On Nov. 9, Detroit area high school students gathered in Cass Technical High School’s arena for Wayne State University’s annual Decision Day. The event was invitation only, and students were told to bring application materials such as: transcripts, official test scores, fee waivers, and in some cases, a completed application to their school of choice.
Cass Tech counselor Monica Jones said Wayne State “wanted to make it convenient for those students to come and apply and get accepted.
Applicants dropped off their materials between 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and gathered once again to receive their decisions from 2-2:30 p.m. Universities such as Eastern Michigan University, Oakland University, Grand Valley State University, and others participated in the event and some even offered exclusive offers to the students: fee waivers, scholarships, and merchandise and application assistance.
According to an article by U.S. News & World Report, college tuition continues to increase and there are a variety of stressors during the college application time for seniors in high school. Some of the stress is reduced by the accessibility and easy access that Decision Day provides.
The event was overseen by Wayne State Senior Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions Lajoyce Brown, in accordance with Jones, and Cass Tech National Honors Society volunteers.
The volunteers helped the day to run smoothly. NHS members D’aja Whitfield and Abdul Repon were two volunteers.
“I feel like it was important to attend because it was an opportunity: one, to save money instead of paying...to send off your (test) scores or send off your transcript and pay the application fee, and there was a whole bunch of schools you could apply to at one time; it was like a one-stop shop,” Whitfield said.
Participants said they were grateful for Wayne State’s event and they hope more opportunities are on the way.
“Overall it was a good experience, getting in contact with the schools and the admissions (staff),” Whitfield said.
Repon said: “I think the event, Decision Day, is important because it gives students … a close, immediate decision on whether or not they get accepted into the college they are interested in.”
