Admission: Not Impossible

This list is the culmination of my own experiences as an admissions officer as well as of my colleagues in this office and other admissions offices.  As you go through them, you may have a lot of “duh” moments and most of these are very much common sense but it’s usually the most obvious things that are the least visible to us.  With that said, I hope this list is useful to you as you focus in on the application process.

• Meet all deadlines for Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision.  Not meeting a deadline reflects badly on your ability to be responsible and may make an institution feel like you aren’t that interested.  It may also reduce your chances of getting in because the class is getting filled and you may be too late to get a spot.  If you have an extraordinary circumstances, you should let an admissions officer know in writing or by phone so that we can take that into consideration. 
• File your financial aid paperwork early and by the deadline at the latest.  Holy Cross requires both the FAFSA and the the CSS Profile forms to be considered for financial aid.  The FAFSA form is not available until January 1st but you and one of your parents can go ahead and file for a FAFSA Pin Number that will serve as your signatures on the forms.  The longer you wait, the bigger the risk that you may not get as strong a package and if you submit late, the chances of getting financial aid are even slimmer.
• Pay close attention to what each school requires you to submit or strongly recommends you send in regards to standardized testing, essays, letters of recommendation, etc.  While strongly recommends doesn’t mean require in the sense that you are disqualified from admission, it does means that you may be placing yourself at a disadvantage if you don’t do what it is that is being strongly recommended.
• Ask teachers early for letters of recommendations.  The earlier you ask, the more time they can put into it and produce a well written letter on your behalf.  It’s important to keep in mind that you will not be the only student who is seeking that student out for a letter of recommendation. 
• Follow up with all counselors and teachers to make sure that they have submitted your paperwork on time and be sure to also send a thank you to them for doing so.
• Proofread your essays very carefully before you submit.  I would encourage you to print out your application if you’re filing it online because what you see is mostly likely what we’ll see when we click on print so you want to make sure that it’s formatted to what you want it to look like.
• Demonstrate your interest in a college institution before you apply.  A lot of students visit the schools that they get into and from there will make a decision as to where to attend without knowing that many admissions offices take applicants’ demonstrated interest into consideration as a way to determine whether or not the student would enroll if admitted.  Just like you all want us to like you and admit you, we want to be liked by you all as well and be admitted in essence.
• Create a professional email address and check that email frequently.  Silly or suggestive email addresses, while comical for us to read, are not professional and do not reflect well on you.  It’s also important that you don’t use your parents’ email addresses as your own and we can typically tell when this is happening.  We like to see students take the lead in the application process because it shows that you’re ready for the independent environment that is a part of the college experience.

Tran Kim-Senior
Assistant Director of Admissions
Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment

There are so many wonderful qualities to Holy Cross that it’s hard to just focus on one…but that is my assignment for this entry.  Of all the characteristics that define Holy Cross, the one that impresses me the most is our active commitment  to social justice and service.  Having been at two other small liberal arts institutions prior to coming to Holy Cross, I have seen three different versions of the small, undergraduate liberal arts experience,  and the main differentiation for me is the call to service that stems from our Jesuit mission.  Helping those in need is something that is personally and professionally important to me and I always felt somewhat alone in my commitment to social issues but when I came here, I was pleasantly blown away by the strength of Holy Cross’s commitment to serving the greater community.  Students, faculty and staff truly believe in the Jesuit mission to serve others and because of our mission, there is a certain tone of caring and compassion on campus that I just haven’t seen anywhere else.  I find myself constantly inspired and challenged to find more meaningful ways to help and serve because of the environment here at Holy Cross.

Tran Kim-Senior
Assistant Director of Admissions
Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment

During my four years in admissions, I have always played a hand in multicultural recruitment and have observed that diversity in colleges is an area that is increasingly receiving a lot of attention.  In terms of figures, Holy Cross is on par with many of our peer institutions in the area of racial diversity with about 17% ALANA (African American, Latino American, Asian American and Native American) students in the general student body and about 21% in the current freshman class.  As an Asian-American myself, I tend to look at racial diversity in whatever environment I am in very closely and I have come to realize that I can’t look only at percentages alone.  The reality is that there simply are not many ALANA students on college campuses and not many ALANA professionals in the working world (though I do think the situation is improving incrementally) so looking for institutions where 50% of the student body is ALANA for example is futile because you’ll be hard pressed to find an institution that has those kind of numbers, especially private institutions.

What I think is more important to focus on when looking at the issue of diversity on college campuses is the climate surrounding the issue of diversity.  What infrastructure is in place to nurture multicultural education?  What student organizations exist to focus on a variety of cultures and provide students associated with those cultures a home base while providing students who are not associated with that culture a learning opportunity?  How does the administration and faculty support and nurture multicultural learning?  Though I have not been at many institutions, I have observed campus life on two other small liberal arts institutions prior to Holy Cross and can say that I have been most impressed by the infrastructure that is in place at Holy Cross.  To date, we have 12 student organizations that identify as Multicultural Student Organizations (MSO’s) and focus on issues that range from a variety of cultural backgrounds such as Hispanic, Asian and Caribbean cultures to LGBTQ issues to women’s affairs.  Furthermore, there is a well thought out support system in place to make sure that these organizations have the support and resources they need to be successful on campus.  The Office of Multicultural Education at Holy Cross also plays an instrumental role in providing multicultural awareness on campus.  The office educates, promotes and serves to empower the campus community on issues of diversity, multiculturalism and the value of human differences through classes, workshops, training sessions peer education and consultations.  At Holy Cross, we also require all students to take a cross cultural studies course as one of their core requirements to stimulate critical reflection on issues involved in encountering other cultures and to “help students think systemically about the fundamental assumptions underlying cultural differences.”   Some of these courses Introduction to Comparative Politics, Writing Madness in Africa, and Introduction to Islam.  And these are only the official structures that are in place.  There are a number of informal ways that different members and offices in the community strive to promote diversity on campus that you won’t find mentioned in our catalog or on our website.

Though much of what I have written focuses on cultural and racial diversity, we at Holy Cross also value diversity in the area of spiritual views, political beliefs, sexual orientation, geography and thought.  We as admissions professionals work hard to create an incoming class that is diverse on a variety of levels and see one representation of this in the over 80 different student organizations on campus.  And ultimately at the end of the day, we are all different from each other even if we are of the same race, ethnicity, religious faith, etc and the challenge we place before students is the task of fleshing out those differences, embracing them and learning from them.

Tran Kim-Senior
Assistant Director of Admissions
Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment

Hello everyone!  While I did not have the thrill of experiencing life at Holy Cross as an undergraduate student myself, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here as an admissions officer.  Now in my second year in the Holy Cross admissions office, I am a bit more familiar with Holy Cross than I was at this point last year.  Holy Cross is truly a unique college institution that really values the development of the whole person and does an incredible job to that end.  What stands out to me the most about the atmosphere here is the strong and extremely close-knit community that exists here between students, staff and faculty members.  Friends and support are two things that are easy to come by here.  In the office, I coordinate the recruitment of ALANA students (Asian American, Latino American, African-American and Native American) and am traveling to parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut, parts of New York City and the state of Virginia.

I was born originally in Cambodia and came to the United States, specifically Richmond, Virginia, when I was eight years old.  I have lived in northeastern Connecticut for nearly four years now and when I’m not working, I spend most, if not all, of my time with my husband and baby, Amaya.  If I am lucky to have free time outside of these two major commitments in my life, I like shop, read and catch up on current events.  I look forward to meeting you through my recruitment travels and when you come to campus.  Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Tran Kim-Senior
Assistant Director of Admissions
Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment

After months of waiting and waiting for a response from colleges, you couldn’t wait for this month to arrive when the admissions decisions come out.  But now you realize that you have another daunting task ahead of you.  The tables have now turned and you’re the ones making the admissions decision and determining who will get in, if you will (hopefully this means a bit more sympathy for us and the hard decisions we’ve had to make).

Some of you will know immediately where you’ll go.  Others of you may at least know where you will not go.  But many of you, I’m guessing, are completely overwhelmed with the decision ahead.  I mean this is where you’ll be spending the next four years of your life, and sure, transferring is always an option but who wants to go through the admissions cycle again?  If you thought it was hard this time around, believe me when I tell you that it’s even harder the second time around, i.e. fewer spaces available, even less money for financial aid, etc.  So this is it.

Though it is somewhat a huge commitment you’re making, it’s not as scary as it seems.  Let me try to put some perspective on it.  I equate this decision to marriage.  We all have our vision of what the ideal partner is but all know in the back of our minds, that we all seldom end up with someone who matches every criteria on that list of credentials that we want.  Marriage isn’t about finding a perfect match (even those who say they have the perfect partner will admit that there are less than perfect days).  Likewise, finding the college for you isn’t about finding the perfect fit but about finding the best fit.  You can’t have it all unfortunately so it’s about figuring out what matters most to you, what you absolutely can’t do without.  So for example, if size is the most important thing to you, then narrow down your school options by that.  If location is the most important criteria for you, then narrow down the list that way and so forth.  Prioritize your criteria and start narrowing down your options in rounds.  So if size is the most important thing, cross off schools that don’t fit the bill in the first round.  If location is the next most important thing, then cross off other schools that don’t fit the bill.  Hopefully that’ll give you a smaller list of schools for you to take a closer look into and decide.

But remember that at the end of the day, you’ll be happy and successful wherever you go.  It’s all a matter of what you do while you’re there.  People who go to highly selective schools don’t automatically end up being successful.  They have to work hard to become successful.  Likewise, students who attend less selective schools don’t end up less successful either.  So don’t let that be a deciding factor for you.  Happy deciding and good luck!

Tran Kim-Senior
Assistant Director of Admissions
Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment

Many of you are probably breathing sighs of relief right now as you finalize and finally submit your applications for college.  For us in the office, we’re just getting warmed up as the applications fly into our reading bins.  At this point in the year, we start to buckle down at home and in the office shedding our heels and ties so if you swing by, don’t be surprised to see us romping about in jeans and sneakers.  And if we’re at home, most of us are probably decked out in our favorite bathrobes and slippers.  Because we read using a pencil, many of us, if not all, have finally chosen our season’s pencils that promise never ending writing comfort for the next two months but ultimately fall a bit short because the nature of this task that lies ahead dictates inevitable writing calluses at some point.  But no matter how tedious and sometimes unkind the task is, I have to admit that it’s one of my favorite parts of the job and I speculate that many of my colleagues would agree. I learn about different facets of young peoples’ lives that are funny, entertaining, whimsical, inspiring and sometimes sad.    I get to meet interesting and unique individuals from all over the country and even from various parts of the world, all without ever leaving my chair.

Tran Kim-Senior
Assistant Director of Admissions
Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment

If you were to look at the percentage of underrepresented students at Holy Cross and then compare it to other colleges’ numbers, you’re not going to find much of a difference.  But just like you can’t judge a book by its cover, you also can’t gauge a college’s multicultural atmosphere by percentages alone.  That only gives you one part of the bigger picture.  After this past Perspectives Multicultural Overnight Program, which is under my umbrella of office responsibilities, I have been thinking a lot about diversity and multiculturalism, especially as it pertains to Holy Cross.  After having attended another wonderful liberal arts institution and worked at a different one in admissions prior to my current gig, I have the luxury of observing the multicultural atmosphere at two other liberal arts colleges.  What in my mind is unique about Holy Cross is the support systems that are in place to one support students who don’t feel represented by the majority and two to increase awareness of other cultures and identities on campus.

First, there is a consortium of Multicultural Student Organizations (MSO’s) that is comprised of about a dozen student organizations classified as multicultural in nature and represent identities ranging from Asian to LGBTQ to international students.  Second, there is a group of multicultural peer educators (MPE’s) who work with various groups on campus from students to staff to educate them about various issues of acceptance and diversity and do a wonderful job.  It’s programs like these that strengthen diversity on college campuses and not the number of underrepresented students present.  But more importantly it is the people who are behind the programs who make multicultural life at Holy Cross what it is.  I’ve had the opportunity to work one-on-one with many of the wonderful people who are involved with multicultural affairs and they are some of the most dedicated, supportive and innovative individuals I’ve met.  As a former underrepresented student, I find myself often impressed and envious of the kind of support that students at Holy Cross receive to help them acclimate to life on the hill.

You might be asking why the people at Holy Cross are different and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that this is a Jesuit institution that very much emphasizes social justice and service.  There is a different kind of accountability that we have to each other as members of this community because of this identity that doesn’t exist at other campuses.  It goes beyond just being civilized but takes it many steps beyond to another level of kindness and caring between community members that I don’t find at other colleges, at least not the ones I’m familiar with.  So for those of you who are very much concerned about multiculturalism at Holy Cross or at any other institution, I encourage you to do some digging into the community beyond the percentages of underrepresented students.  High percentages don’t mean a thing if there aren’t systems in place to cultivate intercultural learning and provide support for the underrepresented students.  And if you have questions about multiculturalism at Holy Cross, please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email.

Tran Kim-Senior
Assistant Director of Admissions
Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment

Greetings from good old Worcester!  I’ve been in the office the last two days but spent the rest of my week prior traveling around to Worcester schools.  Though not as exotic a travel territory as my other colleagues who have been to the Windy City and fascinating Europe, I must say that I loved my travels nonetheless because it gave me a great opportunity to really explore Worcester.  Before this, all I really knew of Worcester was Holy Cross and a fabulous Vietnamese restaurant called Pho Dakao on Park Avenue which my husband and I regularly frequent.  There are lots of differing views on Worcester, some good and some negative, so I thought I’d offer my take on Worcester in case you weren’t at all familiar with the city or have questions about it.

First of all, Worcester is now the 2nd largest city in New England (we beat Providence recently who we’ve been neck to neck with for this prize slot behind Boston which will probably remain #1 for many more years to come) and with being the 2nd largest city, there are lots of resources and opportunities available.  But I think it’s one of those cities that these resources and opportunities are not readily visible and you have to do some searching and digging for them.  If you were only glimpsing Worcester from the highway, it would be easy to think that Worcester is run down with lots of industrial buildings.  But take a closer look and you will see that it has a lot more to offer.  There are numerous cultural offerings throughout the city including a wonderful art museum (that I have yet to visit, but have heard many praises for!).  There is a vast array of restaurants offering cuisines from Vietnamese (my personal favorite) to Mediterranean to African to American.  There are a number of cultural festivals that take place throughout the year as well such as the African Cultural Festival and the Blackstone Canalfest, which is a street festival with music, food, dance, art, etc.  There is a great deal of diversity in the city with a huge variety of ethnic groups represented.  So for those of you who are already culture junkies, Worcester is a treasure trove and for those of you eager to explore different cultures, Worcester is equally exciting.

As a large city, Worcester has many needs.  That presents HC students with many opportunities to practice one of the tenets of the Jesuit tradition: men and women for others.  Students are able to be very involved in service and tap into a lot of different service areas from working with children to public health to athletics.  These activities also serve as wonderful learning opportunities as well.  In addition, students are able to get academic year internships in the city that range from working in business areas to the sciences to education.

All in all, I feel like Worcester is a great backdrop for a college environment because you are able to apply what you learn in the classroom immediately by simply leaving campus for a moment and venturing into the city.  And Worcester is currently going through a great deal of revitalization so it’s an even more exciting time to be here because you can be a part of that.  So I invite you to take a closer look at Worcester, especially in person if you can.  Worcester gets a bad rap sometimes and I feel it’s the product of negative first impressions.  But as they say, you can’t judge a book by its cover.  So I encourage you to do some digging and really explore all that Worcester has to offer.  Here are some links that you can use to start your exploration of Worcester:
http://www.holycross.edu/studentlife/worcester/
http://www.worcester.org/
http://www.ci.worcester.ma.us/
http://www.worcester.ma.us/

Tran Kim-Senior
Assistant Director of Admissions
Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment