College Signing Day Celebrates Students
Our GEAR UP seniors are making college enrollment decisions, securing financial aid, and planning for the transition from HS to colleges and work-based learning programs. By pursuing a 2-year degree, a 4-year degree, a certificate or industry-recognized credential, or the military, your students are showing their commitment to career and life goals.
High schools nationwide are preparing for College Signing Day events.
Celebrating all students throughout May recognizes their commitment to pursuing an education past high school.
Having an event inspires and encourages college-going culture for other students and your community.
Now is the time to come together to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of the GEAR UP Class of 2023. College Signing Day is an opportunity to show support for the decisions your students are making, along with promoting a college-going culture at your school. Making it a celebration showcases those choices publicly and encourages other students to start thinking about their future.
What is College Signing Day?
College Signing Day is an event to celebrate seniors going to college and an opportunity to get other students excited to plan for their future.
Who is College Signing Day for?
College Signing Day is for all students. Whether they are going to a community college, a university, a certification program, the military, or any other education after high school, it celebrates and honors their commitment to their future plans.
Why is College Signing Day important?
College Signing Day is more than an event. Many of your students have worked hard and every student should have the opportunity to be publicly celebrated for going to college. In addition to celebrating your seniors, having an event inspires and encourages college-going culture for other students and your community. We recommend encouraging all your GEAR UP students, families, and school community partners to join in on the festivities.
When is College Signing Day?
While the official College Signing Day hosted by Reach Higher will be in May, anytime is a good time to start the celebration. This allows time for students to receive their acceptance letters, review their financial aid packages, and decide which college they want to attend.
Hosting an event
Your primary goal is to celebrate students' decisions. Activities can be as big or small, splashy or subtle as you like. Choose options that make sense for your school community. This is a collection of a few of the great ideas from our site coordinators, and other GEAR UP programs across the country.
College Walk: Have seniors walk the halls of your school in their caps and gown on the way to their college signing
ceremony. Play music or have the band lead the way. Allow underclassmen to line the halls, or partner with middle and elementary schools to allow the seniors to walk through their halls as well.
Display Board: Create a bulletin board to display college choice or acceptance letters to celebrate their decision. Place the bulletin board in a central location in the school.
Photo Booth: Create a photo booth or photo frame to hold. Take photos of students holding “Class of ___” signs, pennants from the colleges they will be attending, or other materials.
Create a “College Wall”: Have seniors write the names of the colleges they plan to attend on banners or paper to hang in a hallway.
Wear your future day: Invite students to wear shirts and hats from their future colleges. Encourage staff and visitors to the school to do the same, and take photos throughout the day.
Spread the Word
Social Media is another way to share your student’s good news. With permission, take a photo, selfie, or video to use in a social media post. Include some of the information below and be sure to tag us at @usugearup.
- Students first name
- High school
- Interests/activities
- College attending
- Major or area of interest
Sample post below:
Help us congratulate Anya at #GunnisonValleyHighSchool on choosing #SouthernUtahUniversity. She has stayed busy during high school preparing for her future by attending a Rural Health Scholars health camp. #reachhigher #collegesigningday #GEARUPWorks
Hashtags: #USUGEARUP #CollegeSigningDay #GEARUPWorks
Social Media: @USUGEARUP on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
We want to share your videos and photos of your College Signing Day or Decision Day celebrations! Send us pictures and videos of your celebrations, and we will post them throughout May to celebrate your GEAR UP students' college and career decisions. Please send your photos or videos via email to us at jeannine.huenemann@usu.edu.
Other Resources
Many programs across the country have well-developed materials for creating and hosting College Signing Day events. We want to thank them for their hard work and share these resources with you.
- College Signing Day from Reach Higher
- Arizona GEAR UP College Signing Day Toolkit
- Tennessee GEAR UP Path to College
- GEAR UP Level Up with NCCEP