Summer Melt
Shelly Humbach • June 20, 2020
Seniors! It's summer!! It’s finally heating up in most places and you might feel like your melting especially if your community pool is closed because of COVID-19.
However ”summer melt” means something very different for colleges. Each year, colleges require students to submit an enrollment deposit to enroll as freshmen in the fall (usually by May 1, but this year June 1 for some colleges). After that deposit deadline passes, colleges count up the number of deposits they have and decide whether they need more students to fill their freshman class. If so, this may lead them to admit students who are on their waitlist. Those newly admitted students probably sent deposits to other colleges but now those students tell the other colleges they are no longer going to attend. So that college has an empty seat and so on and so forth. That’s summer melt for colleges – students who had originally sent their deposit deciding later not to enroll causing the college to fall short of their freshman class goals.
The pandemic has created a lot of anxiety for enrollment managers. Predictions of students deferring college enrollment all together or staying closer to home, has admission directors eyeing their waitlists. Counselors are anticipating students may hear from more colleges about waitlists and other offers even late into the summer.
What does summer melt mean for you?
Well, it means that if you were on the waitlist at a school you might get admitted. And although unlikely, it’s possible that you could get a revised financial aid package from a school that admitted you. This may cause you to rethink your enrollment choice. However, unless it’s an admission offer from your dream college or a truly unbeatable scholarship award, you are probably better off to stick with your original deposit. You spent a lot of time weighing your options when you made that initial decision. Don’t second guess yourself unless there is a very compelling reason! Stick with what your gut tells you and look forward to freshman year with excitement. Order a sweatshirt from the bookstore, get a sticker for your car, tell all your friends and be proud of your choice.
In June, I hosted my annual Senior Essay Writing Workshop. This was the first in-person workshop since 2019. I bet you can guess why. I was elated to meet my students face-to-face after months, even years, of connecting through the screen. Imagine my surprise at their height, super-smiles, and warm laughter. Dang, it was wonderful. So, essentially, all my in-state seniors gather at my house for a three-hour intensive workshop on crafting a killer college essay. As I was preparing for the event, it occurred to me that I might be in competition with their PHONE. Classic directness (this is probably a character flaw) led me to inform my students and their parents, in advance, that this would be a no-phone gathering. My messaging went something like this, Important: Phones are placed in a basket at the door and retrieved at noon. No exceptions. Parents: If you need to reach your student during the workshop, text me directly at **********. Now, I am fully on board with the phone-free movement. I support it, advocate for it, and live it (I brilliantly quit all personal media last November). And I thought: my event, my rules. I was a little concerned about how this announcement would land. Turns out my concern was mainly about the parents. The kids? Not so much. In fact, research indicates that students crave phone-free learning environments. Suffice to say, the workshop was a smashing success. Not a single student pushed back against the policy. One poor soul forgot to retrieve her phone and left it sitting all alone in the basket. Not to worry, though. She didn’t get far before turning back to grab it. Here’s the truth: We don’t have to bow down to every technological whim or societal pressure. As adults, we know the phone is a problem, and it’s our job to foster healthy, happy individuals. So let's keep this momentum going. As Maya Angelou wisely said, “When you know better, do better.”
I work with incredible colleagues; collaborative, smart and supportive. They make me better and I am deeply grateful. Every year, Jennie Kent and Jeff Levy of Big J Educational Consulting share invaluable information regarding college admissions. Their research is impeccable and accurate and provides crucial data to help students and families make informed college decisions. Read on, share broadly and give a shout out to these generous professionals! Early Decision and Regular Decision Acceptance Rates Class of 2028 Domestic Undergraduate Need-Based and Merit Aid Class of 2028 In-State and Out-of-State Acceptance Rates Class of 2028 Financial Aid for International Noncitizens Class of 2028 International Noncitizens Acceptance Rate and Yield Class of 2028 Percentage of Students Submitting SAT and ACT Scores Class of 2028 Athletic Divisions and Conferences (partial list) Class of 2028 - NEW! These charts are visual, interactive, and easy to use. They make it possible to instantly sort using any column's metrics and to easily compare subsets of colleges. They are free and can be accessed at www.bigjeducationalconsulting.com/resources . From Jennie and Jeff: We hope you find these resources helpful in your work guiding students. Please feel free to share them broadly as long as they remain in their original unedited form. Permission is not granted to those charging a fee for their distribution. If you find an error after cross-referencing with an institution's Common Data Set, please contact us at info@bigjconsult.com . Thank you!
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