Now that colleges have sent out acceptance letters and most students have made their decisions and submitted their deposit, the frenzy and anxiety of the college application process has ended for most high school seniors and their families. But for students who didn't get into their top schools -- or didn't get as much financial aid as they had hoped -- there's good news: Hundreds of colleges are still accepting applications from high school seniors and transfer students for the fall semester. And 42 of the schools still accepting students also appear on Kiplinger's 2016 Best College Values list for their blend of strong academics and affordability.
After May 1 (the national response deadline for many colleges), the National Association for College Admission Counseling collects the names of schools that still have space available for its annual College Opening Update list. This year's list, which was reviewed on May 6, includes about 350 U.S. colleges -- a mix of private universities, private liberal arts colleges and public institutions ranging in size from tiny schools of about 1,000 students to behemoths with more than 40,000 undergraduates.
Nearly all of the schools on the NACAC's list, including all of those that also appear on Kiplinger's Best Values list, will still consider applicants for financial aid. By this time, the schools have already awarded much of the aid money available, so you may not receive the same amount or types of aid for which you may have qualified for the 2016-17 school year had you applied earlier. The federal deadline for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the fall semester isn't until June 30, 2017.
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Here are the 42 schools from Kiplinger's 2016 list of 300 Best College Values that are still accepting applications for fall 2016, including 10 that are only accepting applications from transfer students. We have listed the schools in the order they appear in our rankings:
Best Value Schools Accepting Applications for Both Freshmen and Transfer Students
Truman State University (#65 on our combined list)
DePauw University (#89)
New College of Florida (#117)
Lawrence University (#134)
Knox College (#135)
University of Minnesota, Morris (#153)
St. Mary's College of Maryland (#170)
University of Wisconsin -- La Crosse (#172)
Luther College (#179)
University of Missouri (#181)
State University of New York, College at Oneonta (#191)
University of Dayton (#192)
Penn State University Park (#200)
Houghton College (#201)
Saint Louis University (#202)
St. John's College (#218)
University of San Diego (#229)
Bradley University (#230)
Purchase College, State University of New York (#231)
Juniata College (#233)
St. John's College (#242)
Rockhurst University (#245)
Belmont University (#248)
Rochester Institute of Technology (#261)
Valparaiso University (#268)
Centenary College of Louisiana (#274)
Loyola University Maryland (#276)
Lipscomb University (#285)
Xavier University (#297)
University of Arizona (#299)
University of Oregon (#300)
Best Value Schools Accepting Applications for Freshmen Only
University of North Carolina Wilmington (#210 on our combined list)
Best Value Schools Accepting Applications for Transfer Students Only
University of Florida (#52 on our combined list)
Appalachian State University (#133)
Gonzaga University (#147)
Simmons College (#220)
Salisbury University (#222)
Southern Methodist University (#250)
Syracuse University (#265)
Chapman University (#281)
Rollins College (#288)
University of Vermont (#294)
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