Bummed out by a stack of rejection letters? Don't throw in the towel just yet. Though the national college acceptance deadline (May 1st) has come and gone, you just might have a second chance at scoring a spot in the university that's perfect for you. The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) has just published the results of their Space Availability Survey, a list of 258 NACAC-member schools that haven't met their enrollment goals and still have room for late applicants. 

The pickings aren't slim either. Schools on the list include the University of Rochester, ranked the 35th best university in the latest U.S. News & World Report, and Whitman College, ranked the 37th best liberal arts school. The bloggers at The College Counselor For Gifted Kids also point to options, like Ohio Wesleyan and Smith College, the prestigious women's college and liberal arts school, which are accepting transfer applicants. These are all competitive institutions with highly respected academic programs. But they, and the other 70 percent of private schools on the list, have suffered a decline in enrollment due to the recession.

At the same time, keep in mind that housing and financial aid resources have already been allocated to students accepted through regular admissions, and remaining space and funds may be limited. Fortunately, 97% of the colleges on NACAC's list still have available dorms and even if you've missed out on school-specific scholarships, you can continue to apply for government aid.

Here are a few tips on how to successfully secure a last-minute spot for the fall:

• Act now. Even though some schools will accept applications right up until the end of summer, these are still limited spots and your chances of getting in are much higher if you apply immediately.

• Do your own research. The NACAC's membership only represents half of the four-year colleges in America. If there's a school you haven't applied to yet and it's not listed in the survey, call the admissions office and ask for yourself. If it's a private institution, there's a decent chance that enrollment was lower this year than previous years.

• Have a story ready. "Be prepared to explain over the phone, and in a letter, why you are applying so late and why the school is a good fit," says John Sullivan, dean of admission and financial aid at Eckerd College.

The prospect of going through the entire application process again may not be too appealing but if you're not pleased with your current college options, then an eleventh hour effort might just land you at a school that you'll be more than happy to attend.

Image by Pickersgill Reef and used under a Creative Commons license.

Do you cringe at the idea of going to some of the schools where you applied? The surprising truth is that a lot of students try to increase their admissions odds by sending applications even to schools that don't interest them.

Think about your search list for a moment. Does it look something like this?

Dream Schools: Where I would LOVE to go. This is my life’s ambition.
Target Schools: Where I would LIKE to go. This is a good fit for me.
Safety Schools: Where I would go, if I HAD to scrape the bottom of the barrel.

If you're nodding yes, then think your list through again. Consider this: If someone asked you to make a list of individuals to date for four years, wouldn’t you want to make sure that all the romantic candidates were exciting, attractive options? If, on the other hand, your list started with celebrity look-a-likes and trickled down to those you'd only consider if they were the last people on earth, then you're going to have problems.

A better approach is to start at the bottom and move up. You should make it your mission to find the one or two “safety schools” that are a sure bet for your personal strengths. You should be a rockstar candidate given their admission criteria but it would still be totally awesome for you spend four years in the environment they offer. If you can think of ten things you HATE about a safety school (or even a few), then it's not a safe choice at all!

Next, identify two or three target schools that you have a pretty good chance of impressing with your college application. These colleges are a great step up with some of the same characteristics that you like about your safety schools and some of the perks that you love about your dream schools.

Finally, you look at your dream schools with determination. If these colleges are your ideal matches, there is a pretty good chance that they are the most coveted and wooed candidates of the admissions world. Hey, it is great to compete and win- but this is often a numbers game. Apply to two or three dream schools with confidence, knowing that if they say “no”, you have a handful of backup colleges that would make you extremely happy for the next four years.

Astoundingly, applications to music programs are on the rise, even as the economy is in decline, reports The Chicago Tribune. Considering the cost of lessons and instruments, studying music doesn't come cheap and recouping expenses seems tough, if not impossible, given the state of unemployment. However, today's budding virtuoso has more post-graduate options than ever before, and there are some surprisingly practical skills you can pick up with a seemingly impractical degree.

Though traditional orchestra jobs are becoming more competitive, Michael Manderen, director of conservatory admission at Oberlin, says that "students are hip about the professional realities." Music students have many transferable skills, such as discipline and collaboration, which are valuable assets when entering graduate school or the professional world.  Thus, rather than eliminating other career options, studying music can actually be some of the best preparation you can get for business, law, or medical school.

While previous generations of music learners were limited to careers in teaching or performing, the digital age has opened up innumerable opportunities that were formerly unavailable. Students today are majoring in things like ethnomusicology and music administration and getting jobs in the video game or entertainment industries. Because many music programs are a part of a larger university, students have access to the vast and varied curricula of the greater institution. Music majors at Northwestern, DePaul, and Indiana Universities study alongside more traditional majors. Oberlin students can learn about entrepreneurship and tax law. Even Julliard, the most competitive performing arts school in the nation, offers classes on starting non-profits or creating digital scores.

Art schools, on the other hand, have experienced declining enrollment, likely a result of students' desires to enter fields with more stable employment. However, Minneapolis College of Art and Design admissions director William Mullen says that many students transfer into art schools after initially attending traditional universities and majoring in practical subjects. This suggests that students ultimately prioritize genuine interests, even at the cost of a surefire career path. That being said, art degrees shouldn't be underestimated. As one MCAD junior puts it, her pursuit of art not only satisfies her creative passions, but also "is preparing her for a new economic reality in which creative thinkers will be the ones who get ahead."

Journalism programs, too, are seeing a rise in applications, which seems counterintuitive since print publications have been folding and downsizing over the past year as a result of declining advertising revenue. How those graduates will fare in the new digital age is anyone's guess, but even in a tough job market, it seems that passion remains the trump card.

Image by Angels Gate and used under a Creative Commons license.

When choosing the college you want to attend, one of your main considerations is probably the cost of tuition. But have you ever thought about how a school's price tag compares to how much its degree will earn you in the future? SmartMoney recently released a list of the universities that offer the biggest payoffs. By comparing tuition costs with how much graduates were earning five and 15 years after graduation, they created a payback ratio which shows the schools that are the best long-term investments.

It turns out that several major public universities offer the best bang for your buck. The Ivy League schools may come with more prestige and better business networks, but their graduates do not necessarily earn more than public school graduates in the long run.

To learn more about SmartMoney's findings and their ranking methodology, read the full article. Here are some of the schools with the best payback ratio:  

Public Schools:

   1. Texas A&M University (Average payback: 315%)
   2. University of Texas at Austin – my alma mater! (Average payback: 306%)
   3. Georgia Tech (Average payback: 263%)
   4. University of Georgia (Average payback: 239%)
   5. University of Washington (Average payback: 225%)

Liberal Arts Schools:

   1. Washington and Lee (Average payback: 145%)
   2. University of Richmond (Average payback: 130%)
   3. Lafayette College (Average payback: 115%)
   4. College of the Holy Cross (Average payback: 114%)
   5. Bucknell University (Average payback: 114%)

Ivy League Schools:

   1. Princeton (Average payback: 132%)
   2. Dartmouth College (Average payback: 131%)
   3. Yale University (Average payback: 127%)
   4. Harvard University (Average payback: 124%)
   5. University of Pennsylvania (Average payback: 124%)

There's already a long list of considerations when applying to college (location, size, diversity of the student body). But in a more environmentally conscious society, a new issue is becoming a bigger deciding factor.  I'm not talking about the availability of cable in dorms. What I'm referring to is a school's "green factor" or its commitment to sustainability.

Unless you've already saved the whales and written an application essay on it, this might not seem like a very important issue when choosing where to go. However, a school's green factor can have a big impact on your quality of life as a student there. Are you a vegetarian? Can you afford a car in college? Environmental awareness isn't just better for the earth, it's better for the students too! Going to a greener school can offer you special benefits such as:

• A better classroom experience with cleaner air and more natural light
• A healthier dining hall that offers organic or locally grown produce and more options for vegetarians
• A comprehensive education on how the environment impacts your field or career of interest
• Transportation alternatives, such as bikes and shuttles, that are cheaper and more convenient than driving
• Opportunities to get involved in student campaigns, clubs, and jobs that promote campus sustainability

These are all factors that can significantly affect your standard of living. Not all universities offer these perks and initiatives, but college students everywhere are beginning to demand and expect more environmentally responsible policies at their schools. As applicants, you should too. To do your part to help the planet, you can:

• Do research online using green college rankings, such as The College Sustainability Report Card, which reveal the universities with the best and worst practices.
• Talk to your parents about why sustainability matters and how it affects your education.
• Ask questions about sustainability policies when you're visiting campuses.
• Once you're on campus, continue to promote environmental accountability and participate in student initiatives.

With the earth's diminishing resources, green is a school color every university can use.