seniors, nothing seems more daunting and stressful than waiting by the mailbox or hovering over their email inbox in early April for letters and notifications from the schools they applied to. Everyone is anxious towards the end of their last year in high school just waiting for responses from colleges and universities regarding their acceptance or denial from their dream school.
Held on December 3 and organized by Guidance Counselor Mrs. Lambert, On-Site Decision Day is a special event held right here at West Milford High School. This event lets students meet with college representatives from over a dozen colleges and universities to make the process of being accepted into college much less stressful. On-Site Decision Day allows seniors to meet with representatives from numerous colleges and universities from and around New Jersey to conduct interviews, discuss future plans, and possibly gain acceptance to the school months before students from other schools normally would. Some students were even notified of their eligibility for scholarships to the school.
Sam Williams was delighted to say after the event that “I was accepted to Bergen and I’m very excited to take part in the vet tech program, [and] On Site Decision Day made it so much easier!”
Students signed up for the event with their guidance counselor in early November, and were eager to be notified early as to whether they were accepted to their dream school. Many students made several appointments, as On-Site Decision Day is an Early Action program, meaning that the acceptance was not binding and they can still maintain several options, as some students prefer to continue to deliberate on one for the biggest choices of their lives.
Students often left their meetings with admissions officers with a smile on their face; their success evident to those still waiting for their meeting. Students that were not accepted at this time were most often put on hold, meaning that the school would need to see mid-year grades, updated SAT or ACT scores, an audition, or an art portfolio before they were officially accepted or declined from the college.
The participating colleges and universities at On-Site Decision Day from and around New Jersey included Bergen County College, Berkeley College, Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Centenary College, County College of Morris, Drew University, East Stroudsburg University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Felician College, Johnson & Wales University, Kean University, Montclair State University, Monmouth University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Passaic County Community College, Ramapo College, Rider University, Rowan University, Sacred Heart University, Seton Hall University, Stockton University, Sussex County College, University of New Haven, and William Paterson University.