Article by Phoenix writer Maggie Carey ’27:
Admission counselors from Molloy University visited 25 seniors for the first Instant Decision Day on Friday, October 31 in the Heart and Mind Meeting Room. Impressively, every single student in attendance was accepted with merit scholarships.
The range of scholarships was between $18,000 and $32,000 per year. Tuition at Molloy was $39,630 for the 2025-2026 academic year, so these scholarships are lucrative for these students.
Instant Decision Days are opportunities for local universities to meet in person with students that have applied to their school and tell them their acceptance on the spot. They typically have to send their applications in advance, and the college will read them before coming to the school.
Senior Lucy Carey said, “I was dreading instant decision day, but it turned out to be an amazing experience. The admissions counselor seemed very excited to meet me.”
She went on to say that they were very welcoming and engaging. The counselor asked her follow up questions on her activities and transcript, and even quoted parts of her essay. Then they gave her a lanyard, a certificate with her acceptance letter, and scholarship information.
Miss Tatum, a college placement counselor and the coordinator of this event, is in charge of reaching out to colleges and making arrangements with Kellenberg.
Miss Tatum said, “It was our first [Instant Decision Day] of the year, so it was exciting to see it come together and see the students come in a little nervous and leave with a sense of confidence and relief.”
These days are great for hopeful seniors, for they get to find out their results in school weeks or even months before they traditionally would. In addition, Instant Decisions are completely free, as opposed to the common app. Fees for applying to many colleges average around $50. The cost is a huge benefit to students during such an expensive college application process.
In the coming weeks, there will be five more colleges coming for Instant Decision Days, such as St. John’s University and Sacred Heart University.
The Firebird Family would love to congratulate these seniors for all their hard work and achievements!
