Admission: Not Impossible

December 4, 2013

Our Calling

It is so easy to get lost in all the mundane details of any job, and working in college admissions is no different. E-mail, spreadsheets, and voicemails all blur into one long day of tasks.

What’s the point of all this? Quo vadimus? — Where are we going?

And then you get the opportunity to call an Early Decision applicant and inform her that the committee has voted to admit her to the class of 2018.

>>WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

“You’re coming to Holy Cross,” I repeated, as she stammered, in shock, unable to make sense of the exciting news I was trying to deliver.

“I’m going to Holy Cross?” she asked, choking back tears.

And that was it – in that small moment, I found the reason for all those e-mails and spreadsheets – all those days at work. She’s heading to Holy Cross. I’m one of thirteen people helping to assemble the next class of Crusaders.

Where are we going? #HC2018 – that’s where we’re going.

Follow our progress on Twitter: @HCAdmission

November 27, 2013

Giving Thanks

In the spirit of tomorrow’s Thanksgiving holiday, all of us on the Holy Cross Admissions staff felt it important to share what we are thankful for this year.

I am thankful for many things in my life: my husband, my children, and most importantly health for my entire family. But for this week…..I am thankful for Drew for thanking all of us for the work that we do and for making each and every one of us feel special.

Doreen Haverty, Administrative Assistant

I’m thankful for all of my AWESOME colleagues who have patiently answered all of my questions and made me love my new job!

Ashley Johnson, Admissions Counselor

I’m most thankful for many things at this time of my life. First, I’m thankful for God and his abundant Grace that he pours out on my life each day. Second, I’m thankful for my husband. Third, I’m thankful for family & friends. Fourth, and most importantly, I’m extremely thankful for our Freedom and our Soldiers!

Trina Patten, Administrative Assistant

I am thankful for my wonderful staff!

Ann McDermott, Director of Admissions

I’m thankful for my health, my family, my special one and only granddaughter, my friends, and a roof over my head.

Pat McKeen, Receptionist

I am thankful for my children and grandchildren. They bring a lot of joy to my life.

Gloria Villa, Operations Manager

I’m thankful for my family.

Katie Vadnais, Clerical Assistant

I am most thankful for my family (brothers and sisters as well as my children and husband). I depend on them as much as they depend on me.

Eileen McCarron, Clerical Assistant

I’m thankful for the opportunity to be back on The Hill with the admissions team, my health, and my family. Oh, and of course, my dogs!

Madison Hebert, Admissions Counselor

I am thankful for students that have the guts to incorporate honesty, passion, and humor into their essays.

Julia Sanders, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions

All of my Family, especially my son, Nicholas. My home. Second chances in life. Unconditional Friendships. The community and students of The College of the Holy Cross. Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Shari Labovites, Administrative Assistant

Thankful I am healthy and still breathing!

Fr. Markey, S.J., Associate Director for Jesuit Relations

I’m thankful for my fellow admissions counselors, some of the coolest people I know. Thanks to them for inspiring me with their smarts, their creativity, and their dedication; for their support and encouragement when I take on new projects; for always making me smile and laugh, even after a long travel season or a tough day in committee. Because of them, I love what I do and look forward to coming to work every day.

Kate Gimourginas, Assistant Director of Admissions

I am thankful for all of the current students who donate their time to greet, give tours, and interview our prospective students and their families. Their willingness to share their experiences and love of the College reminds me daily that we are a part of a truly special community here at Holy Cross.

Diane Soboski, Associate Director of Admissions

I’m thankful for the kind Holy Cross student who watched out for my 2-year-old in Hogan after he accidentally rode the elevator by himself from the 3rd to the 5th floor.

Lynn Verrecchia, Associate Director of Admissions

I am thankful for being a part of the Holy Cross Admissions team!

Xiaofeng Wan, Assistant Director of Admissions

Thankful to work with creative and positive colleagues.

Dan Weagle, Assistant Director for Community Outreach

I am thankful for the work I do in the Admissions Office with fun and supportive co-workers; the Holy Cross students who stop by my office to chat and catch-up; the Perspectives Overnight Program memories and laughs; the friends, family, and food I’ll enjoy over the holidays; and the baby my husband and I are expecting in January.

Nancy Nelsen, Assistant Director for ALANA Recruitment

I’m thankful for co-workers that inspire, overtime victories and blue-frosted cupcakes.

Drew Carter, Associate Director of Admissions

All those in my life who laugh at my jokes, seek my advice, include me in their plans, and listen to my ideas. Oh, and the wonderfully magical power of coffee.

Zach Wielgus, Assistant Director of Admissions

From all of us in Holy Cross Admissions, have a safe, relaxing, and delicious Thanksgiving!

November 22, 2013

A “Hill” of a Nice Campus

But what about the hill?

I am asked this question all the time. All. The. Time.

I meet students who have researched Holy Cross, love the academic offerings, admire the culture and tradition and can’t wait to be a part of student life . . . “but what about all those stairs?”

I’ve offered so many responses to this question over the years:

– What stairs?

– You know, you do get to go down them sometimes, too . . .

– Oh, it’s not THAT bad.

– Have you heard about all our elevators?

Recently, though, I’ve thought more and more about it.

We love our college – not in spite of the hill but, in part, because of our hill. Anyone who has witnessed a fall sunset from the Hart Center on top of the hill would never complain about the view they get from this hill. Anyone who has endured a muggy spring day in May would never complain about the cool, spring breeze afforded to us on this hill. Anyone who has gone sledding and finished their run just steps away from the hot chocolate in Kimball Dining Hall would never complain about the hill.

So, in the future, when applicants ask me about the hill, I now know how I’ll respond.

“I know. It’s pretty great, isn’t it?”

November 18, 2013

Put the “y-o-u” in Essay

By the time you’re ready to actually apply to college, many of the pieces of your college application already are the way they are. You’ve taken the classes you’ve taken, you’ve earned the grades you’ve earned, you’ve been involved in activities that have been important to you, and your counselor and teachers have been reflecting on their relationships with you and starting to write their letters of recommendation. Essentially, your college application has been a work in progress for the past few years and at this point much of it is already– to a certain extent– out of your hands.

Sure, you might take the SATs one more time to see if your scores improve (though we’re test-optional at Holy Cross). You’ll continue working hard through senior year to keep your grades up (because we will see them). And hopefully, you’ve contacted us to set up a personal interview (we HIGHLY recommend this).

But one piece that’s still completely in your control and ready to be molded by you is your college essay.

This is great power, and it’s exciting! Consider the college essay an opportunity, and take full advantage of it. This is your chance to share something unique about yourself and to give us a glimpse into one aspect of your life that we wouldn’t otherwise have been fully privy to. We know you aced AP Calc and we know you’re captain of the soccer team and we know your teachers love you … but such is the case for many of our other applicants, too. So now let’s get personal. What wouldn’t we discover or understand about you just from reading your application? Let us in.

If you keep putting off the writing or are filled with dread every time you think about it, ask yourself why this is. Chances are, if you’re having difficulty getting started or making progress, your topic might not be as meaningful to you as you thought. Don’t write what you think we want to hear, write what matters to you. Start a couple of drafts on different topics, walk away, see which one you look forward to returning to the most, and stick with that one. A great personal essay often comes from a place of passion, pride, pain, amusement, nostalgia, curiosity, confusion, desire, joy, love. Write about what makes you tick, what gets you up in the morning, what brings tears to your eyes. Write about experiences that have changed you, relationships that have bettered you, accomplishments that have truly mattered to you, moments that have stayed with you, challenges you’ve overcome. Write about who you are and who you want to be.

The point is, write about YOU. You’ll notice that all five of the essay prompts on the Common Application direct you to write about yourself. So even though we are looking to evaluate the strength and style of your writing, please don’t send us the English paper you just got an A+ on. Boring! Make sure that the people who know you best would be able to read your essay and know it’s yours. Also make sure that if those people are helping you proofread and edit, don’t let their opinions influence you to the point that you end up losing “you” in the essay.

Finally, help make it easier on us admissions counselors by crafting a piece that’s interesting to read! Inject your voice, your personality, your creativity, and in some cases, your humor. A few comments we often make when we’re reading college essays:

“Show, don’t tell!” Illustrate the who, what, when, where, and why with details, examples, anecdotes, even dialogue.
“Too thesaurus-heavy!” Don’t use words that are outside of your normal vocabulary. It will sound forced and unnatural.
“Get rid of the first paragraph!” Don’t feel the need to have a formal introduction and conclusion with three neat topic paragraphs sandwiched in between. You have a limited number of words to use, so please just jump right in there and grab our attention.

Believe me when I say that we here on the admissions staff at Holy Cross love and appreciate the college essay. We look forward to getting to know you.

November 12, 2013

What to do in The Woo, Part I

As a Worcester native, and a representative of the Holy Cross admissions office, I spend a lot of time excitedly talking to prospective students about the city affectionately nicknamed “the Woo.”

There are many things that make Worcester an ideal college town and, over the next few months, I’d like to highlight a few of my favorites. I hope this will benefit current Holy Cross students and future Crusaders alike.

So, without further ado, I give you the best of Worcester, installment one:

Question: What should I do on a Saturday afternoon when there isn’t a football game?

Answer: “WAM and Wooberry”

Start the day by taking the Consortium Shuttle to the Worcester Art Museum. I love this museum because it is doable in one afternoon. It’s a beautiful space that has a little of everything: from ancient works to Van Gogh to Warhol. It’s also free with your Holy Cross ID card. Fun Fact: A few scenes from David O. Russell’s widely anticipated film “American Hustle” were shot at the museum.

All that art-viewing is sure to leave you ready to indulge in a sweet treat. A few short blocks away you’ll find the sweetest addition to the Highland Street corridor, Wooberry frozen yogurt. Featuring an ever-changing assortment of flavors (Mango, Salted Caramel, and Pumpkin are just a few) , you’re sure to find something to make you smile.

Hope these suggestions help! Feel free to call the admissions office if you’d like some more.

November 1, 2013

A Seasonal Playlist

My life requires a soundtrack. More often than not, I have something playing in the background. While I’m working in my office, cleaning my apartment, going for a run, writing this blog … there’s something moving through the speakers.

Given that, as I spend many hours in the car getting from place to place during travel season, I have made an unofficial playlist for this time of the admissions year:

1) ESPN Radio. The bickering and analysis of Mike & Mike greets me every morning. I drink coffee, listen to sports talk, and wake up on my way to my first stop.

2) “We Were Us” by Keith Urban & Miranda Lambert. I heard an interview about making this duet while in Columbus, and now I can’t change to the station when it’s on.

3) “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus. I’m not proud of it, but this thing is on all the time.

4) “Every Little Thing is Gonna Be All Right” by Bob Marley. After answering many, many concerns about the Common App’s glitches from frantic applicants and counselors, this melody has become my go-to advice. Get lost in these words.

5) “Out of My League” by Fitz and the Tantrums. A lucky find of a Minneapolis independent radio station introduced this song (and band) to me. Their whole album is great!

6) “Radio” by Darius Rucker. I was lost in Tennessee when I first heard this new single. As a big Darius Rucker fan, it was three minutes of windows-down bliss in an otherwise stressful situation.

7) “Roar” by Katy Perry. As word of a contest to win a Katy Perry concert by making a video to this tune got ‘round all-girls schools everywhere, I, too, got caught up in her new hook.

8) “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder. After exhausting the country, top 40, and alternative rock stations, I rediscovered my appreciation for Motown. The horns in this song get me pumped for a visit!

9) “Applause” by Lady Gaga. After a long day with a drive back to the hotel the final task, getting to blast Gaga’s return appropriately matches my mood. I don’t know most of the words, but at that point, it doesn’t matter.

October 7, 2013

Some Supplement Advice

What does your stomach do when I mention the words “college essay?” Tie up in panicky knots? Flip over in anticipation? Growl with excitement? However you feel about writing your essay, the time has come to get serious about it.

We care about essays for two reasons: we want students who can write, and we want students who have something to say. Most of us who read applications consider the essay to be the dessert that comes after a steady diet of grades, scores, and other facts and figures.

In addition to the Common Application essay, Holy Cross has a required short (250-word max) response question. Hey, we like dessert! The short answer question is “What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?” We hope you’ll use your 250 words to share a piece of advice that has resonated with you and explain why. Maybe we’ll even take your advice!

Why should you get to have all the fun? I asked some of my colleagues to share the bits of advice that they would like to write about. Here are some highlights:

“It’s not all about you.”

“Make your own luck.”

“You have to be a friend to have a friend.”

“Listen first.”

“It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.”

“Trust your instincts.”

My advice to you? Start writing!

September 29, 2013

Fat Squirrels … and four other important tour tips

The Top 5 Things to Look for on a Campus Tour:

1) Grass and flowers.

Let’s face it – you’re not buying a skillet, you’re choosing a place to live for four years. Don’t you want it to look nice? No, it’s not the most important thing, but it is something. And something counts.

2) College gear.

Don’t worry about whether students are smiling or not (do you smile when walking to a calculus exam?), notice whether or not students are wearing clothing or gear with their school’s name on it. No one flies the flag for a school they dislike.

3) People holding doors.

When someone holds a door for you, it is a sign that they understand that they are not alone in this world – they realize you exist, they acknowledge it and they’re going to try and make your day just a tiny bit better. That’s the kind of place you want to spend four years. Now return the favor.

4) Fat squirrels.

Want to ride the subway to class in college? Great – ignore this step. But if you have ever pictured yourself in college hanging out on a quad and walking to class across a grassy, green vista then you want to see squirrels on your tour. If you see squirrels, then there trees and grass on that campus. If they are fat, then there’s lots of trees. And no coyotes. And that’s something, too. And something counts.

5) Stairs.

Seriously, no one dreams of going to college and falling out of shape. Going up and down stairs will keep you fit. And remember — where there are stairs, at the top, there’s always a great view. Stairs equals healthy, fit people enjoying gorgeous views. Sounds like a great place to go to college.

September 25, 2013

A Day in the Life: On the Road

Hey ya’ll!

As anyone who knows me — friends, family, co-workers, recent plane neighbors — I love Tennessee. I love the accent. I love the music. I love the barbeque. Sometimes (read: all the time), I like to pretend I live here as I spend my week visiting Chattanooga, Nashville, and Memphis. So I figured, this trip is a great way to show what it’s like to be a Holy Cross admissions counselor on the road.

6:27 a.m. Begrudgingly pull myself out of bed. I am not much of a morning person.

7:35 a.m. Arrive at St. Cecilia Academy for their mini-fair. Not 12 hours before, I was standing in their foyer for the Catholic Colleges fair for students in Nashville, but it’s important for all the girls to get a chance to stop by.

9:10 a.m. Wrap up at St. Cecilia’s and head across the street — literally — to Montgomery Bell Academy for a similar setup.

10:30 a.m. A break from the mini-fair action comes in the form of a traditional visit to Ensworth School. In this format, we announce our visits to students and guidance counselors in hopes of having a conversation for 40 minutes about Holy Cross.

10:34 a.m. Whoa! My body finally realized I had had neither coffee nor breakfast today. That’s about to change…

10:45 a.m. Pull into Ensworth just in time for my scheduled visit. We admissions counselors get pretty good at maximizing these few minutes in between visits.

11:30 a.m. After a great conversation with Laura Stewart, Ensworth School’s Director of College Counseling, I plug Harpeth Hall into my handy-dandy GPS. Did you know there was a time when admissions counselors used maps to get from place to place? As in, a real road atlas. I would make it to a school visit 4% of the time.

11:56 a.m. With an hour before the Harpeth Hall mini-fair begins, I must invoke the unfortunately common parking lot lurk. It’s just me in my rental car, hopefully away from quizzical eyes, answering e-mails on my phone until I can head inside. There is such a thing as being too early.

1:45 p.m. With the end of a strong visit to Harpeth Hall, it’s time for lunch. Let my obsession with Yelp take over!

2:10 p.m. Today’s lunch spot has been found! (Thanks for a delicious salad and iced tea, Fido.)

3:30 p.m. To answer more e-mails, nap, or go for a run? Incredibly, I choose run this afternoon. It’s only a quick four-mile one, but I always enjoy the chance to jog around Centennial Park and catch a glimpse of the Parthenon replica. To be honest, I still don’t know why it’s in Nashville…

4:18 p.m. OK, OK, time to catch up on e-mail,: reply to inquiring students, continue planning Wednesday’s interview night, and keep all the on-campus commitments humming.

6:41 p.m. The best part about Nashville, of course, is the free live music EVERYWHERE. Hop the hotel shuttle to the main strip on Broadway and pick your destination. It sure beats watching TV or reading a magazine while eating dinner. Hey, this part of the job can get a little lonely!

10:01 p.m. Well, Father Ryan’s mini-fair begins at 7:15 tomorrow morning, so I better head back to the hotel and get some rest. Bless my heart, but I still need my eight hours!

For a list of where all 13 of us will be and when, check out our Visits to Your High School page

September 16, 2013

May the Fat Lady sing

I love opera.

There. I said it.

I. Love. Opera.

I love the pageantry. I love the exaggerated emotions. I love how ambitious the productions are.

Loving opera does not make me cool nor garner me much attention (other than the quizzical looks from friends and family). But I do love watching it, listening to it, reading about it and talking about it. If I were applying to college today, I just might write my essay about my reaction to Figaro’s swagger or the sparkle in Carmen’s eye or how I feel hearing Violetta’s pained plea, “Amami, Alfredo, amami quant’io t’amo!” (Love me, Alfredo, love me as I love you!)

But when composing their essays, most students choose to write about topics that they think admissions counselors want them to write about; truth is, we hope for great essays and typically the best essays are on topics that the student loved writing about – for me, it just might be opera.

There are no right or wrong topics to choose for your essay – there are only the topics you want to write about and the topics you think you should write about.

So when the moment comes to choose a topic, seize the moment – choose a topic you want to write about, tell your story, sing your song and you might just have us yelling, “Encore!”

Andrew Carter
Associate Director of Admissions

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