Hope for those rejected: Some openings remain

If your stack of responses from colleges included nothing but rejections, you’ll probably want to read further. The first thing to know is that there’s no reason to despair – there are still options.

As of May 10, 305 colleges still have space for freshmen and transfer students for this fall. Every year since 1987, the National Association for College Admission Counseling has maintained a fluid list of colleges that are still accepting applications.

Students and families can access the list here: http://www.nacacnet.org and type in “college openings update” in the search box . The list also provides information on the availability of financial aid and housing. The list will be updated through June 30.

The process is straightforward. Students review the list and contact any of the colleges of interest for application information. Admission to each institution is dependent on the completion of an application and a review by the admissions staff.

Nationally, 65 percent of the colleges reporting space availability for the Fall 2015 are private and 35 percent are public institutions.

North Carolina colleges currently listed are: Belmont Abbey College www.bac.edu, Catawba College www.catawba.edu, Gardner-Webb University www.gardner-webb.edu, Greensboro College www.greensboro.edu, Guilford College www.guilford.edu, Salem College www.salem.edu, University of North Carolina at Pembroke www.uncp.edu University of Mt. Olive www.umo.edu and William Peace University www.peace.edu.

South Carolina colleges currently listed are: Charleston Southern University www.charlestonsouthern.edu, Coker College www.coker.edu, Newberry College www.newberry.edu and University of South Carolina at Aiken www.usca.edu.

Outside of the Carolinas, there are some surprising opportunities such as: University of Florida (FL) www.ufl.edu, Juniata College (PA) www.juniata.edu, Ohio Wesleyan University (OH) www.owu.edu, Pennsylvania State University at University Park (PA) www.psu.edu, Eckerd College (FL) www.eckerd.edu, Belmont University (TN) www.belmont.edu, DePaul University (IL) www.depaul.edu and DePauw University (IN) www.depauw.edu among many others.

The list is likely to initially grow and then change daily as colleges tally their freshman class yield (the number of students who have deposited), so it makes sense to check-in regularly.

Additionally, in case you know any students who are less than enthusiastic about where they’ve spent their freshman or sophomore year, the list also tracks openings for transfers.

Things may not have worked out the way you planned, but there are options available to the resourceful family. The “space availability” list is really a “win-win” for students and colleges. Many colleges operate with a “rolling admissions” process which means that they are constantly accepting applications on a year-round basis until their class is filled.

If you can’t find a good academic, social and financial fit, you may want to consider taking a year off and reapplying to colleges in the fall. If you are looking for some creative ways to spend the time off, you should investigate some possibilities at www.americangap.org.

This story was originally published May 10, 2015 at 4:20 AM with the headline "Hope for those rejected: Some openings remain."