Thursday, November 6, 2008

Application Review- A Mini Series

Now that the Early Decision and Early Action deadlines have passed, Eric and I though it would be appropriate to discuss the process of how we at Stonehill review the application. It it one of our goals to "demystify" the admissions process by being open and honest about our process at Stonehill College. Throughout the next couple of weeks Eric and I will tackle the following topics:


-Strength of Curriculum
-Class rank versus schools that do not rank
-Student Impact: How what you do outside the classroom makes a difference
-Counselor and teacher recommendations
-Essay and supplemental materials


Eric wrote a great post on standardized test scores a few weeks ago, so in the spirit of not being too repetitive, we will not include much about that aspect of the admissions process in our "mini series."



REMINDER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE APPLIED EARLY ACTION

You must submit First Quarter Grades in order for your application to be complete. A midyear evaluation will not be sufficient. This is especially important to students from New York and New Jersey since schools tend to only send the Midyear Report. Please remind your College Counselor that we need First Quarter Grades ASAP. They can be faxed to 508-565-1545 or mailed to:

Stonehill College
Admissions Office
320 Washington Street
North Easton, MA 02357

4 comments:

Mary Jo said...

My son is an EA applicant at Stonehill. He goes to a rigorous Xaverian Brothers school in Massachusetts and he has been in the the National Honor Society for three years.

He has strong SATs that he did submit for consideration including a 700 in Math and he has a total of 6 AP classes, four from his senior year.

His first quarter senior grades were excellent including an A+ in Honors Physics; however, he did get a B- in AP Computer Science, the area he declared he wants to major in at Stonehill.

Will the fact that he suggested a possible major that is not as strong as his grades in AP Calculus, AP Statistics and AP English Language hurt his chances for admissions?

If so, could he write in and change his application to undeclared?

I assume you will look at his overall transcript more holistically than one quarter grade from senior year even if that course is his intended major.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Eric said...

Great question Mary!

My next post about the importance of the strength the curriculum should help answer your question. The fact that your son is taking 3 AP's is a positive thing! Not everyone chooses to take a challenging curriculum like that. And like you mentioned at the end of your comment, we take a long look at all four years and wouldn’t dwell too long on a single year never mind a quarter.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your response Eric! I also learned a lot from your post about the strength of curricula and how it is evaluated

Mary Jo

Eric said...

You are very welcome Mary Jo!