Have you been questioning applying to college and just decided that you’d like to apply to college after all? While some schools implement deadlines, more and more schools are holding Instant Decision or Immediate Decision Days. Schools who participate hold multiple days for students to come to campus after submitting their online portion of their application and bring their SAT scores, essay, recommendations, transcript and portfolios if it is applicable. Once they arrive on campus with their paperwork they meet with admissions personnel and are able to leave at the end of that day knowing whether or not they have been accepted into the school. All applicants who apply for Instant Decision day are pre-screened to ensure that they are in fact qualified for admission before they begin the procedure.
What are the benefits?
This process eliminates the agonizing wait for a letter in the mail and allows college admissions boards to put a face to the applications they are reviewing and really get to know the student. Instead of scheduling multiple visits and class sit ins, which can involve a lot of travel costs, students can combine processes and meet with the dean of the school, sit in on a class, discuss financial aid and get a first hand look at residential and campus life.
It can be quite scary and intimidating to depart for college without knowing a single person on campus. Schools who use Instant Decision Days report successful meetings between prospective students who end up meeting and rooming with each other. Regardless of whether or not you find your roommate that day, it’s still helpful to have familiar faces to dine and spend time with in the first days of school. It can also ease some of your fears as you prepare during the summer leading up to college as you have someone to talk with who is experiencing the same thing.
Parents can really become a large part of the process, as they are present for everything but the interview. Instead of taking off multiple days from work, they are able to attend all of the important meetings in a single day. They can also witness firsthand what their child might experience over the next four years.
What does it do for your chances of getting in?
Many reports from various schools who go through Instant Decision Day report that half of the students who apply during that time are accepted and even more are accepted after they submit additional information that they might have forgotten or omitted on the first day. Some schools with other branches are even able to send students to other parts that are more suitable to their needs.
This procedure is unique because it allows students to present themselves in person instead of conveying it in an essay, which is something that is quite difficult. Talking in person with students can also help ease them into the decision making process and deciding what they might like to study. It is much easier to engage in a dialogue and discover passions than it is to find them through words within a paper.
Admissions counselors advise prospective students who might utilize this option in the future to know that the more information, the better the interview. It allows them to see and help create a vision of the future and to get to know the student as a whole. It further aids the complicated process of scholarships, financial aid and housing. Students are encouraged to make appointments with professors for prospective majors and really look into what they might be experiencing in the next year. Be sure to look into this option within the colleges and universities that you are interested in and make your appointment. Schools that participate hold between six to twelve a semester.
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