Updated August 21, 2026
101 Colleges with Late Deadlines
Bonus Material: PrepMaven’s 35 College Essays that Worked
Expert guidance provided by Mike Kleynman (10+ years’ experience in test prep, PhD in English) and reviewed by Kevin Wong (co-founder PrepMaven, 20+ years’ experience in test prep).
Most college application deadlines are in mid to late January. But there are also plenty of colleges that offer later deadlines, or even rolling admissions!
Knowing these schools can be helpful. Perhaps your earlier applications got rejected and now you need another backup. Or maybe you just want to get a couple more options before making your final decision in May.
At PrepMaven, we’ve got over two decades working with students applying to colleges, so we know how high-stakes it can be. We’ve put together this list of colleges with late application deadlines to help make the process easier!
We’re also including our exclusive collection of 35 College Essays that Worked, landing students spots at Princeton and other Ivy League Schools–download that below!
Jump to section:
Typical vs Late College Application Deadlines
What Are Rolling Admissions?
Colleges with Late Application Deadlines
Frequently Asked Questions
Next steps
Typical vs Late College Application Deadlines
First, let’s define what we mean by “late” deadlines.
The vast majority of universities have deadlines in early or mid-January for fall admission. Specifically, the most common deadlines are:
- Jan 1
- Jan 2
- Jan 15
For the purposes of this list, we’ll consider any deadline after Jan 15 a “late” deadline.
Oftentimes, students need to apply to these colleges because their initial batch of applications resulted in more rejections than they were hoping for.
If that’s the case, then there’s likely something in your application that rubbed college admissions officers the wrong way.
That means you should revisit your application materials–especially your Common App personal statement and supplemental essays!
A professional opinion can help you avoid making the same mistake twice: contact our team to get paired with a dedicated college essay coach who can help maximize your chances of admission.
In the meantime, feel free to check out our collection of real sample essays that got students into top-tier schools like Princeton!
Read on below for the full list of schools with late deadlines!
What Are Rolling Admissions?
At the end of the list below, you’ll find the schools with “rolling admissions.”
What does rolling admissions mean in the context of college applications?
If colleges use “rolling admissions,” that means they review and decide on applications as they are submitted, instead of waiting for a particular date.
This also typically means that a college using rolling admissions won’t have a set “deadline.” Instead, they’ll simply stop considering applications once they’ve accepted a certain number of applicants.
101 Colleges with Late Application Deadlines
Here is a list of colleges with late deadlines, organized from earliest to latest deadlines.
| College | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Alfred University | 2/1 |
| Auburn University | 2/1 |
| Baylor University | 2/1 |
| Bradley University | 2/1 |
| Bryant University | 2/1 |
| Christopher Newport University | 2/1 |
| College for Creative Studies | 2/1 |
| College of the Atlantic | 2/1 |
| Colorado State University | 2/1 |
| DePaul University | 2/1 |
| Dominican University | 2/1 |
| Drew University | 2/1 |
| Gonzaga University | 2/1 |
| Hampden-Sydney College | 2/1 |
| Howard University | 2/1 |
| Ithaca College | 2/1 |
| Maryland Institute College of Art | 2/1 |
| Mercer University | 2/1 |
| Miami University | 2/1 |
| Michigan State University | 2/1 (priority) |
| Muhlenberg College | 2/1 |
| Nazareth University | 2/1 |
| Nova Southeastern University | 2/1 |
| Old Dominion University | 2/1 |
| Quinnipiac University | 2/1 |
| Ramapo College of New Jersey | 2/1 |
| Roger Williams University | 2/1 |
| Rollins College | 2/1 |
| Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 2/1 |
| Saint Anselm College | 2/1 |
| Saint Joseph’s University | 2/1 |
| Saint Michael’s College | 2/1 |
| Simmons College | 2/1 |
| Sewanee: The University of the South | 2/1 |
| Spelman College | 2/1 |
| Temple University | 2/1 |
| Texas Christian University | 2/1 |
| Texas Lutheran University | 2/1 |
| Transylvania University | 2/1 |
| University of Dayton | 2/1 |
| University of Iowa | 2/1 |
| University of Kansas | 2/1 (priority) |
| University of Maryland – Baltimore County | 2/1 |
| University of Michigan | 2/1 |
| University of New Hampshire | 2/1 |
| University of Oklahoma | 2/1 |
| University of Rhode Island | 2/1 |
| University of Waterloo | 2/1 |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 2/1 |
| Abilene Christian University | 2/1 |
| Oregon State University | 2/2 |
| Allegheny College | 2/15 |
| California State University East Bay | 2/15 |
| Centenary College of Louisiana | 2/15 |
| College of Idaho | 2/15 |
| College of Wooster | 2/15 |
| Cornish College of the Arts | 2/15 |
| Emmanuel College (Massachusetts) | 2/15 |
| Endicott College | 2/15 |
| Iona College | 2/15 |
| Meredith College | 2/15 |
| Morehouse College | 2/15 |
| Pace University | 2/15 |
| Point Loma Nazarene University | 2/15 |
| Siena College | 2/15 |
| University of Kentucky | 2/15 |
| University of Massachusetts Lowell | 2/15 |
| University of New England | 2/15 |
| Washington College | 2/15 |
| Azusa Pacific University | 3/1 (priority) |
| Bowling Green State University | 3/1 |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | 3/1 |
| St. Lawrence University | 3/1 |
| University of Cincinnati | 3/1 |
| University of North Georgia | 3/1 |
| University of South Florida | 3/1 |
| Agnes Scott College | 3/15 |
| Washington State University | 3/31 |
| Wagner College | 4/25 |
| Clemson University | 5/1 |
| University of Central Florida | 5/1 |
| Chicago State University | 8/1 |
| Adelphi University | Rolling |
| Antioch College | Rolling |
| Appalachian State University | Rolling |
| Arizona State University | Rolling |
| Barry University | Rolling |
| Capital University | Rolling |
| City University of New York: Baruch College | Rolling (2/1 priority) |
| Dominican University | Rolling |
| Drury University | Rolling |
| Hendrix College | Rolling (2/1 priority) |
| Iowa State University | Rolling |
| Kansas State University | Rolling |
| La Sierra University | Rolling |
| Mississippi State University | Rolling |
| Penn State University | Rolling |
| The University of Alabama | Rolling |
| University of Arizona | Rolling (11/1 Early Action) |
| University of Mississippi | Rolling |
| University of Missouri | Rolling |
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why do students apply to colleges with late deadlines?
Typically, if you’re looking for colleges with late deadlines, it means things didn’t go your way with your initial applications. Or, you missed the earlier deadlines.
- Why was I rejected from most of my initial applications?
For students who were unexpectedly rejected from their initial applications, a few things might be culprit:
Low standardized test scores and/or GPA can keep you from even being considered at competitive schools. If this is a concern for you, make sure to start prepping early: we recommend working with an experienced, Ivy-League tutor like one of PrepMaven’s!
If scores and GPA aren’t the issue, it’s possible something in your essays or activities list threw up a huge red flag for admissions committees.
The good news is that you can fix this before resubmitting! The bad news is that, without the advice of someone experienced, it can be tough to find what it was that rubbed admissions officers the wrong way.
It’s why we recommend working only with the best college essay tutors: we’ve ranked the top 14 College Essay Services here.
Finally, it may simply be that you didn’t apply to a wide enough range of schools. If you only applied to a handful of schools, and none of them were safety schools, then a wave of rejections is totally possible.
- Are schools with late application deadlines easier to get into?
It’s all relative, but these schools do tend to be less selective than the most competitive schools.
While it totally varies, you’ll notice that none of the schools on our list fall into the most competitive slice of colleges (think: Ivies, MIT, Duke, etc.).
That being said, the acceptance rates for the schools on this list range widely: Clemson, for example, has an acceptance rate of 43%, while University of Kentucky has an acceptance rate of 95%.
- Are schools with rolling admissions easier to get into?i
As above, it totally varies! However, there is something important to remember about rolling admissions.
Unlike schools with fixed deadlines, schools with rolling admissions may completely fill their roster earlier.
So, just because a school has rolling admissions doesn’t mean they’ll always consider your application: if enough students accept their spots, these schools may close their admissions window.
Next Steps
Now that you know which colleges have late deadlines, you’re ready to send out additional applications.
When you do, make sure you’re going to impress admissions officers! Our college essay tutors have been helping students like you earn admission to top schools for over 20 years.
If you want to maximize your chances of admission to one of these colleges, contact us! Our tutors can help you craft the perfect personal statements, supplemental essays, and other application materials to get you that acceptance letter.
Start by checking out our collection of successful sample essays below!
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Mike Kleynman is an expert test prep tutor (SAT/ACT/LSAT) and college essay consultant, with over a decade of experience and industry-leading results.
With average final scores of 34+ on the ACT and 1500+ on the SAT, nearly all of Mike’s test prep students score in the top percentiles. They also routinely earn admission to the most selective universities: just last year, Mike had students accepted to Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, UC Berkeley, USC, and Carnegie Mellon. The average final LSAT score of his students is over 172, and his law school application coaching students have been accepted to Harvard, Yale, and Columbia Law.
Mike holds a PhD in English from Duke University.