<p>Would love to hear from current students or parents of current students about what they love/ would change, etc. Holy Cross is one of my D's top choices. Be honest!</p>
<p>I too would love to hear from any current students - why they chose Holy Cross?</p>
<p>My D is chosing between Holy Cross, Union and Muhlenberg. Any opinions as to reputation, student happiness, quality and extent of social activities to do on campus would be appreciated. D will possibly major in sociology/psychology.</p>
<p>I am not a current student, but could offer my insights...it all depends upon if you want comments from someone who has been out a couple of years or just current student comments.</p>
<p>If you have any specific questions I'll do my best.</p>
<p>I would love to hear what you thought about your experience. Let me throw some questions out for you - I hear great things about the academic experience - demanding, good relationships with professors, good pre-professional counseling, etc. Can you comment on this and how much time you spent studying. Also, can you comment on HC efforts to diversify. During our experience on campus (students were on break) we felt the campus was trying to diversify - i.e. admissions department appeared diverse; during interview D was pleasantly surprised by interviewer's liberal views on social issues; our guide spoke with us about being a Muslim at a Catholic school and loved HC; etc. We left with a very favorable impression about the open-mindedness of the school based on these interactions. However, the "books" and the Princeton superlatives suggest the opposite. Would love your comments. Finally, what is the social life like? Is alcohol the center of it? Do kids go into Boston or to Providence at all. Anything else you want to volunteer would be helpful. Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>Movinmom,</p>
<p>I absolutley loved the Cross and one term that you may hear from some students and grads is that many of us "bleed purple blood", to wit, we love Holy Cross. While no school is perfect, I loved HC's small size, which resulted in a great academic experience with teachers and other students. Professors were for the most part very accessible and interested in helping the students further their career goals. It was not uncommon for students to have lunch, dinner, drinks with profs. Pre-professional counseling in my case was very strong. Academics are demanding but competition is not cutthroat, or was not in my experience, which I think reflects most students' experience. Studying is definitely something I spent a lot of time doing, but it was also balanced out against a varstiy sport, intramurals, attending games, etc. To your question about Boston and Providence....yes, students do go there and the school will provide a bus at time for some excursions.</p>
<p>As to diversity, when I was at HC the % was roughly 10% or so. The college is now somewhere b/t 13-15% and is actively working to increase diversity substantially. Improvements are being made every year in this area, but more needs to be done. However, the school is seriously committed to increasing diversity across the board.</p>
<p>As to drinking and socializing. Sure, alcohol is a part of it, but it is by no means the only part. From this perspective, a lot will depend upon the decisions that the student makes. But, yes there is drinking. However, it is not the center of the college's social experience.</p>
<p>Athletics: HC has in recent years recommitted itself to its past athletic excellence. I wish the school would do far more, but on whole we are seeing strong results. BBall is doing great, football is rebuilding, and hockey just upset Minnesota in the NCAA tourney...a victory some are calling the greatest upset in college hockey. Mens and women's lacrosse are on the upswing and Mr. Brine of Brine sports is increasingly backing the teams' development. Women's field hockey is a perennial power and the HC women's bball team is the class of the league.</p>
<p>Basically, I loved my experience at the Cross as did all of my friends. Its small size may not be for everybody, but the tradeoff is an intimate, challenging and rewarding academic experience. Also, while HC is Jesuit, religion is there but it is not forced on students...I never made much of it....some do, some don't. Another thing to note, many HC students marry other HC students. While I am not sure of the percentage, it is pretty high. My wife is an alumna as are maybe 60% of my buddies' wives...this is not an anecdotal rarity. But that is years off.</p>
<p>Good luck to your daughter in whatever path she chooses. That said, HC is a great choice to have. Let me know if I can be of further help. </p>
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<p>That was a very helpful response. We are going to the Open House in a few weeks. My D is looking forward to being on campus when the students are there.</p>
<p>I am the parent of a current Junior and would say that our daughter's experience at Holy Cross has been very positive. What you've heard about the close relationship with professors seems quite true from her experience -- she's gotten to know the professors in her department and in her courses very well, and vice versa. Even as a sophomore her professors were offering suggestions on graduate schools plans and the like. I think the undergraduate experience at Holy Cross gives students a much closer relationship to their professors than you'd find at most colleges. As to academics, the courses appear to be challenging, but like most things it is partly a question of what the student wants out of the experience and how much time they are willing to put into it. As to going to Boston, they run a shuttle pretty regularly on weekends into Boston for the students. With respect to diversity, there is an effort to admit a more diverse student body. All in all, our daughter has had a very good experience and been challenged in her classes by professors who know their students and care about them. The school attracted 41% more applications this year than last year, apparently due in part to the decision to make SATs optional. The administration commented that the type and quality of applicants appeared close to the prior classes, there were just a lot more of them.</p>
<p>Thank you for the response Crewsader. You really gave me a good idea of what life is like at Holy Cross! : ) By any chance do you know if Holy Cross has any programs/ or any connections to a Physical Therapy career?</p>
<p>D is a freshman at HC and absolutely loves it....She loves her room, her roommate, the food, her varsity sports team and most importantly...she loves the academics. She is in some very small classes, and feel totally supported, nurtured and challenged by her professors. Her only disappointment is the freshman food plan which has limiting restrictions on when they can eat, but they are changing that for next year. She is 3000 miles away from home but has never had a moments regret. We are thrilled and this was what we hoped for. Good luck to all of you!!!</p>
<p>My daughter is currently a freshman at HC and extremely happy. Her experiences with other students and with faculty have all been positive. We visited HC in spring of her Jr yr in HS but at that time she had seen so many schools that they all began to mesh together. We then went back in fall of Sr yr and came home knowing that HC was the school she wanted to attend without a doubt. The second time around we noticed things we had originally missed; the genuine friendiness of the staff, faculty, other students; the size of the dorm rooms; the quality of the first year program - which is not to be missed by the way! Also, as a classics major my d was happy to hear she could spend a semester each in two different countries if she chose to. The academics are hard, I won't lie. She studies a lot. But she has fun too on weekends, occasionally going to Boston or Providence for the day. When my d came home for XMas she raved about her school to her high school friends and was surprised to find that many of her friends who went elsewhere did not have the same positive experience and were already thinking of transferring. My d visited the same two schools you mentioned, both of which are great schools,she just didn't get that same feeling of belonging. Hope this helps. I don't think your child will be disappointed with Holy Cross</p>
<p>Crusader, Irishbrigade, Oldhat and rxmom,</p>
<p>Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, they are so appreciated. My D is definately leaning toward HC and hopes her experience will be everything you have described.</p>