i know it’s late to be applying to schools at this point, but after getting rejected from my first choice and only having a few other colleges to choose from that i’m not really in love with, i’m starting to grow an interest in university of maryland college park. their regular decision deadline was two weeks ago but they stated on their website that they look at applications on a space-available basis if turned in after the deadline.
so my question is, do/will a lot of people do this? am i not the only one?
i e-mailed them this morning and since i want to get this application in asap, i’m planning on calling them too just to ask how limited their space is at this point.
It’s anyone’s guess – your question is unanswerable. After your telephone call, you’ll be in possession of the most accurate and most up to date info – more than any of us in cyberspace.
I’m sure other people do it but bear in mind that most schools get more applications than they have seats.
You will be at a disadvantage because they won’t even look at your application until after they’ve looked at all of other applicants. It’s worth a shot if you have the money, since not all deadlines are applied rigidly by colleges – but I would also look at schools whose deadlines haven’t passed yet if you are sure that you don’t want to go to any of the other schools.
It might be smart to call them as soon as possible (I mean, like, today).
I don’t believe it’s common (the meaning of “deadline” is generally well-understood). In fact, this approach could conceivably be perceived as your requesting an unfair competitive advantage (another applicant offers “your story” to admissions, as a strategy to gain two additional months to work on his essays).
Have you considered universities with “rolling” admissions?
Give it a go. They are making a point saying that they are accepting late apps, so you don’t even have to call and ask if they are, as you should for those schools that don’t so say.