Posts Tagged ‘summer’

Summer Visit Opportunities

Friday, July 13th, 2012

Summer is an interesting time for us here in Admissions. With the stress of application reading and the selection process behind us,  summer is a great opportunity for admissions officers to plan travel, take some vacation days, and admire the gorgeous  trees and flowers blooming all over campus.

But we haven’t forgotten about you, high school juniors, who are just starting your college search. Once you’ve had some time to relax, think about making some college visits.

Summer is an excellent opportunity to visit Holy Cross. Come for a tour and information session.  You’ll hear directly from students as they guide you around campus and from an Admissions Counselor about the college process. If you happen to be here in the next few weeks you might want to take advantage of our July Advisory Days, where you’ll receive insider tips on interviewing and writing your college essay. It might be nice to get all of this done before your hectic senior year starts up (where you’ll likely be juggling AP classes, soccer practice, band rehearsal, community service, etc.). We will be here and looking forward to your visit!

Nicole Zervos ‘09

Assistant Director of Admissions

“Interview” is Not a Four Letter Word

Thursday, June 28th, 2012

It is actually nine.  Whether I am meeting students on the road or on campus, I seem to hear the same question over and over again: “What can I do to increase my chances of acceptance?”  I have a particular attachment to this question and I will answer it with vigor before the last syllable vibrates off a student’s vocal chords, pushes past polished teeth, and flees from formed lips.

“INTERVIEW!”  My excitement is often met with blank stares and timid expressions.  I quickly confer with my 17 –year-old self who reminds me that interviews are considered by many high school students to be superficial, self-indulgent monologues professing one’s greatness to an intimidating potential employer for personal gain.  Yikes!  Okay, 17-year-old self, you’ve painted a vivid, yet scary, picture.  So I must explain how interviews work here at Holy Cross in order to help dispel this wicked imagery.

It would be more appropriate to title Holy Cross Interviews as “Conversations,” because that is essentially what they are: two people in a room chatting about anything and everything. The interview is not the time to determine if a student is a credible candidate; it is a time to put a name with a face and get to know each candidate on a more personal level.  It is not about proving yourself to our office, it is about adding more information to your own application.  Twenty to thirty minutes of conversation can add volumes of information to your application that is impossible to convey on paper through the Common Application, your letters of recommendation, your college essay, or your SAT scores (should you choose to send them).  Read more about scheduling an interview on- or off-campus,   and schedule one before we run out of spots.

Dan Weagle ‘08
Admissions  Counselor

Meet Your Summer Tour Guides: Amanda Osowski

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

Hometown:  Hopkinton, MA

Year: 2014

Major: History

Activities: Mock Trial Team, Holy Cross College Choir, Giving tours to prospective students and working with the Admissions Office!

One of my favorite memories of freshman year was traveling with the Mock Trial Team. The Holy Cross Mock Trial Team traveled to various colleges and universities this year, including the University of New Hampshire Law School, the University of Massachusetts, Tufts University, and Clark University. The team would stay at a local hotel and would compete in a weekend-long tournament against other schools. It was always nice to get away for a couple of days during the semester! Although we were still working hard during the weekend to perform well as a team, we still got to have a lot of fun together! The coaches would always take the team out for a group dinner and it was always a good time. The coaches are knowledgeable, friendly, and also hilarious at times! Participating on the Mock Trial Team allowed me to develop my analytical and public speaking skills as well as helped me to branch out and meet new friends and upperclassmen.

Favorite Place to Study at Holy Cross: The lower stacks of Dinand Library (it’s cozy and quiet!)

Favorite Class:  Montserrat. I was in the Natural World Cluster and I lived in Wheeler Hall. My Montserrat class was called “The Road to Armageddon. ”  In this class, we learned about the history and science behind nuclear energy. We studied nuclear energy development all the way back to the founding of the atom and back up to the recent nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan. I really enjoyed the discussion and met a lot of my close friends in that class. Also, my professor was awesome and became a great guiding resource for me at Holy Cross!

Meet Your Summer Tour Guides: Ada Van Wyhe

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Ada van Wyhe

Year: 2012

Hometown: Reedley, California

Major(s): History, Pre Law Concentration

Why I love Holy Cross: I am in love with Holy Cross because of the vast amount of opportunities that have been offered to me on this campus, and because the entire Holy Cross community has made my education a true living and learning experience.  Coming from over 3,000 miles away, I arrived to Mount St. James not knowing a single person, and I was immediately embraced by the students and faculty on The Hill.  I feel like my education is truly invaluable and that the Holy Cross community is really invested in my education.  I’m excited by the  study abroad programs, the small class sizes, and even just the fact that it’s a solely undergraduate college.  I love that as a community, we are all working together toward our goals – for now, and for well beyond our four short years here on campus.  (And Spring Weekend is a pretty wicked Holy Cross experience, too!)

Meet Your Summer Tour Guides: Paul Maloney

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Paul Maloney

Year: 2012

Hometown: Mansfield, Massachusetts

Major(s): Economics, Mathematics

Why I love Holy Cross:  To me,  HC is all about the people.  Everyone at Holy Cross is so open and so friendly that HC becomes more than a just a college but rather a community.  This sense of community along with an outstanding academic reputation is why I love Holy Cross.

Meet Your Summer Tour Guides: Mary Jo Coughlin

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Mary Jo Coughlin

Year: 2013

Hometown: Brookfield, Massachusetts

Major(s): Undeclared (leaning towards Psychology)

Why I love Holy Cross:  I love Holy Cross because of its excellent academic reputation as a small liberal arts college with access to challenging classes and individual attention from professors.  Outside of academics, I have made amazing friendships that I know will be long lasting. Holy Cross also offers a wide variety of extracurricular activities, a favorite of which is volunteering at the Nativity School,  a Jesuit middle school for boys in Worcester.  Having recently completed my freshman year,  Holy Cross has met my every expectation.

Tours Pick Up Again June 1st, But Feel Free to Visit!

Monday, May 10th, 2010

LaurenThornton.BLOG2The flowers have begun to come into full bloom and the trees are finally full of green leaves again. Needless to say,  it is an absolutely beautiful day at Holy Cross.  Unfortunately, our students have just finished their spring semester classes and are eagerly (or begrudgingly) spending these gorgeous days locked away in the library preparing for their final exams.  Although our campus tours for the spring semester have officially come to an end, it does not mean that you as a prospective student cannot enjoy our campus during this beautiful month.  If you have some free time and want to visit during the month of May, you certainly may do so.  Feel free to stop by our office, fill out a walk-in visitor form and grab a map of campus to explore on your own.  We are more than happy to direct you and point out some of the highlights of campus to you and your family.

If you would like an official, student-lead tour of campus this summer, our summer tours will begin June 1st.  Please check our website for specific details about visiting this summer.

 

Lauren D. Thornton
Admissions Counselor

Jim’s Admissions Advice

Friday, August 21st, 2009

jrichardson_2August 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

Summer: A Great Time to Visit Holy Cross

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
ann McDermottIt’s August and it seems that summer has finally arrived on Mt St. James! The upside to all the rain we have had:  a very green campus!  While I admit to being a bit biased, I know that our visitors will agree that the campus looks amazing. If you haven’t visited yet, or if you would like to return, we have tour guides eager to show you around, and an enthusiastic staff ready to answer your questions. So stop by and say hello.
Ann McDermott
Director of Admissions

Planning our Admissions Travel

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

amandaSo it’s July and while you’re (we hope) sitting by the pool enjoying your summer break, we’re here in the office thinking about your college applications.  Yes, we’re already planning for next year.  Over the past few weeks we have begun planning our fall travel schedules.  We put a lot of thought into what schools we will be visiting.  We consider where we have visited in past years, where we receive applications from, and also where we would like to build awareness about Holy Cross.  After much deliberating, scheduling and rescheduling,  each counselor will have approximately a seven week itinerary of high schools, community based agencies and college fairs to attend spanning from September to November.  We can’t always visit every school or attend every event we would like but we do our best to fit everything in.  In August,  our schedules will be posted on the web page, so be sure to check that out to see when we’ll be in your area.  We’ll see you on the road this fall!

Amanda Juriansz
Assistant Director of Community Outreach