Posted on

Check the Status of Your Application Online!

Diane-s
Wouldn’t it be great if you could check the status of your application online?  Oh wait…you can!

Echoing the sentiments of my colleagues below, I too am consumed with “reading season.”  While we’re shut away in our offices pouring over letters of recommendation, transcripts and personal essays, we are also aware that you are anxious about your application and what’s happening to it.  Over the past few weeks, a lot of you have been calling in to make sure that all of your materials have been received. We’ve heard your concerns, and with the help of our lovely friends in IT, we are happy to introduce a new online system that will allow you to view your application materials checklist online!

Before I get to those instructions, I want to briefly tell you what happens to your application in between the time you hit submit on your computer and we receive your folder on our desk. There are actually more steps involved than one would think and our clerical staff work hard to make sure that every piece of information that you submit is recorded in our records. Here’s a glimpse of what they do “behind the scenes”….

  1. You happily (nervously?) submit your application online or put that big envelope in the mail to us (either way is fine!).
  2. We receive your application. If you submitted it online, it goes into our queue to be downloaded.
  3. Once downloaded, we send this batch off to be printed. (This time of year, we are receiving hundreds of applications daily, so the process of downloading the applications and printing them out can take a several days. Please be patient.)
  4. Once the application and any attachments (essays, recommendations, etc) have been printed, a folder is made for your application.
  5. The folder is then given to one the members of our operations team, and they have the task of entering your application into our system. They will assign you an identification number and create a checklist for you in our system.
  6. We then go through all of our materials to make sure that any information that has been received separately for you (interview write-ups, recommendations, e-mail correspondence that we’ve printed out, etc) is put into your folder.
  7. That information than needs to be recorded in our system.
  8. Your file will then live in the drawers and this process of matching and entering will continue until we have all of the pieces of your application.
  9. When your file is complete, a member of the counselor staff will snatch it up and happily add it to their “to be read” pile that teeters on the edge of each and every desk.

It’s quite a process. Why am I telling you all of this?

Because if you check the status of your materials online and see that we have not received an important piece of your application – do not panic. Do not call the office; we won’t have any more information than you have. IF a piece is not listed as received, it probably means that whatever you submitted is being processed. Please check again after a few days and hopefully it will appear.

It can take anywhere from 3 – 10  business days for this miraculous process to be complete (remember – hundreds of applications are processed every day). So, please be patient and we’ll do our best to keep things moving along.

And now…the Web site link!
To check the status of your application materials, please go to the following link:
https://apps.holycross.edu/checklist
You’ll be asked to either login or register. First time users, please register with our system, and put your login name and password in a safe place!

*Note – this Web site will not provide an update on your acceptance status.  It is merely for application materials.   All decisions made for those applying in our regular decision pool will be mailed out at the end of March.

Thank you and we look forward to reviewing your application!

Diane Soboski
Assistant Director of Admissions
Posted on

Happy New Year…. Happy Reading?

Alyssa-t
The New Year has officially begun but this year as I welcomed 2009 I did it with a little bit of hesitation.  I have spent the past few months hearing about what “reading season” is like in admissions but did not know what to expect.  I had my first full day of reading yesterday and am beginning my second one today.  I can honestly say that despite the paper cuts, frequent trips for caffeine, and refilling the lead in my mechanical pencils — I am enjoying it.  Each of the applications I have read seems to tell me a story and my job is to present that story to our selection committee.  Through your counselor and teacher recommendations, interview write-up, high school transcript, personal essays, newspaper clips, and pictures I like trying to get to know each and every one of you.  When I pick up an application for the first time I feel as if we are just meeting each other.  As I finish the last page in your file I want to feel like I know a lot about you.  As I read each application I ask certain questions to myself, like how will you enhance the Holy Cross community?  Will you excel academically?  Will you bring something different to the campus?  Do you already bleed purple?  Do you strive to be a man or woman for others?  Ideally, I discover the answer to these questions in time.  I can admit if I happen to be reading your application, I am guilty of being a bit protective of my Alma Mater.  I want to make sure the students that we accept this year will not only thrive and contribute during their college years but will continue to do so after their time on the hill has ended.  You may have visited, interviewed, come for a day-visit, attended a football game and online chat.  I get it, you are hooked, and you love Holy Cross.  But do you also care and love for your family, the community around you, and the greater world.  Do you want to make a difference after college and work to live out the Jesuit mission?  Holy Cross students are a special type, they definitely have the brains but they most undeniably have the heart.  Basically amidst all the numbers (grades, test scores, GPA distribution charts, class rank) I really want to see your heart.

Alyssa Trometter
Admissions Counselor
Posted on

Tis the Season….For Reading Applications!

Suzanne
You’ve finally scaled the cliff that is first semester senior year. SATs are behind you, essays are edited, and recommendation letters are signed, sealed and delivered. As you hold your breathe and finally convince yourself to click submit on the application, You’re there. You’ve reached the summit. It’s now out of your hands and into ours.

As you wait, we begin furiously reading your applications and working to make decisions on our applicants. We’re buckled down in the office or at home in some of our most comfortable clothes and each day we read about all of the wonderful things you’ve accomplished in your lives. For me, I love every minute of it. All of the counselors at Holy Cross have spent months on the road, meeting with students and guidance counselors, and conducting several interviews hearing about your high school experiences. After this journey, for me, reading applications is when everything comes together. It’s the first time that I get to see all that an applicant has submitted and all that he or she can potentially bring to Holy Cross. So while it takes a long time to get through these applications, its time well spent. We try to put as much thought and time into evaluating an application as you put into making it shine. Tis the Season, thanks for applying!

Suzanne R. Timmons
Assistant Director of Admissions