<p>My Crusader was accepted at every college and university to which he applied (including Ivys) and selected Holy Cross. If you're interested, I'll tell you why.</p>
<p>OK, tell me why! My D has applied and has her fingers crossed. If she could move the school to Boston she feels it would be perfect. How does your son like Worcester?</p>
<p>yeah, lt's hear it! I'm a prospective student and a senior in high school and am also looking at the Ivy League.</p>
<p>yea tell me too</p>
<p>To start, you have to be looking for small and for Catholic. If you're not interested in working hard, look elsewhere.</p>
<p>Here are my top reasons:</p>
<p>Small - The campus and facilites are what is usually found on a good number of mid-size schools. It is not a crowded place, which played a key role in the decision. There is always someplace to work in the libraries, always someplace to work in the dorms (private study rooms in basements of dorms), there is always someplace to sit after you have your food on a tray.
After visiting several large schools, we witnessed kids sitting on floors in a library, waiting on long lines to have copies made, waiting on long lines to have things printed and waiting on long lines to eat only to have nowhere to sit. College should not be like that.</p>
<p>Nuturing - The student/teacher ratio is now 10:1. All are amazingly dedicated professors who are not only expert in their fields, but are caring individuals that make their classes interesting and get to know every student on a personal level. There are no TAs, not even in the labs. Professors provide students with cell and home telephone numbers and are always available via e-mail. If you want to be taught by a TA in an auditorium of 500 students, stay away from HC.</p>
<p>Campus - The campus is beautiful and facilities are top rate, although there are tons of stairs to be climbed on "The Hill." If you're not in shape, and you don't like snow, stay away. The science/lab facilities are excellent and modern.</p>
<p>Want to get into Med school? - The national average for getting into Med school is roughly 40% of applicants per college/university. At Holy Cross, the average is more than DOUBLE that figure as over 80% of HC applicants get into Med school.</p>
<p>The students - Overall, the majority of students at HC are decent, hard working kids from good families, mostly middle to upper-middle. Some say everyone is cut from the same mold, which is mostly true. If you're from the same mold, you'll feel comfortable at HC. If you're not from the same mold, you will not be an outcast.</p>
<p>Last But Not Least - If you want coast through college, stay away. The work is demanding, the work load heavy. Not completely overbearing, but work you will. Every graduate I spoke with said the work load was worth it. HC will prepare you as well as any school in the country.</p>
<p>Regarding Worcester - It's not as bad as most think it is. While a far cry from Boston (only 45 minutes away), Worcester has some EXCELLENT restaurants and decent entertaiment venues as well. You may not want to walk around for an evening like you would in Boston, but it's not a horrible city at all. The school provides buses to Boston and Providence on weekends, so if you're looking to get off campus, that option is available.</p>
<p>If there was anything I did not provide in my answer, please let me know. I will be happy to offer specifics.</p>
<p>Also . . . I apologize for the botched spelling of "Nurturing."</p>
<p>HolyCrossDad, Thanks for the info. My D is a Junior attending a school in Mass. (we live in Texas), she has HC on her list. I'm aware of HC's high med school accept rate, do you know what most of these pre-meds major in? I guess I'm wondering if there are many non-science majors that are pre-meds at HC? I have also read of the heavy workload at HC, any observation on the students general happiness? Thanks so much for offering to answer questions. By the way, we had a chance to visit HC over the summer. Beautiful campus! and yes the treks to class should bode well for muscle tone.</p>
<p>While I am unsure of the percentages, far from all of the PreMed students major in the sciences, and I believe the school makes it clear that you do not have to be a biology major if you are interested in the program. My son was well aware of this, yet his love of biology is so intense that he decided to make bio his major.
Very important factor - you have to be accepted into the PreMed Program AS WELL AS the bio major at HC. Not only is the PredMed Program competitive, but the bio major is as well . . . you can't just say "I'm a bio major."</p>
<p>Yes . . . the work load is heavy . . . but if you are a solid and dedicated student that knows when to buckle down with schoolwork and when there's time to party and relax, it is managable.</p>
<p>So far, this is my son's schedule:
Monday: School
Tuesday: School
Wednesday: School
Thursday: School
Friday: School, followed by more work until about 9-10 p.m. to get a jump on things, then a party or relaxation.
Saturday: Sleep late, do whatever you want all day, all night.
Sunday: Sleep late, get a late breakfast, hit the books until everything is done, whether it goes into the evening or not.</p>
<p>This doesn't mean that he's not watching a hockey game on Tuesday night or attending a basketball game on Thursday, but he does not run off into Boston or Worcester during the week . . . that's what the weekend is for.</p>
<p>Overall, he's a very happy camper, very pleased with his choice of HC, but one thing you must understand is that he loves to learn and is very concerned with schoolwork first. At the same time, he loves to hit the parties and the games but will not do so if there is schoolwork to attend to.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Thankyou........................</p>
<p>A Correction</p>
<p>I would like to make a correction regarding TAs at Holy Cross. There are TAs at HC, however all classes and labs are taught by professors. </p>
<p>I had stated that there we no TAs, not even in the labs, however that is not the case.</p>
<p>My son's biology lab last semester was run by a professor, who was assisted by one TA. His chemistry lab was conducted by a professor, with the assistance of two TAs.</p>
<p>My son claims the TAs were very knowledgable, very helpful and very willing to assist as they were needed. Both the professors and the TAs would walk around from team to team in the labs to help in any way possible.</p>
<p>I went to Holy Cross from 1976-1980 and everything that HolyCrossDad states above is consistent with my experience. I went on to the University of Michigan for an MBA and could not believe the difference in size of the school and the classes. I had not appreciated the small classes and close relationships with the professors at HC until I went to the larger university. The campus is an official arboretum and the beauty of it always was inspiring. It is a short 45 minutes from Boston down the Mass Pike. I would strongly recommend that the school offer free transportation to students to and from Boston since it is such a powerful draw for students.</p>
<p>To "Innocent"</p>
<p>Thanks for the vote of confidence!</p>
<p>I am not attempting to be an HC expert or a representative of the school on this site . . . I am just trying to be helpful.</p>
<p>By the way, HC now offers free bus service to Boston, Providence and the newly-opened Blackstone Mall in Worcester on Fridays and Saturdays!</p>
<p>Thanks again for your support.</p>
<p>The free bus ride is a really good thing for the students. But from what I've heard, very few people actually make use of it. If I end up going there next year I would definitely want to take advantage of the oppurtunity even though there's a lot to do on-campus</p>
<p>I would have loved the free trips to Boston when I was a student there but then again I was always short of funds so probably wouldn't have been able to make all that much use of it since Boston is a $$ town! ;-></p>
<p>One final comment. Because the school is a small community and nearly everyone lives on campus (2700 students) there is a very strong alumni community feeling after you graduate. Unlike many other schools, if you go to Holy Cross and meet another graduate it is very likely you will know people in common and have shared many common experiences. The school makes a big effort to stay in touch with graduates and fosters social events and communications to keep people in close touch with the school. As an alumnus, I really enjoy following the Division IAA football and Div I basketball teams. Even though I live in DC, I can listen to all games over the Internet and because they play in the Patriot League I can see games at Georgetown, American, and at Annapolis here in DC.</p>
<p>hello HC Dad... I am very interested in Holy Cross, but unsure about how the small school effects everything. I really like schools with big sports programs, but am also considering schools without this if they still have enthusiasm for other huge teams. I really would like to consider Holy Cross more, but am just worried people do not have this same passion for sports...</p>
<p>Could you please elaborate?</p>
<p>Bobby -</p>
<p>You sound like my son, who made me drive to North Carolina to look at UNC and Duke, based not only on academics, but basically on basketball! The first place we had to go at both schools was directly to the gym!</p>
<p>Nevertheless, my guy goes to almost every sporting event he can, mostly basketball, hockey and football. HC is currently undeafeated in the Patriot League and he tells me the gym has been SRO for hoop games.</p>
<p>If you need . . . absolutley need . . a big time sports school in order to be happy in college . . . HC may not be the place.</p>
<p>This doesn't mean that HC is not a good sports school . . it is. And from what my son tells me, hoops is king as far as student support goes.</p>
<p>Hello HC dad....well I'm thinking about attending Holy Cross in the fall....I love what it has to offer and I am intending on majoring in bio and being part of the pre-med program...how competative are these programs to be accepted in to? Also, I am a little worried about Worcester and HC being a gated campus. Is the city really not that bad or should I be worried?</p>
<p>If you could help me by answering some of these questions that would great! Thank you!</p>
<p>To slc2007</p>
<p>The programs you are interested in are very competitive but not out of the reach of anyone who has excellent grades and did well in as many AP courses as possible. These things go a long way as HC no longer requires SAT. If you did very well on the SAT, submit those scores as well.</p>
<p>Worcester is nothing to write home about, but nothing to fear. It has a few funky sections that need to be avoided, but you will not be taking your life in your hands leaving campus. Worcester has many excellent restaurants and pubs, some of the best I've been to, and I entertain clients in the NYC and Long Island area often.</p>
<p>Boston and Providence are a short bus rides away and HC offers free buses to both cities. As I mentioned in an earlier post, you may not want to walk around for an evening in Worcester like you would in Boston, but it is not a horrible place. It's just no way like a wonderful city like Boston.</p>
<p>I would not let Worcester interfere with your interest in HC, however, if you insist on having a Boston-like atmosphere immediatley off campus, HC may not offer what you want.</p>
<p>Thanks for answering my questions HolyCrossDad....I just wanted to know what Worcester was like because I actually like the idea of a smaller college with a rather calm city....not necessarily like Boston...I'm not a city girl by any means....I mean it is great to visit but I would never be able to live in one...I just wanted to get a first hand account about Worcester and what it was really like....Thanks again!</p>