With Early Bird Admit, Future Red Hawks Soar Sooner

Robmine St. Philippe is a rising high school senior in California who already knows she’ll be moving across the country for college. In fact, she’s already been accepted by Montclair State University, where she plans to pursue a major in Nursing.

On August 16, she was on campus – one of nearly 1,590 students who have been admitted to Montclair to start in fall 2024 – at a special welcome for Early Bird Junior Admit students and their families.

The group represents high-achieving students, who for a variety of reasons, including getting a jump-start on the college application process, applied and were accepted to Montclair in their junior year of high school.

At the welcome event, they met with deans and faculty members from Montclair’s 13 schools and colleges about the various academic program options. They learned more about the next steps in the admissions process and how to navigate financial aid. And they had fun meeting others who have been accepted into the Class of 2028 and join in a campus-wide scavenger hunt.

Students came from eight different states for the welcome event, with St. Philippe from San Diego coming the farthest. Why Montclair? She says she learned about the University from its fun and engaging social media content and is excited to begin.

In total, the admitted Early Bird Juniors come from 31 different states, 13 countries, with the average GPA of 3.67. They’ve also learned about their scholarship awards early, with $5.6 million already earmarked for these students.

“We know applying to college is a very stressful experience for students, and we also know there are thousands of students who have Montclair as their top choice before senior year,” says Director of Undergraduate Admissions Jordanna Maziarz. “So, why not give them a chance to apply early and find out if they’re admissible? Early Bird admissions gives qualified high school juniors a chance to know they’re admitted to a high-quality university and takes a lot of stress out of the college equation before they start senior year.”

There’s also the added benefit of learning about scholarship monies early. “Since we also give students their scholarship awards as part of Early Bird, students also have a rough idea of what their cost of attendance might be; this does not include need-based aid they might be eligible for based on the FAFSA,” Maziarz says.

The students are also eligible to enroll in college-level courses through the University’s pre-college and summer bridge programs.

Students interested in applying to the University for fall 2025 may do so via the Common App or the Montclair application beginning in April 2024. Students who are not admitted through the Early Bird program are offered personalized telecounseling appointments with an admissions counselor to discuss how they can strengthen their application before reapplying to Montclair, Maziarz says.

Learn more at montclair.edu/admissions/junior-admission.

Story by Staff Writer Marilyn Joyce Lehren. Photos by University Photographer Mike Peters.

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