Admission: Not Impossible

June 14, 2021

Three Lessons of College Admissions

As I wrap up my first year post-graduation, and working for the College there are a number of lessons I have learned about the College Admissions process. Lessons I wish I would have been privy to all those years ago when I was applying for Colleges. I have summed up three lessons I have learned while working in college admissions. I hope these lessons are helpful to you as you navigate the College Admissions process, regardless of where you might be in that process:

Applications get read and re-read and sometimes re-re-read

Holy Cross uses a holistic approach to admission. We value every aspect of an applicant’s background, and we read every part of the application to ensure we understand the whole picture. Our reading and committee processes are extensive and dedicated to ensuring that we get to know each and every applicant. In short, we care about getting to know you and will read every part of your application multiple times. We are thoughtful and intentional about every decision we make!

Your admissions counselor wants to get to know you!

One thing I wish I would have taken advantage of as an applicant is getting to know my regional admissions counselor. As an admissions counselor I love connecting with students and answering their questions! Your admissions counselor is incredibly knowledgeable and can serve as a great resource to you at any point in the admissions process. Please do not be shy about connecting with your counselor!

Engagement matters

At Holy Cross we value demonstrated interest. We appreciate it when applicants have engaged with us in some way shape or form during the admissions process. Engagement can mean attending a virtual tour and information session, or sending an admissions counselor an email! Engagement opportunities are not only ways for you to demonstrate interest, but they are also avenues to learn more about the College of the Holy Cross. I encourage you all to take advantage of every opportunity to learn more about Holy Cross. It is important to research every school you apply to! You should gather all the necessary information you need to ensure you are applying to schools that are a fit for you!

I hope this information is helpful to you as you navigate through the admissions process! I wish you the best, and encourage you to enjoy every step of the process!

Best,

Alyssa Martinez | Assistant Director of Admission

July 13, 2016

Woo! for Worcester

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, it delighted me to learn more! Please read on for some of our staff member’s favorite places to eat near campus:

1. Sweet (72 Shrewsbury St) is a great option for pastries…one of my colleagues said, “The dosants are amazing–and were invented way before the Cronut!”

2. Another popular pastry shop is Culpepper’s (500 Cambridge St # 3). A counselor recommended the yellow cookies, which are butter cookies drizzled with chocolate.

3. The Roasted Red (pizza) at Corner Grille (806 Pleasant St) is beloved in our office for its delicious, thin crust and high-quality ingredients.

4. For a more southern feel, try Smokestack Urban BBQ (139 Green St). You can never go wrong with their fried pickles!

Bon appetit, and come explore Worcester! Also, please stay tuned for a post on some of our students’ favorite places in the Woo.

June 2, 2015

Say Hello to our Summer Tour Guides!

Happy June, everyone! It has been quiet here in Fenwick Hall these past few weeks, especially with the semester ending and our seniors graduating (congratulations, Class of 2019!!!). Before we leave for the NEACAC conference at Roger Williams University, however, I wanted to take a moment to introduce our student admissions workers for the summer. Without further ado, here they are!

Heidi Boland

I am a rising senior here at the College of the Holy Cross. I am originally from Wellesley, Massachusetts where I graduated from Wellesley High School in 2012. Upon entering Holy Cross I began my pre-med studies and the requirements for my biology major. In addition I joined the club soccer team, and in further years have also been a part of intramural softball, admissions outreach, volunteering at a high school in Worcester, working in the photography dark room, and have recently completed a marathon! My junior year I spent abroad in Costa Rica doing a global health program and also in Scotland at the University of St. Andrews. I have chosen to be a tour guide and part of the admissions team at Holy Cross because of the love that I have for this school and everyone who works and attends. I want to share this passion with everyone who visits to make sure that they know that Holy Cross is such an incredible school to attend.

Kat Resker

I’m a rising junior here at Holy Cross. I live about 25 minutes from campus in Grafton, MA however I am a full time Holy Cross student! On campus I work and volunteer in the Admissions and the Post Office, I am part of the choir, and I am also a member of a community service group called SPUD (Student Programs for Urban Development). I have recently declared as a Political Science and Italian double major. Joined by seven other Holy Cross students, I will be spending my entire junior year in Bologna, Italy studying at L’Università di Bologna! One of my highlights on the Hill was undoubtedly spring break of my freshman year when I spent a week in El Paso, Texas on an immersion trip hosted by our Chaplain’s Office.

Flavia Sula

I am a rising junior here at Holy Cross. I’ve lived in Worcester, MA for fifteen years, but I was born and raised in Rome, Italy. I am an English major, with a Women’s and Gender Studies concentration. On campus, I’ve been involved in various things: tour guide in Admissions, work-study student in the Study Abroad office, Summer Orientation Leader with the Gateways program, Escape Retreat Team Leader with the Chaplain’s Office, and the College Honors Program. What I’m most excited about next year is having the opportunity to study and live in Trinity College, Dublin, under the supervision and guidance of Holy Cross’ study abroad program. Therefore, I’m happy to spend as much time at Holy Cross for the summer, sharing my experiences and memories with prospective students, before leaving this wonderful place for an entire academic year.

We offer tours four times a day, Monday through Friday; for more information, please go to our Tours & Information Sessions page. Hope to see you on campus soon!

(photography given to Admissions by the authors)

August 13, 2014

“Interview” is Not a Four-Letter Word

It is actually nine. Whether we are meeting students on the road or on campus, we seem to hear the same question over and over again: “What can I do to increase my chances of acceptance?”

Our answer? “INTERVIEW!”

Though 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, 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.

June 3, 2014

Summer Visit Opportunities

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.). For tips during the week, follow us on Twitter @HCAdmission, where we will be posting visit tips during June.

We will be here and looking forward to your visit!

Zach Wielgus

Assistant Director of Admissions

April 16, 2014

What You Missed

Thanks to the timing of the Easter holiday, Holy Cross — as well as a number of other New England institutions — held its Accepted Student Open House this past weekend. Nearly 2,000 visitors made their way to campus for the biggest, most energetic, and most informative day of the year. Current students cheered for potential new classmates on their way in. Drawstring bags and sunglasses were handed out. Members of the Class 0f 2018 signed our Congratulations Banner.

And this was all before they entered the Registration area inside the basketball arena!

The rest of the day included dozens of extracurricular and student life organizations available at our Browsing Fair; over 45 presentations from academic departments, pre-professional programs, and offices such as Study Abroad and Career Planning; a quick separating of student from parent for an hour-long panel where any and all questions can be asked without judgment or embarrassment; a delicious lunch buffet (with a surprise visit from the Goodtime Marching Band!); interspersed performances from a capella groups and dance teams; and closing comments from Director of Admissions Ann McDermott and President Fr. Boroughs.

A lot happened, and many stayed until the very end.

But in case you missed it, here are just a few pictures from the day:

A Saturday night welcome reception for students hailing from beyond 5 hours.

The Congratulations banner is filling up with names and hometowns!

Now that's true happiness. — Now that’s true happiness.

High school friends reunite with current Crusaders!

Families listen to a presentation on Study Abroad in Dinand Library.

Visions students seeing one of Worcester's gathering spots, Elm Park. — Visions students seeing one of Worcester’s gathering spots, Elm Park.

March 18, 2014

The College Search: Facts, Figures, and Feelings

There’s an endless and oftentimes overwhelming supply of resources out there to help you through your college search. You could camp out in the College Guide aisle at Barnes and Noble for two years and never make it through half the books. You could pull all-nighters clicking through Naviance and scouring every ranking posted by US News & World Report and The Princeton Review until your eyes bug out of your head. You could spend so much time on each college’s website that you know exactly where to find obscure information like how many people the dining hall seats.

And don’t get me wrong, statistics are certainly important. You should figure out what the academic profile of an admitted student looks like in order to predict whether a college is in your “range.” You should calculate a college’s distance from your home and decide how far away you’d be okay moving. You should research the size of the student body and the average classroom size and figure out whether those numbers seem comfortable or intimidating to you.

But ultimately, your college choice is not formulaic. You can’t plug a set of numbers into a magical College Calculator and expect it to spit out your Perfect College. The facts and figures can provide you with a great starting point and help guide your search in the right direction, but they won’t be what convinces you that you can call a college “home” for the next four years of your life.

That’s where the intangibles come in. Nothing beats visiting a campus and getting a feel for it by exploring it and soaking it all in. I’m not saying that you need to get “that special feeling” that a college is “the one and only” for you as soon as you step foot onto the campus; this is not a fairy tale, after all, and you do need to keep some options open. But as a human being, you will naturally have reactions to being in a new environment, and you should pay attention to those. After all, you know yourself better than anyone else.

Go on guided campus tours and attend information sessions, but also find more informal ways to discover the energy, vibe, and identity of a school. Walk through a quad and sense whether students seem excited to go to class. Sit in the campus coffee shop and eavesdrop on students’ conversations with one another (without being too creepy, of course). Take a moment to peek at bulletin boards in the student center to investigate the weekly and weekend goings-on. Take some pictures of the campus to jog your memory later on and maybe even jot down some notes for yourself before all of your many campus visits start to blur together. Finally, consider sharing these thoughts and observations with friends and family who are supporting you through this process. Chances are they’ll be able to either see the sparkle in your eyes or read the lack of enthusiasm in your voice.

Kate Gimourginas

Assistant Director of Admissions

February 26, 2014

What’s Holy Cross REALLY Like?

I wish I could tell you. Really, I do. As a member of the admissions staff, I view knowing as much as I can about this school as a point of pride; having to say “I don’t know” or “let me get back to you” is something I try to keep to a minimum.

The trouble is, no matter how much research I can do, no matter how long I work here, I will never be able to answer that question. I’m not a student. I don’t eat in the dining halls, sleep in the dorms, attend classes and lectures, cheer my lungs out at games, or form lifelong friendships on this campus.

Our students, however, do. And what’s even better is that there are seven current students doing a stellar job answering this question on social media. So you want to see what Holy Cross is really like? Start following Meaghan, Alli, Kerri, Natalie, Matt, Caroline, and Julia:

1) On Twitter (current students initial their posts and photos)

2) On Instagram: MeaghanB2017, AlliD2016, KerriF2016, NatalieC2017, MattB2016, CarolineL2016, and JuliaL2016

3) Their student profiles (coming soon!)
A quick peek at some recent contributions….

Natalie's room (NAC17) — Natalie’s room (NAC17)

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 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.

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