National College Decision Day: Did Your Students Miss the Deadline?

National College Decision Day—May 1st of every year—is typically a day that college-bound students celebrate with a formal college acceptance. But what happens if those college-bound students miss the deadline? 

National College Decision Day: What’s the Deal?

First, let’s give a synopsis of what is expected of students on National College Decision Day. On May 1st (which was, ahem, this past Sunday) of every year, students are required to make their final decisions on which college they plan to attend in the fall. Their decision is finalized through their signing a letter of intent to enroll as well as submitting a deposit to hold their place in the incoming freshman class. 

Now, it is important to note that while most 4-year colleges designate May 1st as their final decision day, there are a few exceptions: community colleges, technical schools, and schools that are offering rolling admissions. For these exceptions, there is often more flexibility with either multiple deadlines throughout the year or an extended time frame for acceptance. That all depends on the school.

So, what happens when students miss the National College Decision Day deadline? 

Missing the National College Decision Day Deadline: Ruh-Roh!

It’s trite, but life happens. Students are human. Humans often miss deadlines. So, in the event that a college-bound student forgets to formalize their acceptance, they first need to reach out to the school —immediately. Contact the admissions office and explain the situation in a calm and matter-of-fact manner. Surprisingly enough, there are some schools that will consider exceptions to their deadlines—especially in emergency cases: family emergency, medical emergency, a natural disaster, COVID-19, or other sudden and unanticipated life events. 

Now, if the student is fortunate enough that admissions will allow them to formally accept a spot past the May 1st deadline, the admissions office will most likely request a written explanation from the student as to what, exactly, caused them to miss the deadline, and that letter will be added to their student profile.

National College Decision Day: What if there are still empty seats?

Another thing to consider: there are both private and public schools that depend largely upon tuition and state funding, which are often apportioned to schools based on enrollment. What that means is that if a school has not received an adequate percentage of enrolled students by their deadline, they must extend their deadline in order to receive sufficient funding. 

To support this notion, a survey was conducted in 2017 by Inside Higher Ed and Gallup in which only 34% of colleges met their target student enrollment by the May 1st deadline, forcing those colleges to continue accepting students beyond National College Decision Day.  

National College Decision Day: A Firm Deadline

Some colleges have strict deadlines for a reason. Particularly colleges that are in the top-tier, that are extremely competitive to get into— those colleges will not make an exception to their deadlines for any reason. It is expected that students who have been offered a seat at one of these institutions to accept in a timely manner, and most prospective students accept as early as possible. 

So, for those students who miss National College Decision Day and are turned away by admissions— regardless of their reason for missing the May 1st deadline— they can take this time to consider any and all acceptances they have received from their back-up options— their match and safety schools. If there are other schools that are an academic fit, it would greatly behoove students to reach out and see if any of those schools are still accepting enrollment. 

Plus, don’t forget about the schools that have not yet met their student enrollment targets— they will undoubtedly be reaching out to prospective candidates and restating their initial offers until they reach their enrollment goals.  

Practice Organization and Time Management

Springtime is a chaotic and stressful time for students. That said, it’s of vital importance for students to figure out how to best manage and maintain an organized schedule with all of their essential deadlines in one place. Unexpected emergencies aside, students need to stay on top of their due dates and practice effective time management. These are soft skills that will serve them now and will continue to reap benefits in perpetuity.

As a tutor, being able to support your clients with all of the aspects of the college-bound experience is a tremendous value-add that can set you apart from the competition. Stay on top of all the latest news, developments, and best practices in test-prep, tutoring, and college admissions by subscribing to our blog.