November 1 Has Come and Gone ---Now What?

At most colleges, November 1 is just another date on their calendar. There are hundreds of colleges (especially small private colleges) that accept applications long after November 1. They may have November 1 as an early action or early decision date. They may even say that November 1 is their preferred date (or priority date), but quite often this is just to encourage students not to procrastinate.

A good rule of thumb: If a college admits more than 50% of its applicants, it is likely to accept applications after November 1. A few of these include the following:

John Brown University AR

Biola University CA

Mount Saint Mary's University CA

University of the Pacific CA

University of Saint Joseph CT

Stetson University FL

Agnes Scott College GA

Berry College GA

Drake University IA

Luther College IA

Northwestern College IA

Saint Ambrose University IA

Augustana College IL

Elmhurst University IL

Illinois Wesleyan University IL

North Park University IL

Principia College IL

Monmouth College IL

DePauw University IN

Earlham College IN

Goshen College IN

Indiana Wesleyan Univ-Marion IN

Taylor University IN

Friends University KS

Transylvania University KY

University of the Cumberlands KY

Bay Path University MA

Clark University MA

Washington College MD

Calvin University MI

Concordia College--Moorhead MN

Dunwoody College of Technology MN

Gustavus Adolphus College MN

Saint Catherine University MN

St. John's University MN

St. Olaf College MN

Millsaps College MS

Doane University NE

Alfred University NY

Le Moyne College NY

St. John Fisher NY

College of Wooster OH

John Carroll University OH

Otterbein University OH

University of Tulsa OK

Linfield University OR

Misericordia University PA

Thomas Jefferson University PA

University of Scranton PA

Washington & Jefferson College PA

Salve Regina University RI

Johnson University TN

Rhodes College TN

Abilene Christian University TX

Austin College TX

St. Mary's University TX

University of Dallas TX

Hampden-Sydney College VA

University of Lynchburg VA

Seattle Pacific University WA

Walla Walla University WA

Concordia University-Wisconsin WI

Saint Norbert College WI

How did I choose these? These colleges are small, averaging 1,740 students. They tend to give great merit aid, keeping the cost down for families (average costs, even for upper incomes, range from the mid-20s to the upper 30s after merit aid). They generally admit a wide range of students, A/B/C+, and they received good, solid A or B grades this year from both Niche and Forbes. Quite a few of them offer some full-tuition scholarships. A few even offer scholarships in the arts without requiring students to major or minor in the arts. Twenty of them have ABET-accredited engineering programs.

Relax and enjoy your senior year. Make sure to do your research and, most importantly, visit several colleges until you find your collegiate home. There is still plenty of time to apply to more colleges.