Jim’s Admissions Advice
August 21st, 2009 by Admissions
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
It’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.
So 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!
Ever wish someone from an admissions office would tell you exactly how to go about writing your college essay? Curious about the process of interviewing at a college or university?
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.
Summertime is finally here!