SUMMER MELT - Exploring “Summer Melt” for BC Post-Secondary Institutions - May 2024

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

Summer Melt describes the situation where post-secondary students who accepted admission offers and may have paid a deposit fail to enroll in the fall after high school graduation. This short report, prepared for BC post-secondary institutions by BCCAT, reviews evidence from U.S. studies on prevalence, who is most affected, and how the pandemic altered melt rates. It identifies barriers linked to financial aid, enrollment logistics, lost school support, and personal circumstances, then summarizes tested strategies such as sustained outreach and proactive counseling.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

SUMMER MELT

Exploring “Summer Melt” for BC Post-Secondary Institutions

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO SUMMER MELT

STRATEGIES TO REDUCE SUMMER MELT

SUMMER MELT Exploring “Summer Melt” for BC Post-Secondary Institutions Prepared by Dr. Anna Tikina, Director, Research & Admissions, BCCAT. May 2024 The term “summer melt” denotes a phenomenon when post-secondary students who received an offer of admission and may have paid a deposit when accepting the offer, “fail to enroll at all in the fall after high school graduation”(Castleman et al., 2013, p. 6) . Since the early 2010s, the scope of the summer melt and the efficacy of activities to mitigate the phenomenon have been investigated in multiple American studies on postsecondary education and student access (Castleman et al., 2012, 2014; Castleman & Page, 2014b, 2014a; Owen, 2014) . While post-secondary institutions assess the difference between applicants and enrolled students at their own institutions, this short report follows the definition of summer melt as applied to students who do not enrol at any institutions in the fall following the high school graduation. The research led by B. L. Castleman (e.g., Castleman et al., 2012) increased the use of the term “summer melt” in publicly available literature. The While post-secondary institutions assess the difference between applicants and enrolled students at their own institutions, this short report follows the definition of summer melt as applied to students who do not enrol at any institutions in the fall following the following the highschool graduation. estimates of how many high school students contribute to summer melt vary from 10% to 44% of successful applicants, based on data from three large school districts and a national longitudinal survey in the USA (Castleman & Page, 2014a; Owen, 2014; Arnold et al., 2015; Burke, 2022) . Higher estimates were found in community colleges, and for under-represented, low-income, racialized, and first-generation students (Castleman & Page, 2014a, 2014b) . Assessing the extent of summer melt and the success of measures to reduce it has become more relevant for jurisdictions/institutions with dwindling enrolments, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent study estimated an increased summer melt rate (20-30%) during the COVID pandemic (Burke, 2022) . SUMMER MELT BCCAT 1 FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO SUMMER MELT The identified barriers for students experiencing summer melt can be discussed in the context of barriers for transitioning to college in general (French & Oreopoulos, 2017) . The barriers typically include hurdles with financial aid and budgeting (Castleman & Page, 2016; Holzman & Hanson, 2020; Page et al., 2020; Briggs, 2021; Glenn, 2023) . Winn (2019) arrived at similar conclusions with the focus on urban low-income students and their transition to post-secondary education. Applicants may be unaware of additional fees beyond the tuition, such as costs of housing, books and student activity fees, and/or find difficulties filling out and submitting financial aid documents (Arnold et al., 2009) . Other Multiple sources mention staying connected with the students throughout the summer as the key successful measure to reduce summer melt. forms related to the logistics of becoming a student may also contribute to summer melt. These could include housing/ student residence applications, medical and vaccine history, visa or residency status, test scores and others. Online portals can be difficult to navigate for students with limited internet access (Castleman et al., 2013) . In addition, high school graduates typically lose access to high school counselors and teachers in summer. The absence of this support creates another barrier for the post-secondary applicants, even if their family and friends are supportive of their application. Support programs led in partnership with or by post-secondary institutions can reduce the barrier (Castleman et al., 2013) . Other factors include issues with “institutional calendars, family and peer issues, college knowledge, cultural and community, norms

FAQs

What is “summer melt” in post-secondary enrollment terms?

Summer melt refers to students who receive an admission offer (and may pay a deposit) but fail to enroll at any institution in the fall after high school graduation.

Which groups are reported to experience higher summer melt rates?

Higher estimates are found in community colleges and for under-represented groups, including low-income, racialized, and first-generation students.

What strategies help reduce summer melt?

Staying connected with students throughout the summer is highlighted, including specialized high school counselor involvement, customized text messaging, and proactive post-secondary counseling.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys