It is 11:30pm on the night before an application deadline. A student is halfway through their application and panicking. Is the deadline midnight tonight, or end of business? Does it matter which time zone? Can the reference follow later? What if they miss it? The admissions office closed hours ago.
Application deadline questions arrive in a rush and are often anxious. How an institution handles them affects not just those applications but its reputation with the families involved.
The questions near deadlines
- When exactly is the deadline?
- Which time zone does it use?
- Can supporting documents follow later?
- What happens if I miss it?
- Is there a late application route?
- How do I know my application was received?
- Can I change my application after submitting?
Publishing deadlines properly
A clear deadline statement includes:
- The date and time, with time zone.
- What must be submitted by then.
- What can follow later, and by when.
- Whether late applications are accepted, and how.
- How applicants will know their application arrived.
Vague deadlines cause most panic. International applicants in particular need the time zone, because "midnight" in one country can be mid-afternoon in another.
Parents and deadlines
Parents often help with applications and ask their own deadline questions, sometimes more anxiously than the students. A short section for parents on the admissions page, explaining the key dates and what they can do to help, reduces worried messages in the final week.
Answering calmly, at any hour
Student: Is the deadline midnight tonight? Assistant: The deadline is 11:59pm UK time on 15 January. Your references can be submitted up to two weeks later. If you're running out of time, the late applications page explains how applications received after the deadline are considered.
SpideyChat for education providers answers from your published deadline information at any hour, which is when these questions arrive. Late-night admissions questions are covered more broadly in admissions questions that arrive at midnight.
Capturing late applications
If a student misses the deadline, capture their details and course so admissions can follow up. Many institutions consider late applications when places remain. Entry requirement questions often come alongside, covered in entry requirements questions answered instantly.
Technical problems on deadline night
The portal crashes, an upload fails, a payment will not go through. Deadline night brings technical problems, and applicants assume the worst. Publish what to do if something goes wrong: who to contact, whether the deadline will be extended for system problems, and how to prove they tried. A clear plan turns a panicked applicant into a calm one.
Confirming receipt
Applicants worry most about whether their application was received. An automatic confirmation email, and a clear explanation of when they will hear more, removes a large share of post-deadline questions.
Preparing for deadline season
Before each deadline, check your deadline page, confirmation emails and late application information. Test the answers. The testing approach is described in testing an assistant with real past enquiries, and setup is covered in the installation guide and training guide.
Deadlines in other applications
Deadlines create the same anxiety in other application processes, such as rental applications, where tenants worry about losing a property, as seen in rental application questions answered before viewing. Clear information is the calming factor in every case.