Whew! That was a long and exciting process. Breaking news from the Holy Cross Admissions office….. committee is over and all (but for a few) decisions have been made! Letters will be mailed at the end of the week; keep an eye out for the postman!
Amanda Juriansz
Assistant Director of Community Outreach
The other day, our receptionist Mary poked her head into our committee room where we were all sitting in the dark reviewing applications. Twelve sets of eyes eagerly looked over to see who she would be calling out for a phone call.
Was it the counselor from Minnesota that I was hoping to speak with about an applicant? Or the catering company for Lauren regarding our upcoming counselor tour? The community based organization that was looking to set up a tour this spring with Amanda?
As Mary said, “Excuse me, Father Markey, I have Bob Cousy on the phone for you”, the rest of the staff realized that none of our calls (as exciting as they may be) would live up to hearing from an NBA Hall of Famer. Just another day in the Holy Cross Admissions Committee room…
Diane Soboski
Assistant Director of Admission
I admit it: I am a dork, a dweeb, a geek, a nerd. I am all of these things. I exhibit these dorky qualities every day during committee. I find a way to amuse myself when each new high school, hometown, or applicant’s name appears on the projector. I believe it is important to clear my thoughts and put myself in a positive mindset before viewing and discussing each applicant. I employ all of the following mental techniques in order to get myself excited to explore each and every applicant:
1. Create a rhyme using the applicant’s last name – i.e. “Daniel Weagle owns five beagles.”
2. Read the applicant’s name/school/hometown in an Irish brogue, French inflection, Southern drawl, robot voice or any other way that will cause me to smile (it’s really not too difficult to get me to smile).
3. Question whether an applicant is related to a celebrity with the same last name (one of my favorites).
4. Create a simple pun using the applicant’s name – i.e. Daniel “Weagles wobble, but they don’t fall down” (Investigate or ask your parents about “weebles” if you don’t understand this pun).
5. Try to read the high school backwards (my least favorite option, but still a viable option).
I suspect that each Holy Cross counselor has his or her unique method of mentally preparing for the discussion of every applicant (7,400 -ish total, at this time); my method just infuses a split second of silliness into the otherwise overwhelmingly serious process of selecting the Holy Cross class of 2015.
Daniel Weagle ‘08
Admissions Counselor
We’re in committee. For three more weeks, the twelve members of the Admissions committee will meet in an impossibly small conference room (pictured below) to discuss and debate the 7,350 applicants for the Class of 2015. Despite its small size, our “home” for the next several weeks is well equipped with all the things we need to do our work. Lap tops, projectors, and a document imaging camera are essential to our process, and the way in which we do our work. But the two most critical items without which committee members could not function: coffee and snacks. Experience has shown that a fully caffeinated, well fed committee is a productive committee. So far, we’re doing well. We’re actually running a little ahead of schedule. Maybe it’s the coffee.
Ann McDermott
Director of Admissions
After a frenzied few months of application reading, we’re back, and ready to blog. Miss us? We missed you, too.
For the next month, the HC admissions committee will be selecting the next class of Crusaders. Decisions won’t be mailed until March 26th, so to alleviate your anxiety, we’ll do our best to keep you updated on what’s going on behind the closed doors.
What to expect? Play-by-play, hard-nosed reporting, pictures, color commentary, food reviews, and historical re-enactment. What not to? Answers to the question “Did I get in?”
First up – Where 12 of us will be spending the next month:
Conference room before…
Stay tuned for more.
Julia Sanders
Assistant Director of Admissions