Which colleges have rolling admission deadlines? Not as many as you might think!

Rolling admission is an admissions procedure in which students apply at any point in their senior year and receive their decision shortly thereafter, not during a specified date when decisions are released en masse. Not many schools use a rolling admissions process (as we’re about to find out!), but some of the names on the following list may surprise you. It’s not just public universities, as some would have you believe. A fair share of private schools use rolling admissions, too! Let’s review:

Top National Universities With Rolling Admissions

Out of the 100 schools ranked in the US News list of the Best National Universities, only 10 have rolling admissions — and three of these are just the various campuses of Rutgers University! The vast majority of schools, public and private alike, opt to give applicants a decision at the end of the admissions cycle, leaving all their applicants to anxiously refresh their emails on a specified day in spring as they await the decision that will seal their fate. 

University	US News Rank	Application Priority Date
Rutgers University – New Brunswick	40	Dec. 1
Purdue University – West Lafayette	43	Feb. 1
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities	53	Nov. 1
The Pennsylvania State University	60	Nov. 30
SUNY Binghamton University	73	Jan. 15
Indiana University – Bloomington	73	Feb. 1
SUNY University at Buffalo	76	Nov. 15
Rutgers University – Newark	82	Dec. 1
Rochester Institute of Technology	98	Jan. 15
Rutgers University – Camden	98	Dec. 1

Does doing so shroud the admissions process in more mystery, creating more excitement around whether you’ve gotten into the prestigious school of your dreams? Or is it that non-rolling admissions are less of a hassle for admissions officers, who don’t want to deal with evaluating applicants year-round and would instead squeeze the heavy lifting into a handful of busy seasons? Different strokes for different folks, as they say!

Priority Deadlines and Rolling Admission

An application priority date is the deadline for applying to be considered for specific programs or perks. For example, some schools give their most robust financial aid to those who apply early, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Others only provide specific merit-based aid to those who turn in their applications by the priority deadline. Even if you would have otherwise qualified for these things, you may not be able to access them if you apply after the priority deadline.

While not all schools with priority deadlines use rolling admissions, for those that do, the priority deadline is crucial. It provides a timeframe for when students should apply to receive full consideration of all the college’s benefits. At Ivy Coach, we advise our clients to treat the priority deadline as the real deal. The earlier you apply, the more proactive and prepared you’ll be, and the more complete of a look your application will receive from your school of choice.

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Planning Out the Rolling Admission Timeline

Taking advantage of rolling admissions at an elite college requires plenty of forethought and planning. Ivy Coach’s team of former elite college admissions officers knows this fact all too well and has witnessed the pitfalls of students who delay their applications during their time in highly selective admissions offices. We will use this expertise to plan out your child’s senior year application timeline, especially if a rolling admission deadline is at play.

Our early bird approach to college admissions means we will do all the heavy lifting in advance and help your child craft a compelling singular hook that admissions officers at their top choice school won’t be able to resist. We help our clients send out applications before priority deadlines roll around, allowing your child to focus on what really matters: enjoying the remainder of their senior year.

If you would like to optimize your child’s odds of admission to a school with a rolling deadline, fill out our complimentary consultation form and we’ll be in touch.