The Diploma is Signed. The Seat Goes Empty. Here’s What We Can Do About It.
By: Lauren Bishop
Jun 9, 2026
Category: PR strategy
Services: Community Relations and Grassroots Advocacy, Digital Media
Every spring, thousands of high school seniors walk across a stage, accept a diploma and plan to start college in the fall. They’ve applied. They’ve been accepted. They’ve said yes.
And then they don’t show up.
This is summer melt, and it’s more common than most people realize.
Nationwide, research estimates that 10% to 40% of college-intending graduates, disproportionately those from low-income families and first-generation college-going backgrounds, never enroll. Not because they changed their minds. Not because they weren't capable. But because the gap between May graduation and August move-in day is long, complicated and largely unsupported.
Financial aid forms with unclear deadlines. Housing deposits that feel impossible. A stack of tasks no one explained, and no one to call after they leave their high school for the final time. For students who don't have a parent who went to college, that gap can feel like a wall.
At Piper & Gold, we work alongside organizations that are actively tearing down that wall. We’ve sat with the people doing this work, heard the stories of students who almost didn’t make it and watched what happens when the right message reaches someone at exactly the right moment. It changes things — from that first fall semester to the entire trajectory of their life. That’s why this issue matters to us, and why we think it should matter to a lot more people.
Who's on the Front Lines
The American College Application Campaign (ACAC), ACT’s Center for Equity in Learning, operates in more than 40 states, working to make college access a reality for learners who need it most. ACAC focuses on partnering with schools to help students complete college applications through interactive and engaging events — but its work doesn't stop at acceptance. ACAC encourages staying connected to students through the summer by providing resources to counselors and administrators in their bi-monthly newsletter, hosting events and webinars to share knowledge and speaking at conferences to connect directly with those who are working with students every day, because making sure they actually enroll is central to what college access work means in practice.
Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) works across the state of Michigan to increase college readiness, access and success, particularly for students from low-income backgrounds, first-generation students and students of color. MCAN connects schools, communities and organizations and has backed infrastructure specifically designed to catch students before they melt away from college plans through a financial lens, like Ticket to Tuition and working with Local College Access Networks to ensure students are informed about FAFSA and enrollment needs and deadlines.
Lansing Promise takes a place-based approach to college access, offering Lansing students a tuition scholarship to attend Michigan community colleges and four-year universities. But the scholarship is only as powerful as the students who use it, which is why Lansing Promise invests heavily in relationship-centered support, guidance and follow-through from application through enrollment — and they’ve been thinking about the 300+ Lansing Scholars who are headed to college this fall, rolling out plans for dedicated summer programs and outreach to keep them motivated and engaged.
These organizations don't just talk about the problem. They've built real systems to address it. And they've learned, through years of direct service, what actually works.
So, What Works? & What More Higher Ed Can Do
Personal outreach makes a difference.
A text message. A phone call. A counselor who follows up and says, "We noticed you haven't submitted your housing deposit yet — can we help?" These small moments of connection are what keep students from quietly falling through the cracks, helping them complete enrollment tasks, answer questions and connect to resources. When students hear from someone who knows their name and knows their situation, they follow through.
While many individuals in higher education are doing the work to address summer melt, there’s a lot more the broader higher education community can do to build on this momentum.
Universities and community colleges can assign dedicated summer melt liaisons who reach out to admitted students between May and August. A personalized email or text from someone at the institution goes a long way. So does a simple checklist: “Here are five things you need to do before orientation. Here’s who to call if you hit a roadblock.”
Admissions and enrollment teams can build summer melt checkpoints directly into their communications calendars. Rather than going quiet after acceptance letters go out, institutions can send timely, specific nudges tied to real deadlines like financial aid verification, housing applications, placement testing and orientation registration. The message doesn't need to be complicated. It needs to be human.
High school counselors and college access advisers can stay connected to their graduating seniors through the summer, even informally. A group text. A shared checklist. A quick "how's it going?" in July. Students who feel like someone is still paying attention are far more likely to follow through.
College access organizations can formalize peer-to-peer outreach, training current college students — especially those who almost didn't enroll themselves — to reach back and connect with incoming students. Near-peer mentorship works because it's credible. It says: I was where you are. I figured it out. You can too.
The Communications Piece: Where Storytelling Meets Action
Summer melt is, at its core, a communications problem. Students aren't getting the right information in a way that moves them to act. That's exactly the kind of problem that good communications work can solve.
Here's what we've seen work, and what we think more organizations should be doing:
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Lead with one clear action at a time. The students most likely to melt are often the ones most overwhelmed by the volume of tasks ahead of them. Campaigns that break enrollment down into a single weekly step — and deliver that step through a channel students actually use — cut through the noise. The goal is to move someone from "I'll get to that" to "I just did that."
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Put real people in front of the message. Current college students, especially first-generation students, are among the most credible messengers for this audience. Short, honest content about what college is actually like and how to navigate enrollment doesn't need to be polished. It needs to be real. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are where graduating seniors already are — that's where this content belongs.
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Name the problem publicly. Most people, including many parents, have never heard the term "summer melt." A well-executed awareness campaign that names the problem and points to local resources can shift community understanding and drive action. Think earned media, community partnerships and digital content that gives people something concrete to share with someone they know.
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Use data to reach the students who need it most. Organizations that know which students are at highest risk, based on factors like first-generation status, financial aid type, distance from campus, or zip code, can build targeted outreach that meets those students where they are. The right message, sent at the right time, to the right person, is the difference between a student who shows up and one who doesn't.
These aren't hypothetical ideas. They're the kinds of strategies that organizations like ACAC, MCAN and Lansing Promise are already building — and that deserve to reach further.
The Bigger Picture
Summer melt isn't a mystery. We know why it happens, and we know how to prevent it. What's needed is sustained attention, smart outreach and a community of organizations (Ahem, higher ed institutions, nonprofits, communications partners, employers and individuals) that refuse to let students disappear during the quietest months of the year.
The students who melt aren't students who gave up. They're students who got lost in a system that stopped paying attention. When someone reaches out, students re-engage. They show up. They start.
That's what ACAC, MCAN and Lansing Promise have proven, year after year. The work is real. The results are real. And there's room for more of us to be part of it.
The diploma is signed. Let's make sure the seat doesn't go empty.
This Work Is Our Work, Too
If your organization is tackling summer melt, or if you're working in a space where students, families or communities need a stronger voice, we'd love to hear about it. This is exactly the kind of work we were built for — more connections, building trust and driving real change.
We’re here, and we'll bring everything we've got.
