Towson University’s application deadline for freshmen and transferring students was moved up one month for the 2013 academic year to match other institutions in Maryland.

The deadline for undergraduates to apply for spring 2013 will be Oct. 15, 2012, and the deadline to apply for fall 2013 will be Jan. 15, 2013. The deadline to commit to Towson did not change.

“Many of the schools in the area like Salisbury, UMBC [University of Maryland, Baltimore County] and the University of Maryland, College Park have earlier deadlines,”  Director of Admissions Brian Hazlett said. “They also have early action and early decision, where students can apply early and get a decision earlier, which Towson doesn’t have. Our deadline was much later.”

Hazlett said that 90 percent of applicants were applying earlier than the deadline that they were given. Some students feel, however, that the new application deadline puts pressure on those who apply later.

“I think it’s terrible because at the beginning of senior year, there’s a lot going on,” forensic chemistry major Alexis Hicks said. “It will be confusing with other schools having different dates to apply. It will be so hectic and disorganized.”

Some students think that the earlier deadline doesn’t give applicants enough time to put together an application that represents their full potential.

“I feel like senior year was rushed with AP tests and college essays. Also I worked senior year, so it would be stressful to have such an early application deadline,” health care management Priyanka Akunuri said. “It’s not fair because if you screw up your SAT you don’t get the chance to redo them.”

Hicks was one of the students who chose to apply early.

“I would still apply if I had the later deadline because Towson has a good program for what I want to do,” she said. “But I would be mad.”

Hazlett agreed that the earlier deadline gives students a shorter window to complete the application process, but that it gives Towson more time to serve the students. He said that for the last application process, there were 23,000 applications and only eight members of administration were reviewing them. An earlier deadline would give admissions more time to review applications.
“Motivated students apply early,” he said. “We want students to apply who are really interested and serious about going here.”

Hazlett said he did not think that the new date will affect the number of students who will apply.

“Our reputation is growing and students are applying from the less traditional states, New York and New
Jersey,” he said. They’re applying from Florida, Chicago, and the West Coast. I don’t foresee this change
impacting numbers.”

Applications will still be accepted after the deadline, and Towson will also continue to do a modified version of rolling admissions which will go until December 1, so students who turn in their application earlier will get a response earlier, according to Hazlett.

“We think it’s the best decision for students,” Hazlett said. “Change is overwhelming, but it’s the
right thing to do. If it doesn’t work we’ll change it again.”