For many high school seniors, the end of the spring semester can be a time to select roommates and attend admitted student days at colleges — but unfortunately, that isn't the case for everyone. If you haven't yet gotten an acceptance letter, it's not too late to claim a spot in the freshman class for this fall.
Much to the surprise (and delight) of graduating high school seniors, many colleges and universities still have openings in their freshman classes after May 1. Rather than having to call every institution you might be interested in to find out which schools still have space for the fall, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) publishes a list each year of higher education institutions that are still accepting applications.
Here's Where to Find Openings
The annual College Openings Update: Options for Qualified Students is a listing of NACAC-member post-secondary institutions that are still accepting applications from prospective freshmen and/or transfer students for the upcoming fall term. For students who have not completed the college admission process, it is a great tool to find out which colleges and universities are still accepting applications.
To find out which colleges you could still apply to for the fall, visit the NACAC website. The list is updated daily until June 30, so be sure to check frequently because many colleges join the listing after the initial May 4 release. The College Openings Update: Options for Qualified Students portal typically lists more than 400 colleges and universities that still have openings for the fall. In general, 64 percent of colleges on the list are private and 36 percent are public, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Most institutions on the list are four-year colleges, but there are some community college listings as well.
The list does not include every college that might have openings for fall because it is only limited to NACAC member schools that choose to participate in listing. Therefore, if there is an institution that you really want to apply to that isn't listed, you could still call that school's admissions office to find out whether or not they are still accepting applications for the fall.
CalArts, Hampshire College, Penn State Among Schools With Openings
As of the May 4 release date, the NACAC list included over 1,100 schools that still have space available for incoming freshmen. Below is a sampling of the colleges that are still accepting freshmen for fall 2018, but remember that this list will change over the next month:
- Adelphi University (New York)
- Albright College (Pennsylvania)
- Appalachian State University (North Carolina)
- Arizona State University (Arizona)
- California Institute of the Arts (California)
- Carroll University (Wisconsin)
- Champlain College (Vermont)
- Cleveland State University (Ohio)
- Dakota Wesleyan University (South Dakota)
- DePauw University (Indiana)
- Drake University (Iowa)
- Eastern Oregon University (Oregon)
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Arizona)
- Florida Institute of Technology (Florida)
- Franklin Pierce University (New Hampshire)
- Frostburg State University (Maryland)
- Hampshire College (Massachusetts)
- Hawaii Pacific University (Hawaii)
- Maryville College (Tennessee)
- Missouri State University (Missouri)
- Montana State University (Montana)
- New Mexico State University (New Mexico)
- Penn State University (Pennsylvania)
- Purdue University (Indiana)
- Roger Williams University (Rhode Island)
- Rutgers University – New Brunswick (New Jersey)
- University of Mary Washington (Virginia)
- University of Arkansas (Arkansas)
- West Virginia University (West Virginia)
If you are interested in applying to one of the colleges that indicates that space is available for the fall, contact the college directly for application information.
