Articles / Applying to College / Finding Rolling-Admission Colleges

Finding Rolling-Admission Colleges

Written by Sally Rubenstone | April 22, 2004

Question: Can I get a list of schools that have Rolling Admissions?

Since you're a senior seeking rolling-admission colleges in mid-April, The Dean is going to read between the lines here and guess that you are looking for last-minute college choices. Perhaps you didn't get accepted anywhere--or at least anywhere you want to go--and now you're eager to explore other options.

If this is the case, here are two suggestions:

1. Go to the College Board Advanced Search site at http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/advhome.jsp. Fill out the questionnaire and when you get to the "Deadlines" category, be sure to click on "Regular application deadline or priority date hasn't passed." (Hint: the fewer preferences you select regarding size, location, majors, etc., the more options you'll get when you hit "Results" at the end.)

2. The National Association for College Admission Counseling puts out a very helpful "Space Available Survey" that lists colleges with late openings. The bad news, however, is that it's not posted until early May. When the time comes, you can find it at: http://www.nacac.com/survey/results.cfm

Happy hunting!

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student's Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student's Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC's Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential's "Ask the Dean" column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.