When Chantell Gilmore graduated from Arsenal Technical High School this spring, she thought the hard part was over.
She already had committed to going to Purdue University Fort Wayne in the fall. But soon after the 18-year-old graduated, she started getting emails from Purdue about problems with her application and financial aid.
That’s when she got another email from Indianapolis Public Schools reminding her about the district’s “summer melt” program, which provides counseling to help high school graduates transition to college. Gilmore reached out to her counselor, who helped her sort out her enrollment, financial aid and housing.
“Without it,” Gilmore said, “I would have still been stuck.”
Summer melt is when a high school senior is accepted into college and intends to go but, for one reason or another, never enrolls. Around half of IPS graduates in the class of 2023 intended to go to college at the end of their senior year but only about a third enrolled in the fall, according to data the district provided to Mirror Indy. Reasons for that gap include lack of support or guidance in enrolling, problems with financial aid and anxiety about college.
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Rates of summer melt are significantly higher for low-income college students and for students who intend to enroll in community college, according to a study from Harvard’s Strategic Data Project.
First-generation students are also more likely to be vulnerable to summer melt. Some experts are especially concerned about students skipping college this year because of widespread problems and delays with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Students not following through on college plans pose a concern for state officials worrying over Indiana’s low college-going rate. For the past three years, just 53% of Indiana high school seniors have continued on to college right after graduation. That puts Indiana at 39th in the nation, Commissioner for Higher Education Chris Lowery said in April.
By bridging the gap between high school and college, IPS hopes to give students the support they need to make it to campus in the fall and feel prepared on their first day of college.
“Students do want to enroll,” said Courtney Thomas, the coordinator for IPS’ college specialists. “They want to continue their education, whether it’s trade school, two-year, four-year, certification, and they just don’t know. There’s so many steps in between.”
IPS program empowers students
The summer melt program started at IPS in 2022. Thomas and her colleagues had noticed that a significant number of seniors reported that they planned to attend college but didn’t actually enroll in the fall.
That gap told Thomas that students needed support in the few short months between graduation and the fall semester. Many of the students who didn’t end up going were first-generation, low-income or from an underrepresented population.
“A lot of our students fall into that bucket, and (we are) wanting to ensure they have that support needed to make it to their final destination of enrollment,” she said.
The summer melt program started with IPS college counselors making time to meet with students in the summer months. But it’s expanded significantly in the past two years. This year, students were able to book one-on-one appointments online with college counselors at their respective high schools.
The district is planning to use a $20,000 grant from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation to expand the summer melt program at its four high schools. The grant money will go toward hiring more college counselors to work in the summer months.
Amber Sullivan, a college specialist at Arsenal Tech, estimates that she has communicated with at least 400 students by phone or email. She also has met with at least 20 students in person to help them register for classes and fill out their student aid form.
Sullivan said her students are used to the high school registration process, which is significantly easier and often handled by their parents.
“It’s not the same when you’re speaking of higher education,” she said. “There are a lot of other moving parts that you may not be so aware of.”
Counselors provide support
In addition to guiding students through admissions and enrollment, Sullivan also helps their families understand the often-complicated language of college.
Kayla Lacombe, 18, is an Arsenal Tech graduate and will be a first-generation college student. This fall, she’s planning to play basketball and study business at Kankakee Community College in Illinois.
But enrolling there wasn’t easy. Lacombe had to fill out student aid paperwork because of problems with her mom’s online account. She also had to send her transcript multiple times.
“My parents never really had to do that so they didn’t know what to expect either,” Lacombe said.
Through the summer melt program, Lacombe got help with her financial aid and registering for classes.
Now, she said she feels prepared to head off to school in the fall.
Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire at claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org or on social media @clairerafford.
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