As a current first-year Spring Connect student, I imagined my first year of college going very differently. I applied to 11 schools and chose the one that offered me what would, unfortunately, become the most disappointing semester of my life. 

I was offered my acceptance into NC State through the Spring Connect program. I believe the letter read something akin to “Dear Qualified Applicant, due to the significant lack of housing on our campus, we cannot accept you in the fall. However, we are pleased to offer you spring admission! Maybe spend your first semester of college in our study abroad program! Other than that, maybe go somewhere else. … See you in January!” 

It was disheartening to know that it was not the contents of my application that denied me of a conventional fall semester, but it was because my application sat at the bottom of the review stack. I later called admissions, hoping that space in the fall would open up, but I was informed that waitlisted students would be prioritized over Spring Connect for fall acceptance. To this day, I cannot think up a plausible reason for that. 

I was under the impression that Spring Connect students would attend fall events like a real student after all, I already had a student identification number. It did not seem so bad until my friends were able to attend welcome events, student sections at sporting events, and have a real “college experience” — the one admissions robbed me of. I did not get to play my fall sport, rush a sorority, collect obscene amounts of free shirts or take a picture in the shape of a 25. Nobody told me beforehand. It seems silly, I know, but I never knew how much it would mean to me until I did not get to do it. 

It wasn’t all regrettable. I used that “empty” semester to earn my associate’s degree; maybe that made me a stronger student. But I crawled with indignation as I passed various uninhabited rooms when I visited dorms. I cannot blame NC State for an uninformed decision I made, but I can blame it for putting me in the position to make it. 

My advice to future applicants admitted as Spring Connect: consider how much you value your freshman year college experience and decline the offer. However, if you find yourself still dreaming of the Wolfpack, perhaps you should move to the fall waitlist or work towards getting your associate’s degree from a community college. No matter what you decide, know it was not the contents of your application nor the timing of your application submission that put you in such a difficult position. 

My advice to the NC State office of admissions: allow Spring Connect students to attend fall welcome events, utilize the gym and library. Better yet, get rid of the “program” that pushes qualified, dedicated students aside until you have room for them. What makes a student fit for the Spring Connect program versus another student solely based on when they submitted their application? It is the student’s decision to apply early or regular decisions. My application was turned in on time under a regular decision. Though it may benefit a student to apply for an early decision, you should not penalize a student for applying for a regular decision. 

Though I can appreciate NC State’s attempt to accommodate such a grandiose number of applicants, there are additional ways the college should strive to accommodate students and abolish the need for an overflow program. 

There were only 273 students placed into Spring Connect in 2021, many of whom could have been placed in housing on campus by allowing first-year students to live at home if they desire and reside close by. Perhaps put forth requests for the finances to build additional housing and dining and become more selective in the application selection process. There is no easy fix, but NC State cannot accommodate a growing number of applicants by putting “leftover” students on reserve until January. 

I acknowledge that if NC State had been more selective in its application process last year, I may not have been accepted. Maybe I am lucky to attend this university, but I would rather have been denied from NC State than denied a conventional experience. As proud as I am to be a member of the Wolfpack, I could have been just as proud at another university in the fall, one that was better prepared to accommodate its applicants.