For many high school seniors, April is a BIG month. Across the United States, Class of 2020 students are waiting patiently (or, are pretending to wait patiently) to receive their college acceptance letters. You may be thinking:
How do I celebrate my college acceptance letter? How should I celebrate getting into college?
Last year, seniors may have gone out to dinner with their closest family members and friends to celebrate college admission. Yet, this year things are different. You’re social distancing, following the
CDC’s recommendations to help stop the spread of Coronavirus. You’ll have to think outside of the box.
Looking for more COVID-19 student-impact information? Find it here.
According to the
American Psychological Association, you’re not alone if you feel frustrated or sad. Humans are social creatures; we like to celebrate and laugh together. Don’t let these crazy times put a damper on your first college life happening. YOU’RE IN! Get ready to throw joy around like confetti with five of the best ways to celebrate your college acceptance letter:
1.) Share a TikTok Moment
Share the news with all of your TikTok friends and followers. Be sure to include trending, senior year hash tags like
#Classof2020 #College #CollegeAcceptance and
#Classof2024.
The digital sharing phenomena began with YouTube, as nervous high school seniors opened their acceptance letters or emails while the camera recorded. While YouTube videos are still happening, many students are sharing their college-acceptance moments via TikTok.
Here are our favorite Tik Tok celebration videos that include a student’s family:
This TikTok video use video conferencing to share the celebration with friends and family that couldn't be there:
Don’t forget to send your TikTok videos to your family members, mentors and friends that may not have TikTok accounts. They will all want to smile with you!
2.) Plan a Virtual Party
Set up a date and time with a video conferencing service like Zoom or FaceTime to share your news!
Public health and contagious diseases are now top-of-mind for the Class of 2020. But seniors have found unique ways to adjust to the new normal by hosting celebrations virtually, as a
New York Times article suggests. Email you guests a Zoom party invite asking them to:
•
Bring a dish to enjoy: So what, if you can't enjoy it together—you’re adding to the celebratory flair by suggesting everyone bring their favorite party foods.
•
Send you their favorite songs before the virtual party: Use guest responses to create a Spotify playlist. Every event needs music!
•
Feel free to use a virtual background: Refinery29 has a helpful article on
downloading backgrounds on Zoom.
Receiving your college acceptance letter is a great reason to see the faces of the ones you miss the most.
3.) Decorate Your Garage Door
Give your neighborhood a reason to celebrate too, by decorating your front door or garage door. Be sure to share what all the fuss is about with a sign that includes a hashtag like #CollegeBound. Write the names of the college(s) you’ve been accepted to on poster board. Top it all off with balloons and streamers. If you’re brave (and your parents don’t mind) add a sign that says, “Honk to say congrats.”
Share your creation on social media and don’t forget to tag the college(s), or use hashtags suggested in the letter! College marketing and admissions teams (including their social media managers) enjoy seeing this kind of stuff. It’s likely it will be shared from their official social media account too.
4.) Neighborhood Porch Party or Social Distancing Party
Break the feeling of isolation by organizing a neighborhood porch party, like this
North Carolina neighborhood did. Create a Facebook Event and ask you parents to share it with a community page.
Be sure your invite shares details like,
who you are and why you’d like to celebrate with everyone. You may find some local college alumni of the college you were accepted to as well. Create a social hashtag to encourage people to share any neighborhood party photos or videos (a great senior class memory).
Your friends, friends’ parents, even your neighbors across the street would like to know what’s been going on in your world. Plus, it gives everyone a reason to get outside, enjoy the spring weather and to socialize at a distance.
5.) Create a Full-Circle Photo Keepsake
While it may seem old fashioned and not your first celebration thought, you’ll want to get some photos with your acceptance letter. Trust us, you're going to want photos to reminisce on later in life! Try this unique series of photos:
Photo 1.0: Ask someone to take a photo of you holding your acceptance letter. Frame it; you’ll use it next month.
Photo 1.1: In May, just before graduation, ask someone to take a photo of you in your cap and gown, holding the framed photo above. Frame it and keep it where you’ll remember its location. You’re going to use it again in 2024.
Photo 1.2: Like the step above, circa May 2024, you’ll be celebrating your COLLEGE graduation! Only this time you’ll be in your college graduation regalia, holding your college diploma and your framed high school graduation photo of you holding photo 1.0 (the moment that started it all).
In the end, your masterpiece it will turn out like this
photo. This keepsake will represent college life, full circle!
The Next Step: National Decision Day
Whatever celebration you choose, you’ll soon be tasked with making a final, college decision. National Decision Day, May 1, is just around the corner. High school seniors across the nation are encouraged to make their final college choice in May.
After the excitement has settled, you’ll need to set aside time to reflect on all the college you’ve been accepted to, including
reviewing the financial aid packages from each. When it’s time for you to contemplate our college choice, you may find the two articles below helpful:
3 Signs You’re Ready to Commit to a College
Determine the REAL Value of Your Top College Choices
Congratulations
From the Fastweb team, congratulations on turning your college applications into college acceptance letters! It has taken a lot of work leading up to these moments; you should definitely celebrate your award-letter wins as they come in. After all, everyone could use an extra reason to smile—some good news—these days.
