Putting "Summer Melt" on Ice

You may have heard the term “summer melt,” which refers to high school graduates who apply for and are accepted to school, plan to attend but do not. It can be frustrating that all of the hard work—theirs and yours—gets disrupted and potentially permanently deferred.

According to the Strategic Data Project at Harvard University, "between 10 and 40 percent of “college-intending students” don’t enroll in college in the Fall after their high school graduation. Students from low-income backgrounds are even more likely to not enroll."

Adding more to the melt, The National Student Clearinghouse Center recently reported that higher education enrollment has dropped by one million students since the fall of 2019. These “Missing Million” students left the path for reasons related to the pandemic, a strong job market and the perception of the cost of higher education. But there are even more factors that create conditions for summer melt, and knowing about them will help you address barriers students commonly report.

Graduation & college acceptance are just the first steps

Applying for college, gaining acceptance and applying for financial aid are just the beginning steps on the road to a student’s first fall class. Students must navigate often complicated financial aid processes: evaluating the final financial aid package, dealing with the tuition bill and potentially undergoing further verification of information provided on the FAFSA, even though the US Department of Education has waived verification of financial data on the form for the 2022-2023 academic year. Students will also be looking at securing housing, transportation, health care, and taking entrance exams for placement. All of these steps could present obstacles along the way to getting to that first class on campus.

Three tips to help students stay on track:

1. Create a strong moment of connection at the time of scholarship awarding. Once students accept your award, they are one step closer to getting onto campus or into their vocational program. Make sure to provide your recipients the “How to Accept Scholarships in the Student Profile” guide found in Affiliate Resources.
2. Keep lines of communication open, and be a connector. Provide a contact for your students. Create a group channel for communication, through Facebook, WhatsApp, or other media channel to announce important deadlines for accepting your awards. Encourage students to get into communication with their campuses about questions on financial aid, orientation events, and other social opportunities campuses may be offering.
3. Create a summer social event as a touchpoint to check in with your scholarship recipients. Anything from a fun summer activity to a meet-up with your Board and/or donors. This summer, you are not only reducing the melt that often happens for your graduates, but you are also making up for lost moments students have missed during the last few years.

Resources to Help Students Avoid Summer Melt

• 4 Tips to Avoid Summer Melt from Federal Student Aid

• Tips to Avoid Scholarship Displacement

• Need Help Writing A Financial Aid Appeal Letter?

Tips for Making Your Class of 2022

Award Payments 

Dr. Irving Fradkin Legacy Awards Program 

Watch your inbox for the 2022 Dr. Irving Fradkin Legacy Awards program applications to be available in early June. This awards program is a great opportunity for your Dollars for Scholars to earn an award to advance your work in supporting students. Click here to read about the awards available and the 2021 award recipients. You can get started now by designating the team who will work on the application.

ChapterNet Updates

Insights and Impact Update: 2022 Scholarship Year in Review and 2023 Strategic Planning

Now that the heavy lifting of the Evaluation and Awards Season is complete, we know you're looking forward to a relaxing summer. However, by taking a little time to look back on the challenges and successes of the last year, you can set your Dollars for Scholars up for an even better year in 2023.

You know that your Dollars for Scholars has invested time and effort into improving the lives of students—and by using ChapterNet to manage your scholarship program, you have access to student and scholarship data that can help you tell that story and maximize your impact. ChapterNet data can help your Dollars for Scholars make better decisions, increase fundraising revenues, streamline your processes and guide your strategy.

• How many students has your Dollars for Scholars served?
• How do you show your donors and community your impact?
• How can you serve more students?
• Are you offering scholarships that fit the needs of your students?

Updated Insight and Impact reports will be live in ChapterNet on June 1. In the coming weeks we will be adding additional training resources on reporting, including how to edit the default reports found in ChapterNet and how to create your own custom reports.

You can also schedule meetings with us to strategize how to both use ChapterNet data and how to compare it with external data to provide a benchmark for your impact on students.

On the Scholarship America Blog

• Provider Focus: Targeting Scholarships for Educational Success
• What to Know Before Student Loan Payments Resume
• How Scholarships Can Help Battle Decreasing Enrollment 

Reminders and Important Dates

• Share upcoming events you have planned with your Engagement Director
• May 31 - Scholarship America application deadline for Student Volunteer Awards (eligible students have been notified to apply via the Scholarship America Hub)
• Early June – Dr. Irving Fradkin Legacy Awards Applications Available
  
• June - We want your feedback! Watch your inbox for a survey from Scholarship America
• June 16 – Scholarship America Dreams to Success (in person in Washington, DC + available via livestream)  
  
• June 23, 6:30 pm CT – Dollars for Scholars Connect: Register Here
  
• August 31 - ChapterNet data archiving

Questions? Contact your Engagement Director!