Dozens Accepted At DCC ‘Instant Admit’ Event

POUGHKEEPSIE – Dozens of Poughkeepsie High School students have a new guaranteed option for where to attend college as of Tuesday.

More than 50 students received acceptance letters from Dutchess Community College at an “instant admit” event held in the high school library.

“For many, this was their first college acceptance,” College Readiness and Workforce Education Counselor Kelly Semexant said. “The excitement in the room was inspiring.”

The event, organized by Semexant and the DCC admissions team, is one part of the Poughkeepsie City School District’s focus on college and career preparation. High School staff stress to students the importance of graduating with a plan for what comes next, whether it be a four- or two-year college, a trade school or entering the workforce. Last year, 143 Poughkeepsie seniors received at least one college acceptance. Of them, 76 students graduated with the intention of attending DCC. This year, more than 75 have already been accepted to the community college just north of the City of Poughkeepsie.

“These numbers reflect the hard work of our students and the incredible support they receive from DCC,” Semexant said, calling Tuesday a “special” morning.

At the instant admission event, the college’s admissions team presented information about their majors, programs and opportunities, and assisted students with their applications, with Semexant helping to ensure their transcripts were prepared. Students also learned about how to attend DCC for free through scholarships and financial aid, and representatives of the SUNY Educational Opportunity Program also presented information on the additional academic and financial resources available. Students then received acceptance answers on the spot.

Semexant also took the opportunity to remind students about the new state requirement that all graduating students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The application is how institutions of higher learning and the government determine what financial support a student is qualified to receive. Semexant and DCC’s financial services team each year team up on a series of workshops at which families can attend and receive help filling out the application. Each runs from 5-7 p.m. at the high school library and four more workshops will be held this year: Feb. 19, March 26, April 30, and May 28.

“We encourage parents and guardians to attend, but students should be here, as well. We have the financial aid team sitting down next to the parents and helping them with the entire application,” Semexant said. “You really need to pick one date and commit that you’re going to come.”

The high school holds events encouraging students to explore college options throughout the year. More than 70 colleges, universities and trade schools took part in a college fair held in the gymnasium in October; student trips to local college campuses are held for students in multiple grade levels, including elementary students to give them early exposure to the idea of college; students can visit with Semexant on “Senior Wednesdays” in the library each week if they need help searching for colleges, applications, scholarship applications or any related areas; and she keeps students aware of dozens of scholarship application opportunities through her Google classroom.

Last year, more than 530 students attended at least one Senior Wednesday. More than 42% of the time the students said they were attending to work on scholarship applications, and more than 14% said they were working on college applications, in general.