Editorial: UC’s extension of application deadline for transfer students is unfair

The college application process is fraught with anxiety. Students try to get their schoolwork done at the same time that they’re writing what they hope will be meaningful essays about that most mysterious topic, their inner selves. They sweat each detail, then fret endlessly about how their applications will stack up and whether they have a fair shot at a coveted “yes” letter. Unfortunately, the University of California just made the process for transfer students a little less fair.

Its intentions were good: The university is trying to increase the number of students it accepts who transfer in from California’s community colleges. And to its credit, it’s making the change on short notice instead of holding students off for a year.

When this fall’s transfer applications fell short of hoped-for numbers, UC extended the deadline from Nov. 30 to Jan. 4 — but did so after the earlier deadline had passed and many students had already rushed in their paperwork. The idea behind the extension was to encourage students who might not have considered transferring, but it creates an inherently unfair situation that puts students who were on top of their game and got their applications in on time at a potential disadvantage. The late filers not only have an extra month to complete their applications, but much of that time will be during winter break, when they have fewer obligations.

It’s not as though the UC applications were just another box to click on the Common Application, which is used for admissions to many private schools. UC has its own application and essay questions. And its deadline is earlier than for most private schools. At USC, the due date for prospective transfer students is Feb. 1. In other words, the applicants put in a lot of work this fall for one application.

UC won’t give the on-time students a chance to update their applications or a preference in admissions for having done things the right way. Their applications will be grouped along with the later ones. Everyone had an equal chance to apply on time; why cushion the system for some and not others? University officials should have gotten their act together to extend the deadline before it had passed.

Given their failure to do so, how should UC move forward now? The best fix would be to allow on-time students to amend their applications. If that’s not feasible, the university could institute rolling admissions, in which spots are filled as applications come in. Many other colleges use this, including some Cal State schools and Santa Clara University. Or it could consider the later applicants for spring-semester admissions.

What it shouldn’t do is create an unfair mess and then refuse to deal with the fallout.

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