Greetings from Philly!

Boston- I love you. But sometimes it's good to get out! I've spend a good portion of April 'on the road' recruiting juniors and sophomores and catching up with all the folks in the world of college admissions. Since I'm the rep for a large portion of CT, I usually spend at least a week in the area towards the end of April. I had a great time meeting students from Avon and Simsbury High School, TONS of students at the Hartford National Fair and many more at the HAISSCCA Fair (Hartford Area Independent Secondary School College Counselors Association). Also had time to stop by fairs at Pompfret School and Choate Rosemary Hall. A big thank you to all that came out and had a nice little chat with me. It's always great to meet students that are enthusiastic about Stonehill!

Last week I spent 5 days in PA- a little work, a little play. My best friend from college is getting married so I flew down early to attend her bridal shower. One of my official duties as a bridesmaid was to make a lovely hat out of the discarded wrapping paper and ribbons. Lisa would probably kill me if she saw this picture so let's just keep it to ourselves.... Also got the chance to eat lunch in Philly with my friend Teddie from my semester abroad in France. After those rendez-vous it was time to do what I do best- bring Stonehill College to PA! I spent two days in the Wilkes-Barre area at a regional fair and another in the greater Philadelphia area at Holy Ghost High School and the Main Line Fair at Villanova. I was SWAMPED at the Villanova Fair which was great. It sounds like lots of juniors area heading up to the Boston area this summer and are stopping by Stonehill on the way. I gotta say- it's a good idea...you should think about it too!

Side note: you may ask, "What does one do in Wilkes-Barre, PA on a Sunday night?" Answer: go to the casino. My buddy Neil from Wentworth Institute of Technology and I headed up to the casino to get dinner and decided to take advantage of a free $20 voucher we received from our hotel. Did we win big? No. Was it good, clean fun? You betcha. And yes, that's $14 in one dollar bills. High rollers.

May 1st is coming up....

Have you sent in your deposit to Stonehill? Just a quick reminder that deposits need to be postmarked, NOT received by May 1st. This gives you until Saturday to put it in the mail! Best of luck in the decision making process!

Wrap up for Receptions

Hi Everyone,

This year we hosted two regional receptions for our students accepted into the class of 2014. One was held at the Westin Time Square and the other was at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. We had a great time at both unique venues, it was nice meeting all of you accepted students! Here is a quick recap from our trip:

Ben Carr '11, Counselor Katie Stango, and Tim Cushing '10

Our trip to New York City started with cramming our whole admissions team, many Stonehill faculty members, students, and various leaders in the community into our bus to take Stonehill on the road. The team took off down 95 South singing "The Wheels on the Bus". Ok, they may not have been singing, but that's how I imagined it. The bus had to make a pit stop at the lovely bus stop in Westport, CT to pick up Admissions Counselor Katie Stango and myself. We were both doing college fairs in Connecticut but could not bear missing a night in the City with Stonehill.

We arrived at the Westin Times Square and started preparing for registration etc. By the time we were done it was 3:30pm so we had some time to explore the city. Being the avant-garde, metropolitan, world travelors that we are, we decided to do the most touristy thing imaginable and have dinner in Times Square. As a lifelong Yankee fan I was ecstatic to be back where most of the hats in the streets have the interlocking NY on the front.

Me trying to be cool

The reception went great! We had a number of Stonehill Alumni who are working in the New York area stop by to meet our accepted students. The food was good, the venue was good, the people were great. Speakers for the night included the Vice President for our division Mary Beth Carey, two senior students Tim Cushing and Sara Morales, and our President Father Mark Cregan. Everyone who I spoke with enjoyed themselves, we even had 2 deposits!

A newly enrolled student with Dean of Faculty/Assoc. VP for Academic Affairs Joe Favazza

We made our way back to Stonehill's Campus late that night, only stopping for ice cream (of course).

Our next reception was held at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. It's a very interesting place. I have been a basketball fan my whole life but this was my first opportunity to wander around and see all the exhibits. I really enjoyed the exhibits featuring my favorite UCONN championship teams and the exhibit featuring all of Michael Jordan's sneakers throughout the years.

VP Marketing and Enrollment Management Mary Beth Cary addresses the crowd

The reception really went great, the accepted students who came were impressed with their tours of the Hall of Fame. I think through it all, what I will remember most is the free games. The Hall of Fame has some great free games the Matt Gorman '11 and I decided to take advantage of while touring the building.

I want to clear something up right now, I've been hearing this rumor that I was dunked on by a WNBA superstar. This is true and can be verified by the picture below. However this occured while I was playing the virtual video game at the HOF (Hall of Fame). This would never happen in real life because I have much too much game.

Me playing the vitual video game at the HOF

Me getting dunked on by a WNBA superstar

So now that we have cleared up that issue, we can move on to the other games. The old fashioned arcade basketball shooting games were probably the most used games there. Our current students could not get enough of the competition. The HOF even had a machine that moved a basketball for rebounding up higher and higher until you could no longer jump to reach it. (Yes I beat Matt Gorman, but he also took the picture of me getting dunked on so I guess he got the last laugh.) The HOF even had a booth you could sit in and pretend to be the announcer for your favorite game then have it played back.

All of our receptions were fantastic! That's to everyone who participated. We only stopped on the way home from Springfield for one thing, you guessed it, ICE CREAM

Andrew Leahy, Sr. Admissions Counselor, Ice Cream Enthusiast

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Behind the Scenes: The Pics You Should Have Seen!

Guest post featuring financial aid!

It looks like spring is finally here! We're having some absolutely phenomenal weather in New England this week-it was in the 80's today! Ok...back to business. Every now and again we like to have "guest posts" from other folks on campus. This week's guest post is from the financial aid office so please enjoy!

The financial aid office is back to work after a restful Easter break and we are busier than ever! Like the incoming class we are gearing up for the May 1 commitment date, and we are working hard to help make this process as smooth as possible for you and your family.

The financial aid award letters were mailed on April 1, so if you haven’t yet received your letter you may contact Student Financial Services at 508-565-1088 and we can make sure there isn’t a problem with your financial aid application. You should also have received the 2010-2011 Financial Aid Guide, which explains the various types of aid offered to Stonehill students and what the requirements are for keeping these awards. If you plan on appealing your financial aid award, please refer to page 14 of the Financial Aid Guide which outlines the appropriate steps you should take to file an appeal. Please remember, all appeals are due by Friday, April 9. You can expect a response to your appeal by Friday, April 16.

Congratulations again on your acceptance to Stonehill and we look forward to seeing you in the Fall!

Financial Aid- on the way!

A few quick notes:

1. The last of the financial aid packages were sent out this week. You should be receiving yours very soon!

2. We are still registering accepting students for our off-campus receptions and open houses this spring. We're SUPER EXCITED about our two regional receptions that are *new* this year. Stonehill comes to you! We'll be celebrating your acceptance at the Westin Times Square in NYC on April 8th and the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA on April 12th. Current students, faculty, staff and President Cregan will be in attendance. This is a great opportunity to get all of your questions answered before you make your final decision. You can register for our open houses at www.stonehillevents.org and the regional receptions at www.stonehillevents.org/regional. We hope to see you soon!

3. Happy Easter/ Passover! Have a great weekend everyone :)

YIELD!

YIELD- our favorite word here in the Admissions Office. In the spring we spend a good amount of our time "yielding" students- also known as turning an accepted student into a Stonehill student! We try our best to offer a variety of programming to suit the needs of every accepted student- whether you're interested in Science, Business, Liberal Arts or you're just confused! Why come to an open house? Obvious answer- free food.....I kid. It doesn't matter what schools you're considering- you need to revisit! I have a feeling that a lot of you visited dozens of schools last year and they're all starting to run together. Am I right? Revisiting will give you a chance to have a fresh view of a school while also learning more about specific programs that may be of interest to you. Our open houses are pretty specific as well. For example: during the Science Open House you'll meet science faculty, listen to a student panel, sit in on a mock class and tour campus. This enables students who have previously toured or attended a group information session to get a different view of campus and learn more specifics about their probable major. Below are a list of the upcoming open houses and information on how to register.

April 7 - Business Open House
April 9 - Science Open House
April 11 - Liberal Arts/Undeclared Open House

Days at the Hill (smaller open houses that are divided according to major)
April 14 - Visual & Performing Arts, Education, Communication & Math
April 15 - Undeclared, Foreign Languages, English, Political Science & International Studies
April 16 - Health Care Administration & History
April 21 - American Studies, Catholic Studies, Gender Studies, Multidisciplinary Studies, Philosophy, Public Administration, Religious Studies, Criminology, Psychology & Sociology
April 23 - Economics, Science, Computer Science, Engineering, Business, Undecided, Environmental Studies

You may sign up for an open house using the links provided above or by calling the main admissions line at 508-565-1373.

If you would like a different type of experience, Stonehill also offers Accepted Student Class Visits where accepted students are assigned a host to shadow for the day. During a typical Class Visit an accepted student will eat lunch in the caf, attend a class or two and go on tour with their assigned host. This is a really great way to see a "day in the life" of a real Stonehill College student!

The Class Visit dates are listed below. Please have a date or two in mind as well as an idea as to what type of class you would like to attend. Science students: due to limited lab space and liability, we ask that you make all efforts to attend the Science Open House on April 9th rather than trying to book a Class Visit. We have extremely limited space in science classes and we cannot guarantee availability.

Please call at least two weeks in advance to schedule a Class Visit or modify an existing reservation at 508-565-1373. Space is limited so please call as far in advance as possible so that we can be sure to accommodate you!

April
Thursday, 8th
Monday, 12th
Tuesday, 13th
Monday, 19th
Thursday, 22nd
Monday, 26th
Tuesday, 27th
Wednesday, 28th
Thursday, 29th
Friday, 30th

We hope that you are able to make it back to campus (or visit for the first time) before making your final decision!

Vancouver Olympics 2010

Alright everyone, it's time for another fun post. Since there was an article about me on the front page of the Summit (the Stonehill student newspaper) I figure that I'm a pretty big deal and I should make the fun post about me. I take it you agree.

Two weeks ago I got to take the trip of a lifetime to the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. The city of Vancouver has always been a place that I wanted to visit, when I saw the games were being held there I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I was able to see the USA Men's and Women's Hockey teams, go skiing at Whistler for the day, explore Vancouver, take in a curling match and go to a victory ceremony. Not bad for four days.

Day 1 was all about hockey. We had tickets to the USA Men's game vs. Norway and tickets to the USA Women's game vs. Finland. I'm not the biggest hockey fan in the world, but come on- it's the winter Olympics! Hockey is THE premier sport to watch. The Men's game took place right in downtown Vancouver where the Canucks team plays, so it was really easy to get to. The arena was packed with people, most of them Canadians who just wanted to see a game. I can't begin to explain how seriously Canadians take hockey, they live, die, and breathe hockey. There were a lot of Americans enjoying the game as well. The fans cheering for Norway were outnumbered but they were loud. Hey, if you traveled across an ocean and a continent to see your team, you are going to cheer. The Canadians tend to support whoever is playing against USA so it sounded like we were the visiting team.

USA Men's Hockey v. Norway

The USA Men's team got the victory that afternoon. I tend to think it was because of the luck I brought them. We then headed off to the other end of town for the USA Women's game. By the time we got there, the 1st period had ended but that was fine with me. You can only take so much hockey in one day. The game was played at Thunderbird Arena which is on the campus of the University of British Columbia. It was interesting to see an international university. The women won their game against Finland 6-0, and I rang my cowbell a lot. It's pretty much a requirement at the Olympics.

More Cowbell!

The next day we went skiing at Whistler Mountain for the full day. It was literally the best skiing I've ever done, and there were Olympic events going on so we got to catch a bit of the Men's GS as well. Pictures:

Whistler

The skiing was fantastic, but afterwards in Whistler Village was just as fun. There was a gathering area where all the visitors could watch the events happening at Whistler and it also happened to be the night Canadian John Montgomerry won the gold medal in Men's Skeleton. All of the Canadians watching went wild for him.

The next day we did some exploring which included a seabus ride across the bay to North Vancouver. The view from the boat looking back at the city was fantastic. We eventually found our way to the suspension bridge we were looking for, it was a great sight.

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

Our last day in Vancouver we made it to the Men's Curling Competition. USA was playing Great Britain and the Canadian team was playing as well. I didn't know most of the rules but luckily I was seated next to a native Canadian who helped me figure out when to cheer. Surprisingly, the curling matches got pretty intense, the crowd really gets into it. We had great seats right in the 2nd row.

Curling Match

The whole Olympic experience was once in a lifetime, I'm so happy I was able to go. I really got to see and do a lot in a great city. I hear the 2nd Early Action Open House went pretty well, even without me. In case you were wondering to yourself while you visited "Where is Evan. G? I love his blog and really wanted to meet him!" Well, I apologize but I have to come up with these posts somehow, even if it means traveling to Vancouver for the Olympics. It's a tough job, but somebody has got to do it. And yes, I did get my mittens!

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