The college admissions scramble

The National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) has posted its annual bulletin board of the more than 250 colleges that still have available positions.

NACAC College Openings Update: Space, Financial Aid and Housing Still Available For Fall 2014

​May 6, 2013 (Arlington, VA)  – More than 250 colleges and universities still have openings, aid and housing available to qualified freshman and/or transfer students for the Fall 2014 semester, according to the  National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC’s) annual College Openings Update (formerly the “Space Availability Survey”).

Now in its 27th year, the Update is a tool for counselors, parents and teachers as they assist students who have not yet completed the college application and admission process after the May 1 response deadline observed by many colleges.  In cases where well-qualified students may not have applied to a range of institutions, or may have been turned down by all schools to which they applied, the Update provides an opportunity to be identified and possibly accepted by competitive institutions, and to obtain financial aid and housing.

“This announcement is a ‘win-win’ for all parties, if students need to rethink their admission options,” said Joyce E. Smith, NACAC CEO.

“Part of demystifying college admission is understanding that, for many institutions, the application process is a year-round endeavor,” said Smith. “Some colleges accept applications throughout the year, while others may continue to have openings available even after the May 1 national response deadline. We hope students and families will benefit from knowing that these options are available to them each year.”

Both public and private colleges and universities are listed on the Update.

The Update can be viewed at:

http://www.nacacnet.org/research/research-data/College-Openings/Pages/College-Openings-Results.aspx

It will remain on NACAC’s Web site through June 30, and colleges have been asked to modify their listings as the number of openings at their institutions changes.

Media note: College Openings Update is not a survey, but instead, a bulletin board that allows students and colleges to find potential matches during the Spring prior to Fall enrollment. Some colleges accept applications well after May 1 as a matter of policy, while others have openings available due to fluctuations that occur each year in the college application process.

About NACAC: NACAC is an Arlington, VA-based education association of more than 14,000 secondary school counselors, independent counselors, college admission and financial aid officers, enrollment managers, and organizations that work with students as they make the transition from high school to postsecondary education. The association, founded in 1937, is committed to maintaining high standards that foster ethical and social responsibility among those involved in the transition process, as outlined in the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice. More information about NACAC is available at www.nacacnet.org.

These secondary markets, sometimes called scrambles, have a big role to play in matching markets in which participants can only consider a relatively short list of the many participants on the other side of the market. (Fuhito Kojima and Parag Pathak and I showed in passing here that it is to be expected that such markets will have empty positions and unmatched applicants at the end of the initial matching phase...this observation is actually within a proof, see p12 of the online appendix)