Hey high school grads: You could still start college this year

If you graduated high school this May and don't have a college acceptance letter, a trade apprenticeship lined up, or any other next step you’re excited about … take a deep breath. You haven't missed your window to take the next step. In fact, for a lot of career colleges, there isn't really a window to miss at all.

What are rolling admissions? 

Most traditional four-year colleges work on a fixed calendar, which means you need to apply by a specific deadline, wait for a decision on your application, then decide whether you’ll accept in order to start classes in the fall. If you miss that window, it often means waiting a full year for the next one.

But most career colleges and technical schools are different. They usually operate on rolling admissions, which means new students can apply and enroll continuously throughout the year rather than waiting for one designated start date. Programs often kick off multiple times a year, so there's rarely a long wait standing between you and getting started.

For a lot of high school grads (especially those who didn’t particularly love school or needed to start working right away to support themselves or a family), summer turns into fall, and fall turns into "maybe next year" before you know it. Without a clear next step, it's easy to lose momentum, and even easier to feel like you're behind compared to friends who went straight into a four-year program.

A school with rolling admissions removes a lot of that pressure. You don't have to have your plan completely figured out by May of senior year. You can spend the summer exploring what kind of career actually interests you, and still enroll in a program this fall, this winter, or early next year.

Plus, career colleges often design their health sciences, mechanical sciences, IT, and business programs to be completed in two years or less, because they know starting a new career as soon as possible is so important to their students. 

Combine those relatively short programs with potential rolling admissions, and you could be applying for jobs in your chosen field sooner than you think: If you choose and enroll in a career college program in the next few months, you could be starting your new career while your friends at traditional colleges are still wrapping up their gen-ed requirements at a traditional school.

And if you don’t quite know what you want to do next, that’s okay too. The whole point is that career colleges don’t operate on the same calendar as traditional colleges and universities, so they’ll be waiting for you whenever you decide you’re ready. 

For now, you can look for career colleges near you, explore the programs they offer, talk to an admissions advisor, and ask about upcoming start dates. You should also create a free Imagine America account to take advantage of our unique scholarship opportunities. 

The rest of your life is waiting for you. And when you choose a career college, it won’t have to wait very long.