University of Illinois brings back former admissions process

URBANA, Ill. (AP) - The University of Illinois has reverted back to an early-notification option for admissions after a two-year experiment with only one application deadline.

Students who apply to the university by Nov. 1 will qualify for "early action," in which applicants will know by Dec. 16 whether they're admitted, denied or deferred for consideration until Feb. 3, the News-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2e1ydgL ) reported.

Those who apply to the university by Dec. 1 will find out their status Feb. 3, too.

The university had a single application deadline on Dec. 1 for the past two years, during which they notified all applicants on the same day in early February.

The university's undergraduate admissions director, Andy Borst, said the federal financial aid application period's earlier start this year and complaints from alumni caused the university to reconsider the single application date. However Borst said the single decision date worked well because the quality and size of the freshman class recruited to the university hit a record of 7,593 this fall.

The change originally was made due to concerns about the status of students who were "deferred" under the original system.

Now the goal will be to cut down on the number of deferred students, Borst said. To do so the university's officials will be reviewing the last three years of admissions data to have a better understanding on the academic profile of students who have been admitted. Students with qualifications that merited only a slim chance of admissions in the past will likely be denied.

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Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com