Howard Unenrolled 502 Freshmen. Other Colleges Are Still Taking Them.
Howard University told 502 incoming freshmen on July 22 that it could no longer hold their places, three and a half weeks before the fall semester starts on August 17. By July 29 the university said more than 200 of them were back.
The rest are still looking for somewhere to go, and the useful part of this story for them is that several universities have left doors open on purpose. One of those doors closes on August 7.
What triggered it
The cut-off was a July 10 payment deadline. Students who had not paid, set up a payment arrangement, or reported an outside scholarship or other financial aid by that date were unenrolled.
Howard put it this way in a statement on July 23, the day after the emails went out:
Students who did not meet the established payment, payment arrangement, or scholarship and other financial aid reporting deadlines have been notified that the University can no longer hold their place.
The university said it had sent multiple detailed communications through March, April, May, June and July, including emails, personalized financial aid information, videos and Bison Prep sessions.
It also said it would review cases where a student had scholarship money on the way, and pointed families at its enrollment management, financial aid and bursar offices.
Interim president Wayne A.I. Frederick defended the decision on July 29, the same day the university put the number of reinstatements above 200.
We really are trying to do our best to make sure that when students start, they can finish.
What it looked like from the other end
Nikiyah Clark, 17, described the sequence of emails she got that Wednesday. The first one told her something she had never done:
On July 22, on a Wednesday, I got this email to my Howard email... you have declined your offer to attend Howard University.
"However, I never did that, so I was kind of confused," she said. The second email arrived a few hours later and explained that she had missed the July 10 payment and would not be attending.
Clark called Howard her dream school. "Howard University is my dream school, like, my grandma went there," she said.
Dwayne Irvin, 19, from Missouri, said the notice came after he thought the matter was settled. "A week later, I get the email saying I was out."
Rasha Jackson, whose cousin is an incoming first-year from California, was blunter about the handling. "It's just like no one [in administration] cares," she said. "I advocate strongly for HBCUs... This is a big slap in our face."
Where the doors are still open
This is the part worth acting on rather than reading. Three offers are on the table right now, and only one of them has a published date.
Who | What is on offer | Date |
|---|---|---|
Undergraduate application deadline extended for affected students | August 7 | |
SUNY | Expedited late admissions review, plus an $800 credit to offset the deposit already paid to Howard | No deadline published |
CUNY | Expedited late admissions review, plus an $800 credit to offset the deposit already paid to Howard | No deadline published |
The New York offer came from Governor Kathy Hochul on July 27 and covers SUNY and CUNY campuses. New York residents are guaranteed a review. Students from other states can be considered at campuses that still have capacity, which is a weaker promise and worth asking about directly.
Hundreds of students, including New Yorkers, are scrambling and scared since they've been disenrolled from their intended college just a few weeks before classes are set to begin.
CUNY chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez put the offer in plainer terms: "our doors are open, our admissions are expedited, and your dream of a college degree remains well within reach." SUNY chancellor John B. King Jr. said there is "a place at SUNY for every New Yorker."
The District of Columbia extension was reported on July 28, when other schools began adjusting their deadlines. Hasanna Tyus, the university's vice president of enrollment services, is the named contact on that decision.
If you are one of the 502
Ask Howard first. The university says it is reviewing cases individually, especially where outside scholarship money was pending, and more than 200 students have already been put back. Contact enrollment management, financial aid and the bursar, and put the pending award in writing.
Apply somewhere with a live deadline while you wait. The two things are not in conflict. An application to UDC before August 7, or a SUNY or CUNY late review, costs you nothing if Howard reinstates you afterwards.
Get the deposit question answered in writing. The $800 New York credit exists because Howard enrollment deposits are not refundable. Ask any school you apply to what it will do about a deposit you have already lost.
If the fall is gone, the spring is not. Plenty of universities take spring transfers and spring entrants, and a January start is a far better outcome than a year out.
The part that is not about Howard
Almost every university runs on the same two clocks: a deposit that holds your seat, then a payment or verification deadline in the summer that turns the seat into an enrollment. Miss the second one and the first one does not save you.
The students most exposed to that are the ones whose money comes from outside the university, because an outside scholarship often pays after the college wants to see it.
If your aid package depends on an award that lands in August, tell the financial aid office in writing before the summer deadline rather than after it.
Our FAFSA guide covers what the federal side of that looks like, and the application guide covers the deadlines that come after an offer.
Howard's fall semester begins on August 17. For the students still outside it, the calendar is now the thing to beat.
