BU extends ED application deadline after Hurricane Sandy

Boston University announced Monday that its early decision application deadline will be extended as a result of Hurricane Sandy.

The deadline was extended from Nov. 1 to Nov. 5 to give students affected by the storm additional time to apply, said BU spokesman Colin Riley.

“We understand that some people are without power, some people are out of their homes, some people have real serious difficulties and priorities right now that they need to address and we want to give them some flexibility,” he said.

The deadlines for January freshman and January transfer applications are also extended to Nov. 5, according to the BU Admissions website.

“When things like that [the storm] happen, we’re sensitive and flexible with our deadlines,” Riley said.

Riley said the decision to extend the deadline was in conjunction with a Sunday statement from the National Association for College Admission Counseling advocating a deadline extension.

“These extreme weather conditions could result in power outages for many homes and schools for an extended period of time, possibly impacting students and counselors’ ability to submit application materials by Nov. 1,” the NACAC statement read.

Riley said colleges often must take extreme conditions into account.

“Generally, whenever there’s an area of the country that’s affected, schools recognize that, particularly schools with large numbers of people who apply for early action or early decision,” he said.

Riley said BU usually receives fewer than 1,000 early decision applications per year and the majority of applications have already been submitted. The decision date should not be affected by the deadline extension, and applicants should still receive a decision by Dec. 15.