Hurricane Matthew's recent sweep through the coast added to many students' stress of applying to colleges.
After the hurricane caused power outages across the coast and some high schoolers did not have access to their homes or computers, UNC Admissions extended the early action deadline for some students from Oct. 15 to Oct. 23.
Students, like South View High School senior Tamiya Troy, rejoiced.
"I was stressed because my recommenders have been without power, therefore they wouldn't be able to complete my recommendations," Troy said in an email. "When I was notified of the deadline extension I screamed with joy and immediately spread the word to all of my friends applying to Carolina. I was shocked at first, I didn't think they would change the deadline under any circumstances."
Ashley Memory, senior assistant director of admissions, said UNC decided to extend the deadline because North Carolina was in a state of emergency.
Memory said situations like this have come up in the past due to extreme weather so UNC Admissions was prepared to handle it. Memory said the admissions office was aware of the storm being a potential issue for applicants and were already looking into delaying the deadline when students began reaching out to them.
"We were aware of the situations ourselves," she said. "Simultaneously, students reached out to us about power outage."
Memory said admissions will contact applicants who are eligible for the delay through email and the office is willing to work with all students impacted by the hurricane. But there is no official list of students who are impacted by the hurricane.
