A lot of schools are still accepting students for this fall. Read on to find out. About one-third of the 1,300 four-year colleges and universities in the United States that belong to the National Association for College Admission Counseling have available slots next fall for freshmen and transfer students.
According to News & Record, 19 of these schools are in North Carolina. Greensboro College, Guilford College, and High Point University will still consider the applications of qualified students. Elon University will do the same but is currently accepting transfer students only. All four institutions have on-campus housing and financial aid available for late applicants.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to know how many incoming college students are still deciding where to attend this fall. Nonetheless, an oft-cited Harvard University study suggests that somewhere between 10-40 percent of incoming freshmen change their minds over the summer. Otherwise known as the "summer melt", this phenomenon is more common among low-income students.
For one, they choose to attend a local community college instead of a four-year school. The most common reason why students are still "shopping" around is that they often have a change of heart after summer orientation. First, the school might be too far away. Second, particular programs may be different from what was advertised.
Lastly, the student simply did not like the college. Some students suddenly run into financial problems too. Others reported that their family moved to another location for job reasons. More often than expected, though, there are the ones who could not leave their high school sweethearts.
Now, students looking for a new school turn to two things only: their friends or Google. In a few cases, admissions directors shared that they have encountered students who put down deposits on several schools. However, they then delay their choice long past May 1.
