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Scott Seseske, Assistant Dean of Admission
Hometown: Pittsfield, MA
Education: B.A. in English from Providence College (Class of 2004), Member of Liberal Arts Honors Program
Geographic Responsibilities (travel territories): MA (Berkshire and Franklin counties; Lowell, Concord, and
Wellesley areas), AZ, CA, HI, NM
Office Responsibilities: Admission Ambassador Coordinator, Athletic Department Liaison (Lacrosse), Recruitment
Publications Task Force (Electronic Communication & Blog Coordinator), School/College Relations Committee
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Hello from PC! Here's the next installment of the Summer Photo Tour...
As a Catholic and Dominican institution, PC provides its students with many ways to explore their spiritual lives. This entry takes a look at the places to pray on campus...
The center of spiritual life on campus is St. Dominic Chapel, which opened its doors in 2001:
 
Masses are held daily in St. Dominic Chapel throughout the academic year. Since college students usually don't like to wake up early on the weekends, Sunday masses are available in the afternoon, evening, and at 10:30 PM (the most popular choice among our students).
The Spiritual Life pages of this website provide a tour of St. Dominic Chapel, if you're interested in taking a closer look.
In addition to St. Dominic Chapel, daily mass and morning prayer services take place at the St. Thomas Aquinas Priory Chapel, located on the first floor of the St. Thomas Aquinas Priory (the Dominican residence on campus):
 
There are also additional chapels/oratories for individual quiet prayer/meditation in Harkins Hall and St. Catherine of Siena Hall:
 
Located just across Eaton Street from the PC campus is St. Pius V Church, providing another option for PC students and staff within walking distance. St. Pius V is a Dominican Parish of the Diocese of Providence:
 
Finally, it's now time for a little PC history lesson... Prior to the opening of St. Dominic Chapel, the main chapel on campus was located in Aquinas Hall. Aquinas Chapel was the main chapel from 1940 until the opening of St. Dominic in January 2001. After St. Dominic Chapel was opened, Aquinas Chapel was converted into the College's Center for Catholic and Dominican Studies:
Continue reading "Places To Pray - Summer Photo Tour" »
The learning experience at the college level is different from the high school level in a number of ways - but one major way is that you don't spend all day from 8:00 to 3:00 in the classroom. Some classes at PC meet three times per week, others for longer sessions but only once or twice per week. This type of class schedule means that you'll be responsible for working on your own outside of the classroom - studying, completing assignments, writing papers, and the like.
So, I'm sure you want to find out about the places available for you to study - outside of your room in your residence hall (you certainly can and will study there, but when I was a student I found myself more productive without the distractions of my room - like IM, Facebook, the TV, roommates, etc...).
The closest place to go from your room is right inside of your residence hall - each residential building on campus has a study lounge, a place you can go in your pajamas and flip-flops to study by yourself or in a group... couches, tables - it's comfy!
There are many places outside of your residence hall where you'll be able to get some work done, with the library being the most obvious...
The Phillips Memorial Library has study space for over 800 students (yes, at the same time) and offers both individual and group study areas:
  
In addition, the Campus Ministry Center, located on the lower level of St. Dominic Chapel, provides a great study area - and our chaplain, Fr. Blau, is well-known for having all sorts of food, candy, and coffee available at all times!
 
When I was a student, I spent time studying in the library, in the Campus Ministry Center, and in my residence hall - but sometimes, these places were too quiet (I will admit to falling asleep at a table in the library on more than one occasion!). If I needed a little more active environment to stay awake, I would head to our student center, Slavin Center, which always provided a little more background noise to go with my studying (and easy access to food at Alumni Dining Hall!!):
 
And finally, what many college students will tell you is the best place to study (during the warmer days of the fall and spring, at least!): outside on the lawn! I don't know how much studying really gets done outside - there are always wiffle ball games to join and frisbees flying around - but it can be a nice escape to take your textbook and find a spot under a tree or at a picnic table:
 
Our Office of Academic Services has also compiled a list of places to study on campus - who knew that residence hall laundry rooms were popular study spaces??
Continue reading "Places To Study - Summer Photo Tour" »
OK, here we go... The first of my summer "behind-the-scenes" photo tours of PC. Each will have a different theme and show you some places you might not see during our hour-long campus tour (there's so much to see - we can't squeeze it all into one hour!!). Along with the pictures, I'll sprinkle in some PC facts and information about where the pictures were taken... with the hope that it helps you get to know our campus a little bit better.
Let's start with the places where you'll spend a great deal of time - our classrooms here at Providence College. Now, since it is summertime, we have a lot of empty classrooms on campus - so you're going to see some empty classrooms. What can you get out of that? Well, I think it gives you a great sense of our class sizes and also how our classes are taught. As you'll see from the photos, classes are small and discussion-oriented at PC, giving you the opportunity to truly be engaged in your learning by contributing to class discussions and having your questions answered. The average class size at PC is 22... the student to faculty ratio is 12:1. Let's take a look inside of some traditional classrooms:
 
Classrooms are constantly updated with new technology - so professors have the opportunity to use pictures, videos, information from the internet, and more as part of their classes:
 
Many upper-level courses within your major will be set in seminar-style classrooms, with 10-15 students per class sitting around a table, rather than in a traditional classroom with the professor up front. In these smaller, discussion-style classes, all students have a truly engaging classroom experience:
 
So, there you have it - some empty classrooms that hopefully have given you a sense of the size of our classes here at PC...
Of course, the educational experience on campus has a lot more to do with the faculty who will be teaching you and your peers that you'll be sharing the classrooms with than the actual rooms, but families always are interested in seeing classrooms (even if they're empty) when they tour campus... and sometimes (during the school year), it can be difficult to bring tours in to see classrooms because of the sizes of some tours and because there are classes going on! Out of respect for our current students, tour guides sometimes will not bring large tours through academic buildings, so as not to disrupt classroom instruction. And so you have me - and my digital camera - to take you through our academic buildings... and on to some other campus destinations next week!
We talk a lot about the bonds of friendship that are developed during four years as a student at Providence College, and this past weekend I saw firsthand how the PC family experience continues well beyond graduation. I attended the wedding of a PC classmate of mine, and at the wedding reception, 9 of the 11 people sitting at my table were PC grads! It was a great example of how Providence College truly becomes a part of your life forever- and it was also a lot of fun catching up with people I hadn't seen since my own graduation!
Congrats to Jess and Ian!!
The Providence College "delegation" with the bride and groom!
With the arrival of mid-July, here's a look at what I will be blogging about for the remainder of the summer...
First of all, for the soon-to-be seniors in high school, it's obviously crucial for you to have as much information as possible about the colleges and universities you are considering applying to as you narrow down your final college list. Therefore, starting next week, we're going to take you on some behind-the-scenes photo tours of campus... highlighting some things you may not have seen or heard about yet, even if you have been on a campus tour. But remember, nothing online can replace the actual campus visit - so please come see us in person if you have yet to do so!
When we reach early August, I am going to change the focus from exploring PC's campus to taking a close look at the college application process, and hopefully providing you with some helpful tips as you complete your college applications. We'll talk about the college essay, letters of recommendation, activity sheets, and other college application topics. And when I say "we'll talk," I really mean it! This blog is meant to be a conversation with you, and if there are specific topics you'd like to talk about, please let me know by posting them in the "Comments" section. As you begin to work on your college applications, please feel free to post any general or specific questions in the "Comments" area as well, and I will post the answers so that everyone can see them (because if you're asking the question, chances are somebody else also has the same question!).
That's what's coming up here in the next few weeks. One more note to our incoming freshman class (Class of 2012) - I mentioned that we will be looking for a first-year blogger or two to join us on these pages in September... If you're interested, keep an eye on your PC e-mail account because you will be receiving information about the blog application process by the end of next week!
Have a fantastic weekend - and I'll be back with some PC pictures next week!
Summer is a quieter time in the world of college athletics, but we still have some exciting things going on here in "Friartown." Here's what's been happening so far this summer in the world of PC Athletics:
*Associate VP for Athletics Bob Driscoll Named Division I Northeast Region Athletics Director of the Year!
*Women's Soccer Recruiting Class Ranked in Top 100 in the Nation!
*Big East Conference Announces Formation of Men's Lacrosse League - Friars and six other institutions will join the league and begin play in 2010.
*Field Hockey Coach Diane Madl Inducted into PA State Athletic Hall Of Fame
That's the big news from Friartown - of course, you can stay up to date on all of PC's sports teams by visiting our Athletics website: www.friars.com.
I know, the title should say "ALMOST Summer" ... but we're close enough!
New student orientation for our incoming freshman class starts today - we have a very dedicated group of upperclassman orientation leaders who have been on campus training for the past couple of weeks, and we're excited to officially welcome our new first-year students to campus!
If you are an incoming freshman, welcome - and thanks for continuing to read the blog into the summer! If you have an interest in becoming a student blogger during your freshman year at PC, keep an eye on your PC e-mail account during July for more information...
Our new admission reception area is online in the rotunda of Harkins Hall, just down the stairs from our office. This new space will help to alleviate some of the congestion we have in our office on busy campus visit days. (We're still waiting for the final pieces of furniture - it should be officially complete soon!!)
The admission staff has returned from the New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC) Annual Meeting & Conference, where nine of us were last week. We spent the week discussing various admission topics with over 500 NEACAC members in Burlington, VT. As the co-coordinator of our Admission Ambassador organization here at PC, I had the opportunity to see how some other institutions used their student volunteers and took away some ideas that we may put in place at PC during the coming year. Oh, and I also shared some blogging thoughts with colleagues at other schools - blogging is definitely one of my favorite topics!
Summer campus visits are in full swing - we have an energetic group of summer admission student assistants who would love to show you around campus! (And if you're planning on coming to the 10:30 Group Information Session tomorrow morning - I'll see you there!).
As we progress through the summer, I will continue to provide you with updates - including photo tours of some of our campus facilities. Until then, enjoy the first official weekend of summer 2008!
Hi there! This posting comes to you from the state of Vermont, where I am attending the New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC) Annual Meeting and Conference. Over 500 college admission counselors and high school counselors are here with me to connect with colleagues, discuss important student issues, and learn some new things from other professionals in our field. I enjoy meeting admission counselors from other institutitons and hearing about some of the things they are doing in their respective offices. It's also great to be here with our colleagues on the high school side of the desk - being able to exchange in discussions with secondary school counselors helps us on the college side to get a better sense of what is happening in the high schools where we see applications from each year.
The NEACAC Conference is also a great place to reconnect with counselors (both admission and high school) who we haven't seen since the fall. I spend almost two months with the same group of admission counselors in my travel territories during September and October, but don't see very much of them during the winter and spring as we all return to our institutions to read applications. I also spend a lot of time talking to high school counselors on the phone about their students who have applied to PC, but I haven't always met them in person. Just last night, I met two high school counselors for the first time face to face - but we have had many phone conversations over the past couple of years about their applicants. It's great to be able to put a face with the voice!
More details from the conference to come - I hope that you are enjoying the beautiful summer weather!
*Scott
Burlington, VT
We officially have a heat wave here in New England: three straight days at 90 degrees or higher! So, even though the official first day of summer is still almost two weeks away, I think we can unofficially say that summertime is here! And with the arrival of the summer months comes our summer campus visit season at PC, for our juniors who will soon be seniors in high school (and the sophomores - soon to be juniors - who want to get an early start!).
Today is our first day of campus visits for the summer of '08, which means we will have student-led campus tours and a group information session taking place. Tours and information sessions will be available Monday through Friday throughout the summer. Generally, tours depart at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 3:00 PM Monday through Thursday and 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM only on Fridays. Group information sessions will take place at 10:30 AM Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and 1:30 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you are coming to a campus tour only, you do not need to register - simply arrive by the scheduled time at Harkins Hall. For Group Information Sessions, we do ask that you call our office at (800) 721-6444 to register so we know how many families will be in attendance.
Please see our full campus visit schedule to be certain that a tour and/or information session will be available on the day you will be visiting. We look forward to welcoming you to campus this summer!
Welcome to June 2008! Wow. That came fast, didn't it? The arrival of the summer months brings a slightly more relaxed atmosphere in the Office of Admission, but also a time of great importance for the upcoming academic year. The 2007-08 school year has come to a close, and if you have been along for the ride on this blog since the end of last summer, you've seen the variety of different responsibilities that admission counselors have throughout the year. We've moved from the fall travel season to application review to the spring campus programming season... and now we have reached the summer months. During the summer, we close the book on the 2007-08 year and spend a great deal of time planning for the 2008-09 academic year. And that brings us to our annual admission staff retreat, which took place last week...
Each year near the end of May, all of our admission counselors attend a three-day retreat, during which we assess the previous year and then turn the page, so to speak, and create the goals for the new admission cycle that is about to begin. This retreat is a nice opportunity for each counselor to share his or her thoughts on the previous year and ideas and goals for the upcoming year with the rest of the staff. New initatives are created here (new ideas for our office publications and campus programming opportunities, for example) and each counselor comes away with a group of projects to complete during the summer so that the plans are in place for the fall. The planning that takes place during the summer months is vital for the rest of the year to run smoothly - so that's what I will be spending a lot of time doing this summer!
Along with my travel and application responsibilities, I also serve as the co-coordinator of our student Ambassador program, work with our athletic recruits, serve as the liaison to the Humanities departments on campus, and am part of the electronic communication task force (which means I spend a lot of time writing, editing, and updating the admission pages of our website). I will spend time this summer focusing on each of these areas, in addition to planning my fall travel schedule. I also will have the opportunity to attend some workshops and conferences this summer with other college admission professionals - these programs give us a sense of what is going on in the admission world and at other colleges and universities across the country.
So, there you have it! Oh, and along with the planning and assessment that takes place, we'll also be welcoming LOTS of campus visitors this summer - visit opportunities begin next week! I'll fill you in on more specifics on all of the above as we move through the summer!
One of the things you'll hear Providence College students talk about all the time is the true sense of community on campus, and how the people at PC become a second "family." I think sometimes prospective students and their families can be skeptical of this statement, but I can tell you from my own experience that PC really does become a second home and members of the PC community do become your second family. It's something that I really notice each year during commencement festivies, and it's also something that I notice on campus as a staff member. Let me give you an example - when a bunch of us from the Office of Admission headed over to Alumni Dining Hall for lunch yesterday, we found that one of the staff members had saved one last meatball calzone for one of our counselors because she knew it was his favorite meal and didn't want him to miss out. A simple gesture, sure, but it's the type of gesture that happens so often on this campus - and creates the family atmosphere that includes all: the students, the faculty, the staff, and certainly the Dominican Friars with whom it all begins. Whether it's a professor taking his class out to dinner to celebrate the end of the semester, a group of students raising money to help a friend's family, or one of our Dominicans picking up a stranded admission counselor at the airport after a long week of travel, the people at Providence College aren't just classmates or colleagues - they do become your PC family.
For me personally, the family experience is even more literal as I have had two younger brothers follow in my footsteps and attend PC. I want to say congratulations to my brother Dan who received his master's degree in theological studies this past weekend - way to go!
It's that time of the year - today was the final move-out day for our (now graduated) seniors and all underclassmen who stayed on campus for commencement week activities.
 
It was always a sad day for me when I was a student; and I still don't love it - I already miss the students, their energy, and all of the activities going on. But on the brighter side, it is easier to get a close parking space on campus in the summer!!!
It is Commencement Week 2008 on the Providence College campus - graduation is set to take place this Sunday, May 18, where we will send off our Class of 2008 into the "real world." (There's a graduation cliche for you...)
As the seniors complete their final few days, I want to take the time to say "thank you" to the fantastic group of Admission Ambassadors who will be graduating on Sunday. We can't say enough about the group of senior Ambassadors we had this year - their positive energy, dedication, and willingness to help in any way they could really made the Office of Admission a brighter and more energetic place this year. So to our graduating Ambassadors - thank you for all of the hours you spent greeting families in the office, for all of the Group Information Sessions you spoke and registered at, and for all of the Day Visit students that you hosted. We wish you all the best as you move from PC students to PC alumni!
I also want to send a special thank you to the six members of our Ambassador Executive Board, who were an outstanding group of senior leaders. To Alyssa, Diana, John, Ryan, Sarah, and Scott - thank you for everything and all the best to you!
Hi everybody... Let's talk about completing the admission/decision process - from the student side of things.
When you are invited to a wedding, the invitation asks you to RSVP by a certain date - whether you are going to attend or not...
In a similar vein, when you are invited to attend a college from the Office of Admission, the invite letter also asks you to respond, by the national response deadline of May 1, whether you are going to attend or not...
I'm just going to go out on a limb here and predict that, in general, people are much more likely to RSVP to the wedding invitation than to the acceptance letter from a college - especially if they are not going to attend. But responding to the colleges that have offered you admission is also very important, even if you have decided not to attend...
When a student is invited to PC, they will receive their acceptance letter and also an Enrollment Reservation Form, which the student should sign and return to either accept a place in our freshman class or to turn down that spot. This year, though, 40% (yes, 40%!) of students who were offered admission to PC did not respond at all. That's a big number, and it's pretty disheartening to see...
Why do we ask you to respond and let us know that you will not be attending PC? Well, first, it's simply common courtesy - a college has offered you one of its limited freshman class spaces over thousands of other applicants, and it makes sense (to me, at least) that you would let the college that invited you know that you won't be attending. But more than that, your response indicating you will be going to another institution also helps other students who are on our waiting list for admission, and who DO want to attend. When we know that students who have been invited are not going to attend, we are then able to offer available spaces to those students on the waiting list.
By the way, we also saw a number of students who were offered a place in our highly selective Liberal Arts Honors Program not respond at all - again, we don't expect every student we invite to in turn decide to enroll, but we do expect these students to complete the process by returning the Enrollment Form and letting us know they won't be attending. (20% of students offered a full tuition scholarship did not respond at all this year - full tuition! That's sad.)
Colleges, high schools, admission counselors, guidance counselors, and students all have responsibilities during the college admission process. Responding to the institutions that you will not be attending is the student's final responsibility in the process - so to all of you juniors, please remember next year to respond to the invitations you receive from colleges next year... even if it's to say, "I won't be attending."
For all of the students who have chosen to remain on our waiting list, we sent out the third e-mail update today to let you know where we are in the process. In case you haven't been checking your e-mail, the information is reproduced below:
With the arrival of May 1, the enrollment picture for the Class of 2012 is taking shape. While we will still receive deposits over the next couple of days that were postmarked on May 1, it is our expectation that we will be able to offer some students on the waiting list a place in our entering class.
As of today, there are 885 students on the active waiting list. We believe that we will be able to offer approximately 60-80 students a place in the entering class. However, it is apparent at this time that there will be no Providence College financial assistance available to students admitted from the waiting list. Students who are selected for admission will be provided with any federal or state funding for which they have eligibility, but our institutional funds for the Class of 2012 have been exhausted. Students who enroll at Providence College as freshmen without aid will be eligible for need-based assistance in subsequent years if they complete the application on time and have demonstrated financial need.
The Committee on Admission is currently reviewing the 885 candidates who have asked for further consideration. This review process will last until at least the middle of next week. Please do not call the Office of Admission to ask about your place on the waiting list; this is a fluid process where we consider not only the academic credentials of each candidate, but also space in particular majors, residence hall availability, and other demographic factors.
Once we determine who will be offered a place in the Class of 2012, the following process will take place:
1. Candidates will be called, offering them a place in the class. Students who applied for need-based financial assistance will be informed of the federal or state funds they are eligible for.
2. While students do not have to give an immediate commitment, we do ask that students be honest about declining the space if they have chosen not to enroll at Providence College.
3. Those students who indicate they are serious in their desire to enroll will be express-mailed the official letter of admission and will have approximately one week to submit their enrollment deposit to confirm their place in the class.
We anticipate two rounds of waiting list activity. Based on the number of deposits we receive from the first round – and based on waiting list activity at other schools that may affect our enrollment totals – we will likely be able to offer a few additional spaces after May 15.
Please remember that at the point when we determine that no additional spaces are available, all remaining candidates will be notified in writing. Unless you hear from Providence College directly, the waiting list is still active.
Note: If the fact that no Providence College need-based financial assistance is available makes it impossible for you to accept a place in our class, or if for any other reason you have decided not to remain on the Providence College waiting list, please respond to pcadmiss@providence.edu so that we can remove your application from further consideration. Thank you.
Good luck to the seniors who have to make their final college decision today!
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