t do it. Know the deadlines.
- If you are late, email them or call them first.
- Send an explanation note to apologize/thank and explain.
- Get all materials postmarked ASAP.
- Rush your ACT or SAT scores - this saves about 2 weeks.
- Follow up with an email or phone call.
If you do this, you still have a realistic chance of being accepted.
