Is College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, viewed as a prestigious institution?
Yes very much so. Do you have doubts?
Compared with what? And why does prestige matter so much? If you are so into prestige Holy Cross is tied for #32 on the USNWR list of liberal arts colleges putting in on par with schools like Bucknell and URichmond. If HC is a good fit for you then go-- it is a fine school and you should be able to get a great education and have a wonderful experience there.
I think it was considered an academically elite college about 35 years ago but now I am not so sure.
It is problematic to compare Holy Cross’ ACTs/SATs for accepted students with other schools since Holy Cross no longer requires them, the students who do voluntarily report them tend to be those with the higher scores, and thus the reported ACT/SAT average is shaky. In other words, if Villanova’s average reported ACT for accepted students is 30 and Holy Cross’ reported average ACT for accepted students - those who voluntarily submitted their ACT scores - is 29…can we still assume the accepted students from both schools are similarly academically qualified?
A second effect of waiving the ACT/SAT requirement is to encourage applications from those who might otherwise be put off by the requirement (for a number of reasons, including somewhat lower scores). This may (and does) boost the applicant pool numbers and therefore ‘improves’ or lowers the selection rate.
The two effects of dropping the ACT/SAT requirements are - I am told - well known in professional circles. One might utilize this tactic to obscure an academic decline.
I am afraid HC is now closer in reputation to Providence and Fairfield than to Georgetown. 35 years ago most folks would have put HC closer to Georgetown. In addition, 35 years ago most folks would have put HC’s reputation above that of Villanova and Fordham - now they are academic peers, at best, - in the eyes of many.
Finally, it seems HC has become far more of a sports school than an academic school. And it has assiduously worked to acquire that reputation. It offers 27 varsity sports and boasts that over 25% of it students participate in varsity sports. The robust offerings of full and partial athletic scholarships necessary to field competitive teams contrast sharply to its almost non-existent academic merit aid. There is no effort to attract National Merit Semifinalists/Finalists via merit aid, for example.
The growing realization that this is no longer the school for the high/highest academic achievers has contributed to its slip from consideration as an ‘elite’.
@LaxMass
You have an interesting perspective on test optional. By your standards then, would you make the same comments about other test optional schools like Bowdoin, Bates and Wesleyan?
Regarding athletics- Holy Cross offers need based aid and a limited amount oF merit aid,but does not give athletic scholarships.
Finally with regard to other Catholic universities, the most recent ranking of Catholic universities conducted yearly by college niche goes like this.
- Notre Dame
- Georgetown
- Holy Cross
- BC
- Santa Clara
- Villanova
@wisteria100 That is not true. Holy Cross gives a lot of non-need based athletic-only scholarships (although little to no non-need based merit awards-mostly the endowed scholarships are given for merit). They are a small division 1 school that highly values athletics.
In 2016-2017 they gave away over 7.2 million in non-need based athletic awards.
http://www.holycross.edu/sites/default/files/files/planningandspecialproj/cds_2016-2017.pdf
The other LACs you mentioned (Bowdoin, Bates and Wesleyan) are all Division III and therefore give zero $ in athletic scholarships.
@suzyQ7
I stand corrected on the athletic scholarship point.
But I was referencing the other schools as test optional comparison not an athletic one. @LaxMass seemed to be making the point that a test optional school could not be considered to be strong academically, which is false
Being a peer of Villanova and Fordham is far different than being a peer of Fairfield and Providence, IMHO.
Holy Cross is the only Catholic liberal arts college. Its reputation remains strong, as does its mission. Students and applicants to HC expect rigor. By all accounts, that is exactly what they are getting. Look at things like alumni support, admission yield, post-grad earning. HC does very well.
Living and working in Boston is a goal of lots of college grads. Any firm or company there has HC people in its ranks and knows the quality of the school.
It’s difficult to compare it to universities, with their size and scope. I think the Georgetown-Jesuit ties, which go back to HC’s founding, will always be there. BC too, for that matter.
It’s surrounding environment in Worcester may be a negative, but I like to say New Haven ain’t Paris and nobody seems to mind. :))
SuzieQ7:
Someone beat me to the correction of your misstatement concerning Holy Cross and athletic (merit) scholarships.
The contrast with the meager academic (merit) scholarship offerings at HC is glaring and doubtlessly impactful.
It is almost as if HC has decided where to allocate its limited merit scholarship resources and has essentially decided athletics over academics. Other schools similar to HC have sought a better balance - and are more attractive to the strongest academic students. Over time, reputations have shifted.
(Note: I am not considering the Ivies and the like to be ‘similar’ and it is well known they offer no merit aid [academic or athletic] in any case.)
I did not suggest that “a test optional school could not be considered to be strong academically.” I do hope you took my point as to the effect of ‘test optional’ on published SAT/ACT averages, increases in applications, and selectivity. Much has been published on this very topic.
(I am a proud graduate of Holy Cross, have a job that puts me in contact with a large number of high school students, and am disappointed with the general impression among some that HC has become more of just another pretty good ‘jock and socially conscious’ school than a destination for the academically oriented. I did a little bit of research on the number of National Merit Finalists enrolled at Holy Cross [v Villanova, Fordham, Georgetown and the Ivies] and was shocked/disappointed. I confess a knowledgeable high school guidance counselor pointed me in this direction. This sort of confirmed the general impression of the academically-oriented young people I know.)
HC is considerably smaller than those other schools. NMF is test-based. Clearly, the guidance counselor you spoke to places an emphasis on tests. That’s fine, but it is only one indicator of college success.
HC still recommends an interview and takes the time to get to know students. That’s significant. Most places do not evaluate anything at an interview.
Merit is paying rich kids to come to your school. I would think the need-blind, meets-need approach creates more diverse classes and should be applauded.
The admissions staff is among the most transparent I’ve seen. Perhaps as a concerned alum, you should check in with them. I’m sure they would be open to discussing the trends that they see.
Just to follow up on my post regarding National Merit Finalists - this may be an eye-opener:
See pages 32-34: http://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/gid2/editor_documents/annual_report.pdf?no_cookie=1
Many LACs are test optional, athletics focused and give no merit. Many of them are also small. There are only so many seats - and only so much money to give away - therefore they have to make choices. Many of them choose athletics and Legacy students as a priority - even if they have lower ‘stats’. The rest probably are very high ‘stats’ students. This is the same at large universities (almost all favor athletics and some favor legacy) - but the class sizes are larger and the % of athletic/legacy students is small (because of size).
Back when HC was ‘cheap’ the pool of students who could afford to attend without merit (upper middle class) was larger. Now (at 65K per year) that pool is smaller. Its hard to find high stats kids willing to full pay 65K a year for a mid-tier LAC when many of those high stats kids can pay the same price for a higher ranked school. I’m guessing the kids who qualify for FA at HC have exceptional stats.
All this being said - I don’t think it takes away much from the quality of education one gets at HC or comparable schools. The fundamental undergraduate focused education is there. It just means that very high stats students make up a smaller portion of the class than at larger schools who don’t spend such a large percent of their $ on athletics (like BC). The difference between HC and some other top LACs is the athletic scholarships. For example, at Bowdoin, they don’t fund athletic scholarships. They are able to attract athletes that either 1) qualify for FA or 2) full pay.
@Middleman68 “Merit is paying rich kids to come to your school”. I disagree, merit is paying really smart kids to come to your school.
@LaxMass
Holy Cross is pretty similar with respect to Northeast/east coast LACs in offering limited merit aid. At many Nescacs and Patriot league schools, there is not a lot of merit $ to go around either.
With regard to your comment that Holy Cross is closer to reputation to Providence or Fairfield, the Forbes rankings (which I am referencing because they rank LACS alongside universities and US News has them in separate categories) has Holy Cross at #51, Providence at #111, Fairfield at #165, Villanova at #62 and Fordham at #145.
I’m the one who pointed out that HC indeed has (large) athletic scholarships.
@wisteria100: I did not write this :“With regard to your comment that Holy Cross is closer to reputation to Providence or Fairfield,…”. I did write this “I am afraid HC is now closer in reputation to Providence and Fairfield than to Georgetown.” that is very different. I also did not cite Forbes but I see your point on their nationwide all-school rankings.
@Middleman68: “Merit is paying rich kids to come to your school.” There are two types of merit aid. Academic and Athletic. Not all academic or athletic kids are rich. Beyond that, I completely disagree with your statement.
“I’m the one who pointed out that HC indeed has (large) athletic scholarships.”
Sorry. I meant to reply to @wisteria100 and correct her mistake regarding Holy Cross’ athletic merit scholarships. You were right on target with that one.
@LaxMass Sorry for misrepresenting your comments.
But to add some more numbers - the Forbes list has G’town at #21. So HC at #51 is indeed, by that standard much closer to G’town, than it is to #111 or #165
College Excellence
No. 32 on U.S. News & World Report’s list of best liberal arts colleges
A+ on Niche’s list of 2017 Best Colleges in America
No. 1 on LendEdu’s list of most beautiful college campus in Massachusetts
No. 2 on USA Today/College Factual’s list of best Roman Catholic colleges
No. 4 on USA Today/College Factual’s list of best colleges in Massachusetts
No. 19 on USA Today/College Factual’s list of best colleges in the nation
No. 8 on Best Choice Schools’ list of beautiful urban college campuses
No. 15 on Kiplinger’s list of liberal arts colleges that combine outstanding academics with affordable cost
No. 16 on Money Magazine’s list of best liberal arts colleges
No. 19 on Forbes’ list of best value liberal arts colleges
No. 20 on Business Insider’s list of best liberal arts colleges
No. 25 on Forbes’ list of top liberal arts colleges
No. 26 on Washington Monthly’s list of top liberal arts colleges
No. 29 on Times Higher Education’s list of best liberal arts colleges
Included on the Princeton Review’s list of best colleges and “Colleges That Pay You Back”
Among the “best and most interesting colleges” in the Fiske Guide to Colleges
One of Money Magazine’s “10 Great Colleges That Don’t Care About Your SATs”
No. 36 on The Economist’s list of best colleges in America based on value
Among both “The 100 smartest private colleges in America” and “The 101 smartest liberal arts colleges in America,” according to Business Insider
No. 1 on the Institute for International Education’s list of long-term study abroad programs
No. 3 on Accounting Degree Review’s list of “Top 10 Undergraduate Accounting Programs in Massachusetts”
No. 9 on USA Today’s list of “best U.S. colleges for a major in English”
One of a select group of “need-blind” colleges that accept students regardless of their ability to pay and meet 100 percent of demonstrated need
Average class size: 18 students (2015-2016 academic year)
Holy Cross has been part of either the answer or question on “Jeopardy!” 11 times
Student Achievement
96 percent first-year retention rate
92 percent six-year graduation rate
No. 8 for four-year graduation rates among all colleges and universities in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report
One of the highest graduation rates (97 percent) for student-athletes, among NCAA Division I schools
No. 12 on Money Magazine’s list of “The 50 Best Private Colleges for Earning Your Degree On Time”
Holy Cross had the strongest academic ranking of all 68 teams in the 2016 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, according to Time.com
Success After Graduation
Average starting salary for 2015 graduates: $48,455
Graduating from Holy Cross adds nearly 27 percent to an alum’s average mid-career earnings, according to a study by the Brookings Institution
82 percent medical school acceptance rate
96 percent law school acceptance rate
Seven young alumni awarded Fulbright grants to teach and conduct research around the world during the 2016-17 academic year
Over the last five years, 43 Holy Cross graduates have been awarded Fulbright grants to work and teach abroad
No. 8 on the list of best value liberal arts colleges in the country, according to PayScale’s 2016 College Return on Investment Report
Alumni Engagement
50.2 percent of alumni made a gift to the College in the past year
No. 11 on U.S. News & World Report’s liberal arts colleges with the highest giving rate
No. 12 on Princeton Review’s Best Alumni Network list
Faculty
All courses are taught by faculty members; none by teaching assistants
93 percent hold terminal degrees
10:1 student to faculty ratio
No. 15 on Princeton Review’s list of schools that have the most accessible professors
4 faculty members have won Guggenheim fellowships: Todd Lewis, professor of religious studies (2011); Sarah Stanbury, professor of English (2010); Leila Phillip, associate professor of English (2007); and Osvaldo Golijov, Loyola Professor of Music (1995)
Service and Social Justice
1 in 10 students devotes their spring break to immersion and service projects
SPUD (Student Programs for Urban Development) is the largest student organization at Holy Cross with more than 700 participants, and is connected to more than 46 schools and community organizations
Named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for strong institutional commitment to service and partnerships that produce measurable results for the community
15 Holy Cross graduates who have dedicated themselves to a year of service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps during 2016-17
Among top small colleges and universities sending graduates (9) to the highly selective Teach for America program
Sustainability and Stewardship
Charter signatory of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment
As part of the commitment, aim to be carbon neutral by 2040
Surpassed our initial campus carbon emissions reduction goal years ahead of schedule
Among the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges, according to the Princeton Review
Merit isn’t solely offered to tippy-top kids. Far from it. It’s offered to change an enrollment decision.
So the kid who is getting $0 merit at HC might be getting $15K at Fairfield or Providence. That might move the needle in their favor, but it doesn’t lessen HC.
As far as referring to athletic money as merit, it’s complicated. Several D-1 sports – basketball, for example – require a full scholarship for each player. Others – lacrosse – do not.