It’s great to be a high school senior right now. Yeah, that’s right, I said great. Not stressed to the point of nausea or overwhelmed to the point of tears, but truly GREAT. Know why?

Because you hold all the power.

Last fall, when we were giving information sessions and visiting you at your school and interviewing you, the amorphous title of “Admissions” dictated the flow of events. (Or it probably seemed that way.) As a student, you were learning about schools, and then visiting campuses, and then expressing your interest to specific institutions, and then working tirelessly on applications that you hoped would be enough to make you stand out in a pool of 7,400.

Finally, after all that, you waited. And waited. Maybe you called or e-mailed, inquiring about our decision mail date. Eventually, you received the big acceptance packet you deserved. In all likelihood, you now own acceptance packets from a number of fine colleges and universities.

And with that, the tables have turned. Today, and for the next four days, admissions offices are now anxiously waiting for YOU. We hope you do get that a-ha! moment and find that Holy Cross is the right choice. We hope you have questions, find time to visit once more, or call us up just to chat, because we can’t wait to give you a million more reasons to clad yourself in purple and find a home on The Hill.

There is a reason few schools in the country create the next freshman class the way we do. To go through every single application – that’s right, every single application – as a group and allow a democratic vote to decide each student’s fate takes a lot. It’s a lot of time, it’s a lot of pressure, and it’s a lot of energy.

But there’s something strangely exhilarating (if exhausting) about the prospect of creating our Class of 2016. Our brains are constantly working as we learn interesting tidbits about our 7200 or so applicants. Our eyes slowly despise us more and more as the glow of two large projector screens serve as our information tablets. We scan the important evaluations of our colleagues as the room is filled with comments of quick analysis and personal stories of meeting or interviewing you (as well as the faint smell of various snacks). The hardest part, however, is finding ways to make sure every applicant, whether it’s the first or the last of the day, is evaluated with equal freshness and enthusiasm.

For me, that means reminding myself that it wasn’t all that long ago I was in your shoes.

I can still recall sitting in Physics class, paying little attention to the importance of free fall and instead wondering when and how colleges decide whether I’m worth admitting to their school. Many family members told me there was no rhyme or reason to the college admission process, that the mood of an admissions officer could sway my potential spot at a university.

In the Holy Cross Committee room, however, that’s not the case, because I see myself up there. The instant fatigue and apathy begin to creep in, I sit up straight (maybe even stand up and pour myself another cup of coffee) and recall how much influence we hold over a significant number of high school seniors. For all the hard work you put in during your nearly four years in high school, I can reciprocate that, one application at a time.

Few schools craft a class the way we do, but even after a few weeks of our arduous process, I wouldn’t want to decide your fate any other way.

Zach Wielgus

Admissions Counselor