Admission: Not Impossible

Just last Friday, I attended Shabbat dinner here on campus alongside five Holy Cross faculty members, and seven Holy Cross students. Rabbi Norman Cohen ’72 , led the service, and two  students prepared a traditional Jewish meal, including a fantastic matzah ball soup, and a beautiful loaf of Challah. It was a wonderful night of reflecting on our respective Holy Cross experiences, and getting to know each other. The night further solidified my love for Holy Cross, and its open-minded appreciation for diversity.

Growing up in Worcester’s Jewish community, I never thought that I could feel comfortable at Holy Cross. Now, having worked here for a little over two years, I can tell you that at no point have I ever been made to feel excluded, judged, or like an “other,” for not being Catholic. On the contrary, working here has helped me to more fully recognize how much we all have in common. The Jesuit sentiment of being “men and women for others” is very similar to the Jewish tradition of giving Tzedakah, or charitable donations.  The words Tzedakah comes from the Hebrew root Tzadei-Dalet-Qof, meaning righteousness, justice or fairness, (all words we rely on heavily at Holy Cross).

Though the majority of students at Holy Cross are Catholic, our community is enriched by Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Protestant, Orthodox, Coptic, Hindu and non-practicing faculty and students. While we do have a religion requirement among our common area requirements, it can be fulfilled with classes like Comparative World Religions, Ancient and Medieval Hinduism, and Zen Buddhism.

Shabbat dinner is just one example of the opportunities Holy Cross provides its non-Catholic students.  Earlier this year, our Center for Religion, Ethics, and Culture hosted a Zen Meditation and Social Justice Forum, and every Sunday, an interdenominational Christian service  is held on campus. Finally, the Chaplain’s office will drive any student to any of the wide array of worshipping communities in the city of Worcester.

Come for a visit, and hopefully you’ll find that Holy Cross is a  comfortable place for you to explore your own faith, and the faiths of others.

Julia Sanders

Admissions Counselor

August has arrived, and with it, for many of us, has come the feeling that the end is near.  The end of summer … the end of sleeping late, beach days and pool time … indeed, its back to school!  You might find comfort in the fact that you’re not alone … its back to school for us as well.  As my colleague Amanda wrote not long ago, for us here in Admissions, we’ve been planning our schedules and getting ready to have the rubber meet the road in just a few short weeks.  We’ll be coming to your schools and college fairs before you know it; for many of us, in less than a month!  For some of you reading this in Arizona and Florida, you’re already back; but for many others, you still have a few days or weeks to enjoy!  How should you be spending that time, you ask?  Why, visiting colleges of course … including, I should add, spending some time here at Holy Cross!
 
Visiting college campuses on your summer break is one of the best investments of your time and resources you can make.  Visiting now, while it has its pros and cons, will be something you will surely appreciate later.  It will make your decision regarding where to apply, and possibly where to enroll should you be admitted, much easier later.  Here at Holy Cross we offer tours of the campus four times each day (M-F, 10AM, 12, 2 and 3PM), and information sessions twice each day (M-F, 11:15AM, and 1:15PM).  Interviewing is another critically important aspect of your summer or fall visit.  We put a lot of stock in personal interviews because, while optional, they provide us a chance to get to know you in a way we wouldn’t have at any other time in the process.  And for you, its a chance to personalize your application and really bring it to life!  If you’re serious about your Holy Cross application and would like to schedule an interview, simply call the office, we would enjoy taking the time to get to know you.
 
The last thing I would recommend doing before you head back to school is to begin your essay.  If you haven’t already done so, take a look at the essay questions on the application (commonapp.org) and begin drafting your response.  Considering it is the only piece of writing we will have in your application (we don’t ask for graded papers, other writing samples, or require any supplements), its very important that its a good piece of quality writing.  A few (seemingly obvious) tips:

* answer the question.  Answer the question in a complete, yet concise, clear, and direct way. 

*make sure its your own work, and original.  “Recycled” history papers from last year … while they may meet the criteria of ‘topic of your choice’, are a no-no. 

*Proofread – - Proofread – - Proofread.  It speaks for itself.  Essays don’t have to be novels (nor should they be!), but they shouldn’t be two sentences either.  Spend a lot of time on this; its the only piece of writing we will have from you, so please give it the time it deserves.  Doing it now will make your life a lot easier later, I assure you.
 
Happy summer!  We hope you enjoy what remains of it, we hope to see you here on campus or at your school soon, and we look forward to reading your application!  Good luck!
 
 
James T. Richardson
Associate Director of Admission

I just got off the phone with my seventeen year old cousin who is inevitably freaking out. If you are a rising high school senior, like he is, you have a lot to think about. Face it, next year at this time you will have graduated from your respective high school and most likely will be attending college summer orientation. This upcoming year has a lot in store for you as you begin to finalize your college list, visit campuses, interview, write your essays, and send out numerous applications. You have a lot of goals that need to be set and prioritizing that has to be done. Trust me, if you work hard, everything will get done.

As I spoke to my cousin though I realized that he was becoming so stressed about his senior year that he was not going to enjoy his summer. I had to help him take a step back to realize that he could become organized for the busy autumn ahead while still enjoying these summer months he has off.
Here are some of the ideas we discussed:

• Plan a road trip with your friends to visit schools you are interested in.
• Get your family involved. Plan a vacation that involves looking at some distant colleges while you are away. Even plan to visit those long lost relatives that live in states where colleges of interest might be.
• Make a day of it! Come to Worcester in July for a great lunch on Shrewsbury Street and then check out our July Advisory Days.
• On a rainy afternoon have a “mock interview” with a friend or family member.
• Go to a café or diner with your friends, get lots of food, and talk about each other. Recalling great memories or stories from the past could lead to valuable material for that college essay.

I hope you can take advantage of one or all of these ideas listed and of course, find some excitement in the busy months ahead.

Alyssa Trometter
Admissions Counselor