Hi Scott. As of yesterday afternoon, my son Michael is a freshman in attendance at PC! I couldn't be prouder. We read your blogs with great interest all of last year and want to thank you for your valuable insight. To the seniors looking to become Providence College students: Pay close attention to Scott's advice to give yourself the best advantage. PC is a very competitive school and they are looking for the very best among you. Good luck!

Thanks for posting, Gail! Glad to hear Michael is successfully moved in!

*Scott

Mr. Seseske,
I have been reading your blogs with great interest since I came to visit PC in April. As I am now in the actual process of getting my application ready, I wanted to thank you for all the great information. It has been more helpful than you could possibly imagine.

Joe

Thanks Joe - I really appreciate the kind words on the blog!

I wish you the best of luck as you proceed through the application process!

*Scott

My daughter is a current freshman who is loving PC so far. My son is a senior in high school and he will be applying to PC too.

For his senior courses, my son is taking AP Calculus, AP Statistics, AP Computer Science, AP English, honors Physics and bioethics. My son did not elect to take a 4th year of Spanish although he did stick with it for 3 years in high school and he did well in it. Also he did not take a 4th year in history although he already took both AP European and AP U.S. history and he earned strong scores.

As long as a senior's course of studies is rigorous and he or she does well in the classes offered at his or her school, is it okay to pre-specialize in math and science as a senior if those are the areas you wish to pursue in college?

Sometimes it feels like there are not enough hours in the day for students to get everything into their schedules and it isn't realistic to suspect that a student could. Given how competitive college admission is, I hope individual preference for course selection is okay.

Mr. Seseske, your blog is incredibly helpful and I think Providence has one of the best web-sites of any college particularly since students can take a virtual tour.

Mary

Dear Mary,

Your son's schedule certainly does look very strong for senior year, and you're right, what we are looking for in the Office of Admission is for a student to continue to challenge him or herself in the classroom senior year, and also to continue to do well in those courses. Each student's transcript and application is looked at individually in our review process, and we certainly do not have a problem with students taking courses their senior year in subject areas they are interested in pursuing at the college level.

So, yes, it is definitely fine for a student to specialize in the math and science areas senior year, if they are the areas the student wants to go into at the college level. Your son's history preparation in his previous years looks very strong with the AP courses, so I see no problem at all with his senior year course selections.

I'm glad that the blog has been helpful to you and your family!

*Scott

Hey Scott,

Your blog is quite helpful as well as insightful. I remember meeting you at the college fair in Boston! Your entry was a bit worrisome though-I am by no stretch of the imagination a math/science person and the physics class at my school is very intense. I know I would probably not do well. I have already taken Honors Anatomy, Honors Biology, and Honors Chemistry. This year I will be taking Honors Marine & Costal, which unlike the other science electives is a semester class. Therefore it is much more challenging than say Environmental or Cell Survival. As an admissions officer, would it look like I am still taking the easy way out? I am taking AP English and Spanish this year so I didn't think I had to worry about taking the wrong classes...

Thanks for any input. :)

Dear Meredith,

Thanks for reading the blog and your comment! Believe me, we understand that not every student is strong in every subject area, and so making the decision not to take the Physics course your senior year because you don't see yourself being successful in it is okay - as long as you have a strong senior schedule otherwise (you are filling the spot where you would've had the Physics class) and have had strong preparation in the sciences in the past. Since you have taken three years of Honors science courses in the past AND are taking the Honors-level Marine Science semester course senior year, we wouldn't say you have a huge hole in your schedule. One thing you can do, if you'd like, is mention somewhere in your application that science simply isn't your strongest area, and that's why you decided against taking the Physics class senior year. (Or ask your high school counselor to mention that in his or her recommendation)... That additional bit of information can be helpful for the admission counselor who will be reading your application!

Please feel free to post any additional questions that may come up! Best wishes for a successful senior year, Meredith!

*Scott

Hi Scott,

In college, I plan to major in either business or communications so I thought that art forum would benefit me. It is not a normal art class. It is all about creating a product and successfully being able to present and sell your product. I am afraid that admissions counselors will mistake the class for a regular art class and think that I was taking it easy. Would it be acceptable to send a course description along with my transcript?

Dear Alexis,

That's exactly what I would suggest - it would definitely be helpful for the admission counselor reading your application to have that course description. Please do include it with your transcript!

Thanks for posting!

*Scott