Washington State University’s (WSU) Instant Decision Day has caught the attention of many college-bound seniors at Camas High School (CHS). It will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 24 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the CHS learning center. About 80 seniors have already registered for the event.

Instant Decision Day is an event that WSU offers to many different high schools throughout the state of Washington. This offer allows current seniors to write an application to WSU in a much more condensed time frame and for them to find out if they have been accepted to the university within 15 minutes of submission.

“I think it’s a really great opportunity to make it accessible to virtually all of our seniors,” Sean Tamura, CHS career information specialist, said. “As long as they can be on campus for a bit of extra time, then it makes it very simple for them to actually apply to a public university. It also might make it a little more motivating to them because I know that filling out a college application on your own can sometimes not be the most exciting thing for seniors to do.”

On the day of the event, there will be at least one admission representative each from the Pullman and Vancouver campuses in the same room with the seniors. A link to the WSU website will be sent to seniors which has a condensed application specifically tailored to the event. Since the admission representatives will be in the same room as the seniors, if a student gets stuck or confused on a section of the application, they can simply raise their hand to speak with one of the admission representatives.

As with any other university, there are a variety of baseline criteria that students must meet in order to be accepted, including having a minimum of a 3.0 GPA. If a student does not meet the academic criteria, the admission representatives will ask the student to fill out a personal statement to provide context about their academic history, extracurricular activities, and community involvement to allow for a more complete decision.

“I upload to WSU’s database ahead of time a copy of the transcript for every student that is registered,” Tamura said. “That way, [the admission representatives] can have a chance to actually look at our roster of students at the time and know which students are very likely to be accepted anyway, so that cuts down on the amount of time they have to spend as well.”

When it comes to regular admissions, worries such as waiting for weeks on end after sending in an application, procrastinating until the final minute, and the monetary hurdle, can all be stressful for college-bound students. Instant Decision Day seeks to mitigate these concerns by getting it done very early in the school year to remove the issue of procrastination, and allowing students to pay for the application after it has been submitted and the student has been accepted into the university.

Aleida Nobara and Faith Witarsa, two seniors attending WSU’s Instant Decision Day, talked about how beneficial instant decision can be compared to regular admissions.

“I think [Instant Decision Day] definitely gives [seniors] more support on their college application journey,” Nobara said. “Common App is helpful, but it can be stressful, so it’s really good to have people there to support you. It’s way better to get the results the same day. I feel like this is a really great way to help more kids go to college.”

“As someone who’s planning to apply to colleges, finances are an important part of that,” Witarsa said. “Getting to know whether I get in or not on the spot rather than paying a bunch of money to find out would be really helpful. It’s stressful to wait to find out whether or not you get in, so I think it’s a really great opportunity for seniors.”

For seniors who plan to attend the event, it is highly recommended that they register and plan transportation ahead of time as the event may run up to an extra hour longer. The application will be digital, so it is crucial to bring a device such as a phone or a school Chromebook. Students will not be required to bring money to the event as there will be a grace period with a minimum of 30 days to pay for the application after being accepted. In the case where a student is rejected, they do not need to pay for the application.

“I would just tell all seniors that, if you’re considering applying to WSU or even contemplating signing up for it, just go ahead and register for it,” Tamura said. “Be willing to be patient during the process, especially considering we have so many students. Don’t stress [and] please show up on time.”