Colleges Offering Rolling Admission

While applying to universities, one will notice that there are different admission processes opted for by different universities. Each educational institution will follow its own criteria for filling in seats which can be dependent on the entrance examinations conducted by the university itself or by evaluating the qualifying documents that the candidate submits.

How the applications are reviewed also has a pattern depending on the university one is applying to. Some will opt for the Rolling admission method while others choose the regular admission method. The regular admission method generally includes a deadline that is set by the educational institution before which candidates are required to send in their applications and pay their application fee. Rolling admission, on the other hand, works on the order of arrival. This implies that in universities that use rolling admission sending the application early will play a major role in procuring admission to the place.

What is Rolling Admission?

Rolling admission is one of the admission processes opted for by universities where admission is provided for a window of time. There will be no set deadline and students will mostly receive admission on a first-come, first-serve basis though applications will also be scrutinized for quality. Since there is no deadline, rolling admissions close only when all seats have been filled.

Admission confirmation will also be provided to students not after a particular date. Applications are generally viewed based on the timeline the university receives them and hence students will also receive confirmation within 4 to 6 weeks of applying. Though this is the general method in which rolling admissions work, some universities also provide deadlines with rolling admissions. In such cases, the admission process will stop upon reaching the deadline irrespective of whether the seats have been filled.

Benefits of Rolling Admission

The benefits of applying to universities following the rolling admission process lie mostly in the control the student will have in the admission process. They will be able to process their applications sooner if they are ready with the necessary documents and they do not have to wait until a particular date to receive admission confirmation. Students will also have the opportunity of applying to other places during the same session if they get rejected.

Since applications are reviewed as soon as they are submitted, students who apply early will have an added advantage of being accepted despite having lesser qualifications. Unlike regular admissions, students will not be bound to the admission decision when it comes to rolling admissions. They will be able to review their decision of joining the university until regular admission deadlines are done.

When Should One Apply for Rolling Admission?

The period for rolling admissions is dependent on the university offering the admission. Most of the time, the admission process can last for as long as 6 months. Generally, rolling admission begins on September 1 for the Fall semester and then goes on till the Spring semester until all the seats have been filled.

Students who choose to apply using rolling admission will have to apply at the earliest if they wish to reap the benefits of this admission process. The best time to apply under rolling admission will be as soon as admissions have opened. This will require students to prepare their transcripts, recommendation letters, and other necessary documents before the admission window opens.

Candidates who wish to apply for scholarships will also have to fill in their FAFSA forms as soon as possible since scholarships will also be provided in the order of admission. Some universities even have a financial aid priority deadline which will be way earlier than the admission deadline. If scholarship forms are delayed it may result in the candidate not getting enough financial aid to put them through college.

Colleges Offering Rolling Admission

A few many universities offer rolling admission in the US. These include-

• Arizona State University
• Arkansas State University
• Benedictine University
• California College of the Arts
• Cambridge College
• Campbell University
• College of Idaho
• Concordia College
• Dakota State University
• Idaho State University
• Illinois State University
• Iowa State University
• Kansas State University
• Louisiana State University
• Mississippi State University
• North Dakota State University
• Northwest University
• Oregon State University
• Texas State University
• University of Iowa
• Utah State University

Priority Deadline

Priority deadlines are admission deadlines that are mostly offered by universities having a rolling admission process. It is not a set deadline after which candidates will not be able to apply but this deadline implies that applications received before this date will receive priority. Universities that have a rolling admission system will be reviewing admission applications on a first-come, first-serve basis and if they have a priority deadline, the rolling admission applications received before this date will be considered first before moving to the regular admission applications.

It is not compulsory for universities following the rolling admission process to have a priority deadline. Some universities will also have priority deadlines for their FAFSA application. This is for students who are applying early through the rolling admission process and require a scholarship.

Universities with Priority Deadlines

The rolling admission process has been taken up by plenty of universities since it is a more flexible form of the admission process. Since there is no set deadline for rolling admission, the duration of the same can be anywhere below 6 months in general though there are universities that have an admission window of more than 6 months. While most universities just wait until all seats have been filled in the program before closing the admission window, some universities offer a priority deadline for the process. These universities can either let the empty seats remain or they will have the option of opening the regular admission window after the priority deadline.

There are priority deadlines for FAFSA applications, as well. This is mostly for candidates who are applying early to university and will require a scholarship confirmation before their classes begin. Candidates who are applying to universities using the rolling admission process will have to also process their FAFSA applications at the earliest.

A few of the universities with priority deadlines include-

University	Priority Deadline
Kansas State University	December 1
Michigan State University	February 1
Pennsylvania State University	December 1
University of Maine	March 1
University of Oregon	January 15
Washington State University	January 31
Florida State University	March 1
New York University	October 15
Oregon State University	February 1
Illinois State University	November 1