By Shameek Robinson and Dr. Ariel Cochrane-Brown, College Advising Corps
Reading time: 4 min.
Major sports, such as basketball, football, and baseball have hallmark days that make news – the draft, the commit, the transfer. Medical schools have national match day. In the postsecondary pathway space, the time around and including May 1 is known
as College Decision Day or College Signing Day. This time is a joyous occasion to recognize
students’ decisions about their postsecondary pathways, be they four-year, two-year, trade, technical, or certificate programs.
At College Advising Corps, we support the efforts of our advisers as they develop and execute College Decision Day plans for their students.
College Advising Corps is a national nonprofit committed to increasing the number of low-income, first-generation college, and underrepresented high school students who enter and complete higher education. We do
this through two innovative program models. Our in-school model places well-trained, recent college graduates from our 34 partner universities as full-time college advisers in high schools across the nation. Our virtual model leverages technology to connect well-trained, recent college graduates with students everywhere in the nation that technology can reach. Our program currently engages over 900 advisers impacting over 200,000 students.
For our advisers, we offer three sets of supports as they plan, engage, and deliver Decision Day/College Signing Day events:
We partner with organizations such as NCAN and Reach Higher to share and provide resources to advisers as they develop their Decision Day event plans.
Our programs use the opportunity of being hosted by a postsecondary partner to leverage locally based practices and resources.
In serving diverse communities across America, our advisers navigate multiple challenges and circumstances, such as community awareness/expectations, access to technology/resources, presence/absence of postsecondary-going culture, and engaging families.
This has prompted a number of creative and compelling approaches to planning and delivering Decision Day events. Here are just a few examples of our advisers’ efforts:
One of our advisers in Pennsylvania working at an innovative statewide charter school has incorporated short-form (e.g., TikTok-style) videos highlighting key messages to their students leading up to and during Decision Day.
In Michigan, one of our advisers is planning a weeklong spirit week leading up to Decision Day. Festivities will include food, grab bags, dorm supply giveaways, gift cards, yard games, a photo booth, and escape room boxes.
Multiple advisers in Atlanta, Georgia, worked collaboratively across two university partner programs to plan a virtual, districtwide Decision Day event highlighting students at all the high schools served. One of the keynote speakers
for the event is United States Senator Raphael Warnock.
Multiple advisers in Texas are collaborating to plan a statewide GenTX Decision Day on May 2. Community engagement will be a key component of the celebration, incorporating community members wearing college apparel, decorating doors
and classrooms in college themes, and posting signs and pennants in the community, including the decoration of storefronts.
In California, one of our advisers is working with their school and larger community to acknowledge and celebrate traditional and alternative postsecondary pathways. Each type of pathway will have a designated celebration or acknowledgment,
including military service, trade/certificate programs, and workforce-bound students.
Another one of our advisers in rural Pennsylvania utilized her larger community to crowdsource prizes for a raffle leading up to her Decision Day, while also incorporating post-Decision Day and targeted shout-outs via popular social
media and community posts to reduce summer melt.
Here are several recommendations and valuable considerations to keep in mind for your College Decision Day event:
College Decision or Signing Day does not necessarily need to be date-bound. Consider flexibility in dates around May 1 that are appropriate for your school and community.
Consider having engagement campaigns in the time leading up to, including, and following your College Decision or Signing Day event. Use momentum from your event to help minimize summer melt.
Get the larger community involved, including local businesses, nonprofits, and government officials. Identify and collaborate with like-minded individuals and organizations.
Provide celebration and acknowledgment for all postsecondary pathways, not just traditional four-year college pathways.
Consider utilizing a variety of modalities for your celebration(s): face-to-face; virtual; synchronous; asynchronous; hybrid; scaffolded; print; web; social media.
At its core, College Decision or Signing Day is an opportunity to acknowledge, celebrate, and uplift the efforts of our students to access and succeed in postsecondary pathways and life beyond. College Advising Corps advisers welcome this opportunity
to build memorable and ongoing traditions within our partner schools. We are grateful for the support of NCAN and fellow members in this shared effort to improve the narrative around postsecondary-going and success.
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