The PC campus has been a lot more lively this week as we get ready to start our fall semester next Tuesday!! Our student-athletes are back on campus and their practices are in full swing... Some of that training is taking place in our brand-new Concannon Fitness Center (more on that in the coming weeks!!!). Joining the athletes on campus this week are our new international students who are currently participating in our international student orientation program, and our incoming freshmen who are participating in the Urban Action program. Urban Action allows about 100 freshmen to move into their residence halls early and spend almost a week doing various service projects across the city of Providence-- and getting to know their new classmates! Our very own Admission Ambassador Executive Board members have also made their way back to campus, and we will be having an all-day retreat with them tomorrow to plan for the prospective families who will be visiting PC during the upcoming semester.

It is certainly exciting to have the students coming back to campus, and we are all looking forward to a successful fall semester. Speaking of students, it's looking like I will have three incoming freshmen joining me here at blog central, to give you an inside-look at the freshman-year experience at PC. Their identities will be revealed shortly, and you'll be hearing from them in the near future!

If you haven't already headed back to school, enjoy those last few moments of your summer!

*Scott
8/30/07

Posted by Scott Seseske at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes, that is one of our main focuses during the month of August in the Office of Admission: planning out our high school visit and college fair schedules from September through early November in what we call "travel season." Each of the 15 counselors in the Office of Admission here at PC has a different geographic territory that they are responsible for, that we travel to in the fall and then are the first person to read every application that arrives from that geographic region during the winter. So, wherever you are from, you have a PC counselor who is responsible for your high school and also serves as your personal contact in our office throughout the admission process.

As for me, I am responsible for traveling to portions of Western Massachusetts, including Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties... Some of the western suburbs of Boston-- the Concord, Wellesley, and Lowell areas (just about the entire area between I-95 and I-495)... And finally, parts of the Deep South: the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Now obviously, there are a LOT of high schools in all of these areas and it is impossible for me to visit all of them, so I have been spending the month of August planning out my travel schedule and attempting to do justice to all of my different geographic territories. In addition to visiting high schools and meeting with guidance counselors and students who are interested in PC, I also will have a number of college fairs to attend across my territories. In early September, the fairs that will be attended by a PC admission counselor or Alumni Admission Associate will be listed on the "College Fairs" page of our website, so please continue to check that page to see when a PC representative will be in your area!

My first day of high school visits will be in Massachusetts on September 18, so it is less than a month away! Travel season is always something I look forward to as an admission counselor, because it is a time for me to go out and meet many interested students and basically travel around the country telling the Providence College story for the next 2 months! Of course, as travel season begins, life continues on campus as well, and there are many other projects that I continue to work on as I finalize my travel schedule. More on those in the coming days and weeks... Until then, enjoy your final days of summer!

*Scott
8/22/07

Posted by Scott Seseske at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Back to school" -- three words that strike fear into the hearts of summer fun-loving kids everywhere. Don't worry too much yet-- it's only mid-August so there is still (a little) time before you're headed back to the classroom. But mid-August is an appropriate time to go back to blogging, to get all of you soon-to-be seniors ready for the final stages of your college search and help you soon after move into the college application process.

For those of you who are new to this blog, welcome aboard!! I am one of 15 admission counselors who make our home in the Providence College Office of Admission, and spend our fall semesters meeting students from across the country and throughout the world, as we travel for much of September and October "telling the Providence College story." By the time the winter months roll around and all of your applications have made their way into our office, we have returned from our travels and shift gears into reading and reviewing your applications and shaping the Providence College Class of 2012. The idea behind this blog when I started it last fall was to give prospective families a "behind-the-scenes look" at PC's admission review process, to show you what our admission staff does on a day-to-day basis and to bring you from the beginning (now) to the end (May 2008 for all of the seniors) of the admission cycle.

As you make your way through your senior year, questions will undoubtedly come up about PC specifically and the college admission process in general. At any point during the year, please feel free to post your questions here and I will do my best to give you (and all of the other readers who likely had a similar question!) a timely and accurate answer. Also, please note that if you have specific questions or concerns and would like to speak with an admission counselor directly, our doors are always open and you can feel free to reach the admission counselor responsible for your region of the country (or the world!) at any time by e-mail, by phone, or in person if you happen to be on campus. To find out who the counselor is for your area, please click onto the Contact Our Office page of the Admission website.

Again, welcome to the home of the 2007-2008 PC Admission Blogs! It's just me for the moment, but a new group of student bloggers will be joining me shortly as we work to make the admission process as personal and interactive for you as possible. Stay tuned!

*Scott
8/8/07

Posted by Scott Seseske at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)