You must login to create a new post or thread.
Click here to login
School News
|
September 25, 2007 08:22:21
|
More schools embrace instant decision days
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
By KAREN DeMASTERS
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
The agonizing process of waiting to see if a letter of acceptance has arrived from a high school graduate's first-pick college is a thing of the past at some schools.
An increasing number of colleges and universities are interviewing candidates, reviewing their applications and then giving them a decision on the spot. The quick turnaround has a number of advantages for both the student and the school.
Ramapo College of New Jersey in Mahwah was one of the first in the nation to implement Immediate Decision Day and is now in its 15th year, with a dozen dates for prospective students to choose from.
"Students bring the same things here that they would usually mail to us -- including their transcripts, two letters of recommendation and the application. Then they have an opportunity to meet with the deans of the school they are interested in, to sit in on a class, to talk to financial aid, and view residential life," said Michael R. DiBartolomeo, acting coordinator of freshmen admissions. "It is a day set aside just for them.
"They also get a chance to meet each other," DiBartolomeo said. "We have students who meet on Immediate Decision Day and end up rooming together. It is a networking opportunity for them, and we get an idea of what our application pool looks like."
Ramapo pre-screens the approximately 40 students who come to each Immediate Decision Day to make sure they qualify for admission. The prospective student and his or her parents spend the day on campus. Parents are present at everything except the interview. The screening committee then meets and the student and parents are given a decision at the end of the day. Immediate Decision Day applicants make up about 10 percent of the applicant pool each year.
Showing students around campus is even more important for some schools that start with a handicap, said Jason Hand, who helped start the Instant Decision Day at New Jersey City University in Jersey City several years ago and took the idea with him when he moved to Rutgers University-Newark last year as director of admissions.
At Rutgers Newark, last year's first Instant Decision Day, which is open to prospective freshmen and transfer students, proved helpful to teachers and students. The program will be repeated in November.
"Students have an opportunity to tell us things that might not be on the application," Hand said. "But just as important, we get to show them we are a nice, safe campus. It just happened that I have been at two schools with intimidating place names. It is good for them to see the campus."
More than half of the students who went through Instant Decision Day last fall were accepted on the spot and others were accepted after they submitted additional information they had omitted the first day. If another Rutgers campus was more appropriate, they were sent there, Hand said.
The tradition Hand helped start at New Jersey City University is continuing and is proving successful, said Carmen Panlilio, assistant vice president for admissions and financial aid at the Jersey City school.
"Instant Decision Day is better than an open house, which is on a weekend, because it is a regular school day, so applicants get to see students going to class. It also is a two-way street. From our side, it gives us a chance to put a face with the paperwork," Panlilio said.
NJCU holds some Instant Decision Day interviews late in the day to accommodate transfer students who may be attending classes elsewhere or people who are employed but want to return to school.
The university has a strong art and theater program, so many students bring portfolios with them for Instant Decision Day.
"Many of our applicants are very talented and it is sometimes difficult to put that in an essay, or some people are just more comfortable talking with a person. An interview lets us see the passion they have for their chosen field," she added.
Some 60 percent to 70 percent of those who go through Instant Decision Day are accepted at the end of the day.
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in Pomona also started holding Instant Decision Days several years ago and will have seven this fall for high school seniors and others in the spring for transfer student applicants. Applicants have to qualify with high-enough SAT scores, grade-point averages and class ranking.
Stockton has taken the process a step further than most in that, in addition to holding Instant Decision Days on campus, they go to high schools in the southern New Jersey area where the school typically gets a lot of applications. The admissions staff travels to about 12 "feeder" high schools each year.
"We have fully embraced the idea and take an admissions group to the high schools. The only thing we cannot do on those days is introduce students to academics," said John Iacovelli, dean of enrolment management. "Instant decision is a relief to parents and it helps uncomplicate a nerve-racking experience."
Out of a freshman class of about 800, 110 students this year went through Instant Decision Day, and the number is growing, Iacovelli said. Students get an instant decision, but they do not have to make an instant commitment in return. For those who go to the school, they also have an opportunity to meet with professors in their chosen field of study.
"The more information the student brings us, the better it is," Iacovelli said. "And if they are accepted, we can give them a vision of what their next four years will be like."
Another advantage for students who are accepted is that it enables them to apply for financial aid, scholarships and housing without worrying about missing deadlines, said Colleen M. O'Connor, director of admissions at William Paterson University in Wayne, where Instant Decision Day was adopted last year.
Students make appointments through the admissions office and interviews are scheduled on specific days in November and December.
"If they want to talk to a professor in their major, they can," O'Connor added. "Or they can make an appointment to tour the campus. The instant decision eliminates a lot of worry and gets the student into the loop very early."
|
|
