National College Signing Day Needs a New Day

May 1st is the impending date high school seniors across the country have to make a life-impacting decision. National College Decision Day, also referred to as College Signing Day, is a rite of passage that high school students work toward for years.

In the United States, “Decision Day” typically refers to the day when high school seniors are expected to notify colleges and universities of their decision to accept or decline offers of admission.

For many seniors, Decision Day marks the end of the college application process and the beginning of a new chapter. It is an important milestone that is stressful, exciting, and emotional all at the same time.

Depending on their chosen admission plans, students have anywhere from almost five months to less than a month to make up their minds before national college decision day arrives. However, deciding on a college is not a faint-of-the-heart decision, and making the best decision for your future, from the amount of time between receiving your acceptance to finally notifying the institution of your acceptance of admission, is not enough time for students.

Making the right decision about where to attend college is critical because it can impact a student’s future career prospects and overall life trajectory. But colleges notify students of their acceptance or rejection to their school a little too late. Students apply to colleges in the fall, around October and November, and only get to hear back by the beginning of the next year. But the acceptances for the UC and private schools don’t come out until mid-to-late March. At the latest, some private schools release their responses in mid-April. The acceptances coming in spring give students very little time to decide and plan.

Being on the waitlist for a college also impacts student decisions. Not every college admission story ends in an acceptance or rejection letter. Some students face gray areas like waitlists. Being waitlisted typically means a college is still considering your application but, for some reason, decided to put it on hold. For example, the institution could be waiting to see how many spots it’ll have in its incoming first-year class.

Being on the waitlist for a college also impacts student decisions. Not every college admission story ends in an acceptance or rejection letter. Some students face gray areas like waitlists. Being waitlisted typically means a college is still considering your application but, for some reason, decided to put it on hold. For example, the institution could be waiting to see how many spots it’ll have in its incoming first-year class.

In the case that there are spots, it’s possible for a waitlisted student to get off the waitlist and be offered admission into that institute. However, the problem is that students often hear about their admission very close to Decision Day or even pass it. In some cases, most students won’t hear about their waitlist status until June, a whole month after Decision Day. At that point, you’ve already committed to another college and are probably planning for the next semester. 

Karen Kardoukian, a senior, remarked, “I actually believe that we are given too much time to make a decision. It causes us to overthink it a little bit. But I do understand why some other people may think they might need more time, given that it’s such an important decision.”

Some seniors understand and would prefer if they had just a little bit more time to make an important life decision and pick the best college for themselves.