@smokinact – UMBC would be excellent choice for any student who wants to learn. Their engineering, statistics, computer science and economics and math department are excellent. On a school visit this a few weeks ago, on a beautiful day, the library was full of students studying. An interesting note is that 4,300+ kids live on campus, so although it’s perceived as a commuter school, there’s plenty of kids living in the dorms. Every student we talked to loved the school.
Would these colleges also extend the deadlines for financial aid for international students, or are deadlines only extended for domestic students?
@irreplaceable, I would assume that the deadlines are extended for both domestic and international students since this list is based on spaces still open and the list indicates whether financial aid is still available. But financial aid for international students might vary by school, so you should definitely contact the one(s) you might be interested in directly.
So is it feasible that a student could gamble? Not apply anywhere, and wait until this list comes out, then start comparing offers from colleges that are desperate to fill seats. Or would a student simply hope they get accepted at one of,these schools and expect no merit aid whatsoever? I am not sure how to read this list…is it more of a desperation list, or is it a good opportunity to save a lot of cash?
@Lindagaf -Most of the colleges on this list are not flush with cash, and a student seeking aid (merit and/or need-based) would be wise to hone in on schools early in the process that are likely to offer adequate financial assistance. My son, for instance, has an amazing merit scholarship from Tulane (and he turned down a couple nice ones from other universities, too). He wouldn’t have done nearly as well if he’d waited to swoop down on any of these places with May vacancies. And, also, he’ll be attending a college that he really WANTS to go to and not one that he settled for.
While it’s great that there are still options out there for students who haven’t yet found a “home” for next year, I think it’s very unwise to make them part of a Master Plan … because that would be a huge “gamble” indeed.
Thanks @Sally_Rubenstone . My daughter is a junior, and she would never gamble and plans on applying early action at any school that offers it. I was curious more than anything, because a few of the listed colleges, she is considering as safeties. I had no idea this list existed, it is very useful so thanks for posting. I have heard of two separate kids now, both of whom only applied to Ivies plus Stanford and the like, and got accepted NOWHERE! Good to know that there is a back up plan for those students.
@Lindagaf … Students admitted nowhere clearly got very poor advising, but–sadly–that’s common these days. (Although I also know of students who got decent advising but were too stubborn to listen to it and then got shut out!)
My son turned down an Ivy to go to Tulane due to the outstanding merit award he received, and your daughter, too, might want to look there if she is considering Ivies and Stanford. U. of Miami also offered a generous merit award and met more of my son’s academic needs than the Ivies did because of the balance of liberal arts and pre-professional majors (e.g., advertising, public relations) at UM.
U. of Alabama gets big kudos from me because they publish guaranteed merit awards right on their Web site. (Merit aid can be such a guessing game at so many schools and, for the middle-class families who are really depending on it, it’s hard to keep college lists short amidst such a crap shoot.) My son knew that he’d get a Presidential (full-tuition) Scholarship before he even typed his name on the application! UA is putting on a full-court press to lure smart kids from out-of-state, and they’ve been quite successful. Their OOS enrollment is now up to 51%. We visited at the end of August and really liked the Honors College programming (and the honors dorms are nicer than my house). 
Late August was a great time to visit because classes had already started but my son wasn’t back in school yet and wasn’t missing anything at home.
Both Tulane and UM require Early Action applications for their biggest scholarships but not for all. Bama has Rolling Admission but there is a scholarship deadline at the beginning of December.
So these are just a few examples of why it’s wise to plan ahead and not to try to gamble on a late-vacancy strategy!
@Sally_Rubenstone , you are right, no doubt. Those shut-out students assumed that their fantastic grades and SAT scores were enough. I am shocked at how many people do not research, do not understand that admission to selective schools is about more than just numbers, and who ignore advice of councillors. My daughter eants a selective school, but my husband and I care about value for money and ROI. Of course we want her to be happy, but there is no way we can pay full tuition, so merit aid is really important. Tulane is famous around here for enticing students with great merit aid. She isn’t interested, but I keep trying:-) I will have her investigate Maryland, Ben hearing much about it.
I think it’s interesting that many of the schools on this list are the same ones that inundated our household with unsolicited mailings. Many of which are hundreds of miles away from us.
How many of these schools are the “Sweet Briar’s” of tomorrow?
In many cases, it’s a matter of miscalculating yield (in part due to the commonapp).
In some others, it’s a ploy to replace “summer melt” with full pay students who didn’t get into the schools they thought they would.
Some large schools use it as another “rolling admissions” situation.
@giterdone - Dowling would be top on my list.
I think any college or university that cannot fill its incoming class is suspect of becoming the next Sweet Briar. If you look at Sweet Briar’s financials; they were being proactive. They had an endowment far greater than many on this list. The trend lines (diminishing HS Grad #'s, true COA, fighting technology (MOOC’s) etc…) just didn’t favor putting off the inevitable.
It’s nice to have late options for those who miscalulated or have had life interfere with the best laid plans.
This list is good for people like me who have just decided at this late date that they wanted to transfer. The academic rigor of the school I currently attend is too low.
Thanks for this list of schools, I might apply to some!
One reason many universities are “obsessed” with increasing the number of applications, decreasing the acceptance rate and increasing yield is that it affects their bond ratings and thus the interest rate they pay on borrowed money for capital expenses. The UNNWR rankings are only a secondary reason.