Photo by Andrew Himmelberg

Students will not be studying abroad at King’s University in London next semester due to an application deadline mishap.

Students planning to study abroad at King’s College in London, England were notified Nov. 12 of their denial to the program due to a miscommunication in application deadlines between Marquette University and the London college.

Five students completed their applications to King’s and listed the college as their first choice.

At the time this semester’s applicants were accepted to Marquette’s study abroad program and preparing to apply to King’s College’s program, students were unaware that King’s accepted students on a rolling basis, said a source who wants to remain anonymous.

A rolling decision is when universities respond to applicants as their applications are received instead of waiting for a specific deadline to make their decisions. 

Karli Webster, associate director and manager of the study abroad program, said “King’s College’s policy as it relates to the admissions dates as outlined above were not announced previously, so we advised students to apply to King’s College by their original deadline.”

Because of this, many students waited until Oct. 31, the official final deadline, to turn in their applications, the source said.

However, “Due to the high volume of applications for spring 2019, and the increasing popularity of their programs, (King’s College) had to turn many students away this semester, specifically students who submitted their application toward the end of October,” said Rebecca Schano, education abroad coordinator, in the email that denied the students’ admission.

Webster said in an email that King’s College broke down their applicant acceptances as follows: “Eligible applications received up to and including 15th October will be accepted. Eligible applications received on 16th, 17th and 18th October will be placed on a waiting list. Eligible applications received from 19th October onwards will be made unsuccessful.” 

“Upon receipt of this notification, we responded to ask which of our students would be accepted, placed on a waiting list or unsuccessful,” Webster said. “We were informed the following day, after the students were informed, that none of our students were to receive a placement.”

Schano said she informed the students in her email that this came as a shock and frustration to everyone involved.

“This is not something that has ever happened in the past, with any program, including King’s,” Schano said.

“There needs to be better communication on Marquette’s part in telling students that King’s starts accepting applications for their fall semester as early as July, so they will not have the same issue as we did,” said another anonymous source. “I really was hoping to study abroad in London next semester, but because of the issue we had, it’s no longer a possibility.”

The Office of Intercultural Engagement is working with each affected student to individually identify other study abroad options for spring 2019 semester, Webster said.

“Program dates, visa processing times and course availability, among other items, are being considered when discussing these options with students,” she said.

Students affected by this issue said they are looking into more study abroad opportunities for the spring 2019 semester or future semesters after.

“I am looking at other possibilities either for next semester, summer, or Fall 2019,” a source said. “It’s super stressful to try to come up with a plan in such a short amount (of time), but due to the circumstances that is what we have to do.”

Webster said that King’s College has welcomed students to submit applications for future semesters or even roll their applications over to a future term.

To prevent future application deadline miscommunications, Webster said the OIE “will ensure King’s College’s new rolling admissions policy is included in future advising materials, and Marquette will review King’s College applications on a rolling basis as well. This means that Marquette students applying to King’s College will be reviewed once fully completed, and students will be accepted by Marquette on a first-come, first-served basis, assuming they meet all required application criteria. Once accepted by Marquette, students will be advised to complete the King’s College application as soon as possible.”