FRISCO, TEXAS — As students walked into the cafeteria returning from winter break, many immediately wondered: “What is that screen?” The new screen located in the Centennial High School’s cafeteria has raised many questions as to the purpose and price of the digital screen.
The device is a large screen that displays college advertisements and encourages students to reach out for more information. The new application first appeared in the halls in mid-January, and the NextGrad screen can be found in the back corner of the cafeteria. They partner with leading school districts in North America and have installed their system in hundreds of high schools across the continent.
NextGrad’s proclaimed goal is found within their slogan: “We help students decide what’s next.’”
However, a few students elaborated that the digital screen hasn’t drawn much attention from the student population nor made the big difference the company had hoped. It’s safe to say that Centennial students have developed a mutual opinion regarding the digital screen, sponsored by the company NextGrad.
Freshman Sahana Shrinivas shared, “Maybe they should put it somewhere else or should tell us about it so we … know what it is because everyone’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s a giant iPad.’”
NextGrad’s main plan has been to target GenZ students through digital media. The company has done significant research on how to best reach students, and it offers access to its 2024 Gen Z media research.
When taking a closer look at the colleges displayed on the screen, some of the students have concluded that they would prefer to see different colleges featured.
“They should put some well-known colleges on it,” junior Ishaan Tripathi said.
This preference, however, contradicts NextGrads’ main motive, which is to highlight lesser-known colleges. In a school that tends to focus on top 10 universities and high nationally ranked colleges, NextGrad offers a welcome change and a new viewpoint for the student body.
The screen spotlights colleges that are much more affordable and have higher acceptance rates, making them a much more feasible choice for students who are not as knowledgeable about the college process.
The NextGrad screen works to get kids thinking about higher education all while appealing to the teen demographic. Junior Grayson Bell shared, “I think it’s a very viable tool for communication and advertising for colleges.”
