Category: Admissions Staff

After 5 weeks out on the road visiting high schools, attending college fairs, and hosting alumni interview programs on the West Coast, I am now back in the Eastern Standard Time Zone!  I had such an amazing time talking to college counselors and prospective students but am glad to be back on campus.  Most of my colleagues are still travelling all over the country; you may see when a Holy Cross rep will be in your area by going here for our full schedule.  Additionally, we are still interviewing students on the road!  Please go here to request an interview (either on- or off-campus).

Now that I have returned to autumn foliage, cooler temperatures, and pumpkin-spiced everything I can also return to on-campus events at Holy Cross!  This weekend is Family Weekend, and Holy Cross has planned lots of great activities.  Highlights in the schedule include sporting events, concerts, a dance show, casino night, a 5K, mass, and so much more!

Another big event is our second Open House of the fall.  Prospective students and their guests may register for the program, and we also welcome walk-ins!  Activities for the day include sessions on admissions and financial aid, panels with current students and faculty, and lunch.

Beyond Family Weekend and Open House, Holy Cross is hosting all kinds of programs.  For more information on other events happening on the Hill, please check out the Holy Cross Calendar.

Cheers to fall!

(photography by Thomas Rettig)

It’s partly cloudy and 62 degrees in Worcester, but as I sit in a Starbucks and frantically respond to emails in between high school visits it is 82 degrees and sunny in Los Angeles!  One of our social media interns (a junior) sent me an update on what she is doing back at the College, so I thought I would share her thoughts here:

“I’m extremely excited to write about how my classes are going for the Fall of 2015.  As an upperclassman, I feel lucky to be selecting classes more specific to my interests now that I have completed most of my requirements.  My friends and I have all noticed that we’re all now taking varied and ranging classes based on our own academic programs compared to the more common 101 classes we’ve had in the past.

For me specifically I’m excited about my upper level Economics and Education classes.  As an Economics major I’m now taking electives; this Fall specifically I’m enrolled in Professor Congdon-Hohman’s Labor Economics.  I’m happy to now be finally applying all the knowledge I gained my principles classes over the past two years to a real life scenario and concepts such as those in the labor market.

Additionally, I’m taking two electives classes for my Education minor.  Both are very fun, and both are very different.  One is Professor Schneider’s “Jobs: Teaching as a Case Study,” which is a small seminar of about 9 people.  This class we’re focusing on what does a job mean and specifically what goes into the profession or a teacher.  This class is based in a lot of reading and discussion and so far I’m enjoying it!  My other education class is Professor Fisher’s “Schools: Surviving and Achieving” class.  This course looks into the roles of school counselors.  For five class periods we actually will be going into a Worcester public school and working directly with children.

Finally, I’m completing my Language requirement with American Sign Language!  I must say this class is more challenging than I had expected.  There’s so much I never knew about ASL, and much more I have to learn.  Besides class time we also have a practicum that meets for this class with a new group of students.

I’m excited to see what my four classes bring me this semester, and excited to experience a new four in the Spring!”

Please stay tuned for more updates, both from campus and from the road.  Happy fall, everyone!

 Today was one of the first days in a long time when I opened my calendar and saw that I did not have a single appointment.  No interviews to conduct, no information sessions to host, no orientation luncheons on which to gorge!  The month of August has been an incredibly busy time for all of us in admissions at Fenwick Hall, as we prepare for the arrival of the Class of 2019 and switch gears to focus on the Class of 2020.

Next Tuesday is September 1st, and I feel as though so much still needs to be completed in order to get ready for the new admissions cycle.  I am very excited to jump into the recruitment season, so I wanted to give you a preview of what’s to come:

– Perspectives: From Saturday, November 7th through Monday, November 9th we are hosting prospective students on campus for our annual Perspectives Program!  This opportunity is open to culturally aware high school seniors, and it’s a great way to learn more about the Holy Cross student experience.  We plan all kinds of fun activities for participants as well as provide room and board, free of charge to participants.  The last day to apply is Monday, October 5th at 5PM EST.  Please click the link for the online application.

– Travel: Throughout the months of September and October, admissions representatives from Holy Cross will be travelling all over the country to visit high schools and attend college fairs.  We seek to share information about what makes Holy Cross special, as well as meet prospective students in their home areas!  Please stay tuned for our office travel schedule, which will be made available on the site in September.

– Open House: Two Sundays in the fall (October 4th and November 8th), we invite prospective students and their families to visit campus and explore all that the College of the Holy Cross has to offer.  Guests may pre-register by clicking on the link or sign up the day of the event.  We provide a light breakfast and lunch, as well as tours, info sessions, panels, and more!

– Day Visits: High school seniors will be matched with a current Holy Cross student host and have the chance to shadow him/her to see what’s it’s like to be a Crusader!  Registration will open later in September.

– Interviews: As we discuss in the blog, we highly encourage prospective students to interview with Holy Cross.  Thus we offer opportunities both on- and off-campus for high school seniors to meet with us and share their high school experiences.  Please request an interview at least two weeks ahead of time; we look forward to meeting you!

Of course, please do follow us on Twitter and Facebook with more updates about these and other events.  Happy Fall!

(photography for Tom Rettig)

It’s a beautiful Friday afternoon, and as I sit to type this, I cannot help but look out the window at the lovely green grass, the somewhat-cloudy-but-still-pretty-clear blue skies, and the bright leaves softly rustling in the big trees.  Thank goodness it’s almost the weekend–I plan to spend some time outside and enjoy this wonderful New England weather!

For me, summer is such a great time to catch up on books.  It feels so nice to jump into a story while relaxing at the beach or hanging out in the park, so I try to take advantage as often as I can.  As a student, I always enjoyed receiving the list of books that I had to complete by the end of August.  In middle school, I would even help my cousin with his reading requirements: he promised me that I would be able to read to him a chapter of Harry Potter if I read to him a chapter of his summer reading.  What a great deal!

Now, one of my favorite questions to ask during interviews is, “So what are you reading?”  It interests me to see which classic stories will be covered and which contemporary tomes are being added to the list.  Just today a student told me that she was enjoying Wuthering Heights, and another student earlier this week mentioned how much he liked Catcher in the Rye.

As I’ve already finished my book club’s pick for July, Papertowns, I thought it might be worthwhile to see what other good options might be out there.  First I came across this list on our new site called HC 100 Books.  Apparently back in the ’80s a group of faculty members chose books that they considered great classics (you can read the list here).  After skimming the list, it surprised me to find that I have only read three!

Other choices for summer reading: works by Holy Cross alumni.  Billy Collins ’63 served as the US Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003 and the New York Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006.  Some of his books include Aimless Love, The Trouble with Poetry, and Nine Horses.  Another Holy Cross alumnus, Edward P. Jones, graduated in 1972 and wrote All Aunt Hagar’s Children and Lost in the City.  Jones went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2004 with his novel, The Known World.

Between the 97 classics by historic authors and the award-winning works by these notable Crusaders, it looks as though I have my work cut out for me this summer!

Did you know that Worcester is the second-largest city in New England?  Of its 185,000 residents, students make up about one-fifth of the population, with 38,000 students attending 12 institutions of higher education.  I learned this during a bus tour led by members of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.  It was a beautiful summer day, and our hour-long tour included a drive past Worcester Technical High School, WPI, the Worcester Art Museum, and several parks, including Elm Park.

As a staff member who does not live in Worcester, I was delighted to learn more!  In fact, several of my colleagues told me some of their favorite things about the Woo, which we plan to add in our waiting room for visitors.  For now, read on for Lynn and Ashley’s favorite places to eat:

1. Sweet (72 Shrewsbury St) is one of Ashley’s favorite places to go for pastries…she said, “The dosants are amazing–and were invented way before the Cronut!”

2. Another popular pastry shop is Culpepper’s (500 Cambridge St # 3).  Lynn told us, “Culpepper’s is right down the hill from campus and [has] more bakery options than you could ever try! I recommend the yellow cookies (butter cookies drizzled with chocolate).”

3. Lynn also loves the Roasted Red (pizza) at Corner Grille (806 Pleasant St): “[It] has a delicious, thin crust and high quality ingredients. Friendly service too!”

4. For a more southern feel, Ashley suggests Smokestack Urban BBQ (139 Green St), as “you can never go wrong with their fried pickles!”

Bon appetit, and please come explore Worcester!