Cornell will accept the Universal College Application (UCA) from prospective freshmen and transfer students submitting applications for admission.

The university also has extended the regular decision deadline one week, to Jan. 9, 2014, at midnight EST. The extension applies to all application materials, including school forms, recommendations, portfolios for the College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP), and required interviews for AAP and the School of Hotel Administration.

Starting Nov. 15, first-year and transfer applicants can apply using either the Common Application or the UCA. The decisions to add the UCA and extend the deadline were made after prospective students and other users experienced difficulties with a new version of the Common Application released in August.

“Cornell is committed to the success of the Common Application,” said Jason Locke, interim associate vice provost for enrollment. “Since its founding, the Common Application has promoted a holistic selection process and has helped to broaden access to higher education. However, in this critical moment, we feel a sense of urgency and responsibility to offer students and counselors another pathway for submitting an admissions application.”

Students will choose one format to submit all required application materials. There are slight differences in the applications, which both provide essential information for selection committees to make thoughtful admissions decisions.

Students using the UCA must return to the UCA website in early December to pay the application fee. Processing of these applications begins in mid-December, at which time applicants will receive online application status account credentials.

Updates on the application process and answers to frequently asked questions will be posted to the Cornell Undergraduate Admissions site and to blogs.cornell.edu/admissions.