On-The-Spot Admission Day at Belleville West offered students a direct and efficient way to navigate the transition from high school to college. The quick admission process, excellent benefits, and the experience of meeting college administrators and new people make it the perfect place to start the college journey. On October 2nd, 2025, over 100 seniors saw the pathway to college in a clearer light.

School counselors around Belleville West have contributed to this event for many years. In previous years, there were separate On-The-Spot Admission days for each college: SIUE, Missouri State University, Harris-Stowe University, McKendree University, EIU, Murray State, SIUC, SEMO, UMSL, and Western Illinois University. The event’s new format, uniting all the universities into one day, was first introduced in 2024. Since then, there has been improvement in not just the event in general, but the participation of the seniors.

“Last year was our very first year doing all of them in one day,”  school counselor Danielle Koeneman said. “We have seen an increased number of students that are attending there.”

Likewise, other counselors have observed that since the decision of combining all 10 schools, more students have participated in On-The-Spot Admission Day. In fact, some observed that even more students participated since the first day in 2024.

“The overall participation has definitely improved since we established the On-the-Spot Day in 2024,” school counselor Ashley Cryder said. “We had approximately 140 seniors sign up this year.”

On-The-Spot Admission isn’t heavily participated in for nothing. There are many benefits that come with participating in On-The-Spot Admission.

“What we’ve noticed is that doing it the first week in October, not only do you take advantage of the fact that it is free to those 10 schools, but it also encourages seniors to kind of get going early with the process.” Koeneman said.

Not only does applying for free and getting going early help you with your college journey, but early acceptance makes the process go by much quicker, especially for students who were a bit anxious about beginning their college journey.

“Most students walked away with immediate acceptance, some even walking away with scholarship offers,” Cryder said. “One student’s reply summed up the entire mood: ‘I’m getting admitted left and right!’”

The quickness and excitement of it all is great, but the communication between the students and college administrators benefit you so much more.

“ It allows and encourages students to apply early, and find out about their acceptance early,” Cryder said. “Sometimes the colleges are even able to talk to students about scholarship money during this event as well.”

The ability to be able to be admitted on-the-spot and communicate with college administrators is incredibly significant. It may even have an impact on the students’ mood throughout the application process.

 “I think having the reps here in person is more meaningful,” Koeneman said. “It doesn’t mean a whole lot sometimes when you fill out an application online and then you just get like a generic email back saying you’ve been admitted.”

Admission officers being present and even providing souvenirs such as t-shirts, pens, pennants, cups, and more is another bonus of participating in On-The-Spot Admission. However, with all of these benefits, the school counselors are willing to make the experience even better for everybody.

“Typically after every event that we have, whether it’s this event or other events, we have kind of a debrief meeting,” Koeneman said. “We take notes on, you know, what were the positives, what were the negatives, what kind of feedback did we receive? What are some things that we would want to continue about the event? What are some things that we want to do differently?”

Asking these questions such as ‘How can we make it more efficient?’ and ‘What are some things we want to do differently?’ and receiving feedback from participants makes the experience even greater than the last. With ongoing improvements and great benefits, On-The-Spot Admission Day could be a great way to get going on the road to college. On October 1st, 2026, On-The-Spot Admission Day will return for the class of 2027.

“The event concluded with a celebratory sticker to proudly honor their application and on-the-spot acceptance, followed by a quick pic at the photo booth decked out with college banners,” Cryder said. “While many started with nervous jitters, they definitely ended with enthusiasm and confidence.”