As you may know, we initially review applications by geographic territory at PC; and as you can see from my bio at the top of the page, that means that the applications I have on my desk this afternoon are from Western Massachusetts, the MetroWest area outside of Boston, and the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, and New Mexico. (And, actually, in my office right now, I have applications from all of those areas - except for New Mexico! No applicants from there yet in this year's pool.). We read by geographic territory because it helps us to better understand the context of the high school environment that our students are coming out of. So, I read every application that comes in from Needham High School in Massachusetts, my colleague Christine Hickey reads every application from Chaminade High School on Long Island, and so on... which really helps us to get a sense of the academic environment of your high school.

We begin the review by taking a close look at your high school transcript, and this academic component is the most important piece of your application. As I look over a transcript, the first thing I will consider is a student's curriculum, and ideally I am looking for four years of the five core academic subject areas (English, Math, Science, History, Foreign Language). I am also looking for students who have taken on a level of appropriate academic challenge during high school, taking advantage of advanced level (Honors, AP, IB, college-level) courses when available.

Remember, we are talking about "appropriate challenge," which doesn't mean a student has to take every AP or Honors course his or her high school offers to be a competitive candidate. For example, if you are not a strong math student, we certainly understand why that AP Calculus BC class isn't on your transcript. We always will consider your strength of curriculum in the context of the high school you attend... for example, if you go to a school that doesn't offer an AP Biology class, we aren't going to penalize you for not taking AP Bio! Along with your transcript, your high school has sent our office a Profile, which helps us to understand what courses are available for you to take. Generally speaking across our applicant pool, most students who are invited to PC have taken on an advanced level curriculum over their four years of high school... and, of course, have shown a strong performance in those courses!

More to come on the high school transcript in my next post: we'll talk about how we consider your performance (G.P.A.) hand-in-hand with the curriculum you've taken. And we'll also move beyond the academic information and look at how we handle activities, involvement, leadership, essays, and recommendations. Stay tuned!

Greetings from the busy Office of Admission at PC, where the operations staff is getting all of our Early Action applications ready to review! Today, though, I want to talk a little bit about some new Merit-Based Scholarships that are available to students applying to attend PC next fall.

Here's the scoop: Beginning with students applying for admission to the Class of 2014 (students entering in September, 2010), there are now three tiers of merit-based scholarships for which students may qualify:

1. Liberal Arts Honors Program
2. Academic Scholarships
3. Providence College Friar Scholarships

Students invited into the College's highly selective Liberal Arts Honors Program (find out more about LAH Program) will receive one of three levels of merit scholarship: St. Dominic Scholarship (full tuition excluding room and board); St. Thomas Aquinas (3/4 tuition); or St. Catherine of Siena (1/2 tuition). All of these scholarships are renewable for up to four years as long as students remain active members of the Liberal Arts Honors Program and maintain the required GPA. Merit scholars are typically at the top of their graduating class and have completed the most rigorous program of study possible during their high school career.

The second group are academic-based merit scholarships available to students who have demonstrated superior academic performance during their entire high school career, but were not selected for inclusion in the Liberal Arts Honors Program. These scholarships include the St. Joseph Scholarship ($14,000 annually), the Albertus Magnus Scholarship ($11,000 annually), and the St. Vincent Ferrer Scholarship ($8,000 annually). Students who have achieved consistent A- to A grades throughout high school in all subjects – and have taken a rigorous program of study – will be considered for these awards (note that an A-minus GPA is not a guarantee of a scholarship, but represents the performance required to be in consideration).

Finally, Providence College Friar Scholarships are merit awards intended to recognize high school seniors who not only have demonstrated the academic discipline necessary to succeed in the classroom, but display extraordinary commitment, leadership and responsibility in their extracurricular pursuits. While we do not have a prescription for the type of activity that warrants recognition, it is important to note that serious contributors to their pursuits are more attractive than those who have simply been members of a number of organizations. Students who have academic achievements that earn them admission to Providence College and also demonstrate a true commitment to their out-of-classroom activities will be recognized with awards ranging from $4,000 to $8,000 annually.

More information on these Merit-Based Scholarship opportunities can be found here. Also, you can see the letter sent to parents on October 15, 2009 announcing additional financial assistance availability for students applying to the Class of 2014 here.

As always, should you have questions about merit scholarships or need-based financial aid programs, please don't hesitate to call our office to speak with a counselor: (800) 721-6444.

Now, it's time to begin reviewing Early Action applications! Until next time...

First of all, the applications have to be prepared for the counseling staff to review. Information from applications submitted online through Common App is moved into our computer system, and applications that arrived by mail are entered into that same system. Then, our operations staff does an excellent job of matching up supporting credentials that have come in the mail (such as transcripts, teacher recommendations, etc.) with the application itself. After all of the application "pieces" have been matched up, they are sorted by geographic territory and passed on to the admission counselor who will be the first reader. (Find out which counselor is responsible for your high school.)

This process of entering, matching, and sorting applications is well underway, and the counselors will start the review process at the end of this week. On Thursday, all 15 counselors will meet to talk about this year's process; we'll talk about what we're looking for from our applicants, the size of the incoming freshman class, and other things that will help us to all be consistent as we begin reviewing the applications from our territories. As the process moves forward, I will keep you updated here, and I hope you will continue to come back to see how the overall admission review is going.

A couple of months back, I wrote to the high school seniors that November 1 would come up quickly... and it sure did for us as an admission staff! We've all come back from the road, and have already shifted gears into "reading season." More updates soon!

Happy Halloween, too!

*Scott

However, there are also a number of other ways to stay up to date on admission information, student life, and general PC news (outside of this blog, which you've already found!). Please consider taking a look in the following places:

PC Prospective Student Network: This is a Providence College-specific social networking site, where prospective students can connect with each other and current PC students. In addition to reading current student blogs, watching videos, viewing photos, joining groups related to intended major, and posting questions in discussion forums, you can find out about visit opportunities, events happening on campus, and what's happening in the application review process as well.

Facebook: The Providence College Office of Admission page on Facebook is updated daily with information on the admission process, campus visit opportunities, and general campus news. It's a very helpful spot to find the latest information on the PC application process.

E-News: Our monthly e-newsletter contains information about the college search process, application information, and campus happenings pertinent to prospective students and families. If you don't already receive our E-News Updates, you can sign up here.

Application Deadlines:
Early Action- November 1
Regular Decision- January 15

Financial Aid Deadlines:
Early Action-
-CSS PROFILE & Business Farm Supplement (if necessary) by December 1
-FAFSA by February 1
Regular Decision-
-CSS PROFILE & Business Farm Supplement (if necessary) by February 1
-FAFSA by February 1

Application checklist:
-Common Application
-Providence College Supplemental Form
-High School Transcript & Secondary School Report
-Letters of Recommendation (counselor & teacher)
-College Essay
-Application Fee
-SAT/ACT scores, if submitting

Helpful Links:
-Class of 2014 Application Guide
-Common App Website
-Download application, supplement, other forms
-Financial Aid web pages

Notification:
-Early Action applicants will receive a decision by early January
-Regular Decision applicants will receive a decision by late March

The answer is different depending on the student we are talking to, and as you move forward with the application process, here are a few things to keep in mind about the deadlines...

1. There is no competitive advantage to applying Early Action. It is not easier to get in to PC EA (or Regular Decision, for that matter). We are very consistent in the way we review applications in the Office of Admission from the Early pool to the Regular pool. The only "advantage" to applying Early Action is that you will receive a decision letter sooner than if you apply Regular Decision.

2. We will NOT see your first semester senior year grades if you apply Early Action. This is very important to understand, and should be kept in mind as you decide when to apply. For example, if you are a student who struggled academically junior year, but you've bounced back and you're having a strong senior year so far, we encourage you to wait and apply Regular Decision so we have this new academic information available when we review your application. (Note that we WILL see your senior year course schedule regardless of when you apply!).

3. November 1 (the EA deadline) is approaching quickly. I can't believe it's October 9 already! Make sure you are truly ready to apply Early Action before clicking "Send" ... if it is Halloween night and you still haven't started your college essay or the last week of October and you haven't asked teachers for recommendations, you would be much better served by waiting and applying Regular Decision. You want to make sure that your application is the best representation of you (academically and personally) that it can be!

The Early Action application deadline at PC is November 1. The Regular Decision application deadline is January 15. (Applications need to be either submitted online via the Common App website by these dates or postmarked by the appropriate date if you are using postal mail).

So, where are we headed? Well, just about all of our counselors travel both locally/regionally and nationally, so we are able to get different perspectives and meet students from throughout the country. I will be spending a great deal of time in Massachusetts this fall; I've already been in and around the towns of Holliston, Hopkinton, Ashland, Milford, Needham, and Medfield in the past two weeks, and will be spending many more days in Middlesex County, from the Wellesley area all the way up to Lowell/Chelmsford/Tyngsboro near the New Hampshire border. I also have the area I grew up in, Berkshire County out in Western Mass, where I will also be spending a couple of days in October. Outside of New England, I am headed out west to visit both Northern and Southern California (the San Francisco and San Jose areas, and a bunch of schools and college fairs from San Diego to L.A.) and Tucson, Arizona.

As for the rest of our admission staff, we certainly have the East Coast covered! Eight counselors have pieces of Massachusetts (the state we see the most applications from); five divide up Connecticut and New York, three cover New Jersey, and two share our local students here in Rhode Island. One of our counselors is a native of New Hampshire, and she covers all of Northern New England for the next two months, spending a lot of time driving around Vermont and Maine as well as her home state. Moving south down the coast, a counselor is headed to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area of Pennsylvania, while another staff member will spend about three weeks in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Nationally, we've had counselors already visit Kansas City and St. Louis, MO; Charlotte and Raleigh, NC; Atlanta, GA; Dallas and Houston, TX; and Orlando, Tampa, St. Augustine, and Jacksonville, FL. More Florida visits are coming in October to the Miami and West Palm Beach areas. We're also headed to Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland, Seattle, and Denver among other spots. A little further from home, you'll find our counselors this fall in Puerto Rico, London, Paris, Geneva, and Zurich.

Of course, 15 admission counselors can't get everywhere... but we are so proud to have hundreds of our Alumni Admission Ambassadors who cover fairs in areas the counseling staff is unable to reach. Alumni Ambassadors will be sharing their PC experiences at some college fairs in New England, New York/New Jersey, and the mid-Atlantic, but also in areas further from campus, including: Cincinnati, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, and many spots in California I won't get to while I am out there!

I encourage you to check out the Fall 2009 College Fair Schedule, to find out when a Providence College representative will be in your area. I hope you'll take the time to visit our college fair table and have your questions answered. We look forward to meeting you this fall!

We had the entire Ambassador organization together this past weekend for a barbeque and training session... it's tough to find a place to fit over 100 people into one picture!

Incoming freshmen pose for their student ID card pictures!

Residents of McDermott Hall moving in...

Lots of boxes on the quad, and the bookstore is a busy spot on move-in day!

The beginning of September brings our students back to campus (New Student Orientation starts this Wednesday and classes begin next Tuesday) and also means that the 15 members of the admission staff will begin our fall travel season, heading out across the country to share the Providence College story with prospective students and their families.

While we are on the road, we visit high schools in our assigned geographic territories, attend college fairs, and are able to meet many students, parents, and high school counselors. As we make our visits, we hear a lot of questions from families about PC in general, the application process, our admission review, and about financial aid. This fall, I will post here my own "stories from the road," including the most popular questions from families that come up during my travels.

Where can you find us? The fall college fair schedule will be posted shortly, so you'll know where and when an admission counselor or PC Alumni Admission Ambassador will be in your area. We look forward to meeting you on the road this fall, and hope that your fall semester gets off to a great start!

*Scott

What makes a strong essay? Very generally speaking, it's personal and well-written. As admission counselors reading the essay, we want to learn more about you (that isn't already available to us elsewhere in your application) and we hope to discover that you are a strong writer.

Throughout the coming weeks, our admission counselors will be sharing tips on the college essay on our prospective student network, which you can find here. Have a question about the essay? Feel free to post it in that forum or here on my blog, and we'll be happy to answer it for you!

Also, if you didn't catch it in your e-mail, we invite you to check out the "How Do I Write a Great College Essay?" article that appeared in our July 15 e-news.

Best of luck as you write the college essay, and please don't hesitate to turn to us if we can be of assistance. And to those of you who are already done with your essay... well, you have a few more days to spend on the beach before you head back to school!

This network gives you as a prospective student the opportunity to interact with current students, admission staff members, and other high school juniors and seniors who are considering PC. Also on the network, you can...

-View campus photos/videos
-Find updated campus visit information
-Learn about admission/financial aid processes & deadlines
-Link to student blogs

...and much more!

You can still reach the Office of Admission by phone (401-865-2535) and e-mail (pcadmiss@providence.edu), but the Prospective Student Network helps you connect with other students- both current and prospective. While speaking with an admission counselor is important, the experts on student life on any college campus are the current students, and we hope this network will make it easier for you to connect with them!

Of course, if you have admission questions, we hope you'll talk us too! You can find our counseling staff in the Prospective Student Network as well, and if you need anything from us, please don't hesitate to let us know!

*Scott

This post is intended for members of our incoming freshman class who have an interest in blogging about their first-year experiences here on the PC website.

Over the past three years, we have heard a great deal of positive feedback from prospective students and families regarding our admission blogs, so we will be adding new student bloggers this fall. In addition to my own blog and two or three written by upperclassmen, we have created the opportunity for a freshman student to blog about his or her first-year experience at PC. The blogger will focus on various parts of their freshman PC experience including, but not limited to, academics, the Development of Western Civilization Program, residence life, extracurricular involvement and opportunities, general campus life, and the city of Providence. The blog will give prospective students and their families an inside-look at the freshman year experience.

If you have an interest in participating in our blogging program, you can begin writing right now! We will be requiring all interested students to submit three sample blogs to admission@providence.edu by Friday, August 7 so we have an idea of your writing ability and style, and will make our final decision later in the month of August. Feel free to take a look at last year’s student blogs to get an idea for possible topics, but don’t be afraid to come up with your own unique ideas.

In addition to your three sample blogs, please also provide the following information:
-Full Name
-Hometown
-High School Attended
-Major (if declared)
-High School Involvement
-What you're most looking forward to at PC! (1 paragraph)
-Why you are interested in writing a blog for the website (1 paragraph)

Blogging is an exciting and fun way to immediately become involved here at PC. This will be a volunteer position, but it will give you the opportunity to connect in a very personal way with prospective students who will be in the same position you were in this past year—searching for the college or university that is the best match for each of them.

If you have any questions about this blogging position, please feel free to e-mail me at admission@providence.edu. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and I look forward to reading your blogs soon!

-Scott