How My Friend Just Missed The Deadline

My best friend was so upset because he missed the deadline on a grant that he was trying to receive. He had searched all over the net for dissertation research grants and finally found one. The one he did find stopped taking applications the week before. He told me that he really needed to have this grant. I said the only thing that you can do is either wait until next year or send them a letter explaining your situation and see if they would make an exception for you. He said hey it’s worth a shot and sent his application in anyway. The foundation wrote back to him and explained to him that it would be unfair to award him a grant when other applicants had followed the guidelines and completed their applications on time