The beginning of senior year, for most students, is full of all the feelings: stress, excitement, confusion. There’s that Spanish test you totally didn’t study for because “senioritis” is already hitting, the privileges you have of late arrival and early release and then of course, college.
While everything feels as though it’s hitting you at once, the HH guidance team makes an effort to relieve some of these pressures by hosting their ninth annual “Instant Decision Day” on Oct. 15. The event gave seniors the opportunity to be admitted into a university on the spot and included twenty colleges, from the local Millersville University all the way to Monmouth University of West Long Branch, NJ. Fifty-two seniors participated in the highly anticipated event, and there were over one 130 acceptances with more than two million dollars in scholarships granted to Hatters.
Senior Brooke Bell was just one of the many student participants that was accepted into her desired school: “Instant Decision Day was not just a success because I was offered admission at Millersville University. It also gave me an inside look at what the admissions process is like as I continue applying to more schools.”
As a guidance counselor and strong advocate for Instant Decision Day, Mrs. Stacy Soricelli described the event as a “no-brainer” for seniors and has noticed the increase in confidence it has brought to students throughout the years it has been running. Soricelli is always on the lookout for ways to improve the event for the following year; this year, the guidance team decided on sending out a survey the day after the event, allowing students the opportunity to reflect on the day.
“The amount of positive feedback we received from students was delightful and something we are sure to keep in mind when planning next year’s Instant Decision Day,” said Soricelli.
With the goal in mind to alleviate some of the stress on seniors, the guidance team accomplished just that.
“Because I was able to talk one-on-one with an admissions counselor at Jefferson University, I wasn’t as unsure of what they were looking for anymore, which made me feel a lot better about the process,” said senior Natalie Linn.
Instant Decision Day not only gave students a head start on their college search but also granted seniors the chance to experience more real-world scenarios while still being in a high school environment. From the casual business attire to the shaking of hands after an acceptance, students walked away from the experience with more faith in their ability to connect with those in the working world, and most importantly, a home for the next four years.
