Yes, this will be my final post as Assistant VP for Enrollment at Stevenson University. Tomorrow is my last day at good ol’ SU. In many ways it’s hard to believe four years and seven months have passed already since I came to Villa Julie College in 2007. I’ve certainly enjoyed sharing my thoughts and observations about Stevenson via this blog. I’ve had numerous memorable experiences during my time here: from the Baltimore Speakers Series events to the many admissions open houses and events.
Here’s a few highlights (in no particular order): Listening to and meeting historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Beck Weathers and Laura Bush’s BSS lectures, FR staff retreats at Rabbit Point and Deep Creek Lake, Wild Stang visiting my office, The OWLs, the dinner with Elizabeth in San Juan PR for admitted students, hockey talks with Mary, the VJC to SU name change, Leadership Seminar and Deep diving, construction (and, oh yeah, more construction!), Kelly’s baking prowess, and the buzzing elevator. There are so many more I could list, too.
And, best of luck to all of the hard working OWLs and Ambassadors who also make the SU Admissions Office a wonderful place.
Lastly, I want to thank the fabulous admission staff that I have had the pleasure of working with over the years. They truly are a caring bunch and consummate professionals. We could not have moved ahead as much as we have at SU without the fantastic work ethic, effort, and successes of the admissions staff. The entire University community owes immeasureable thanks to each and every one of them. I certainly will miss them all.
Auf Wiedersehen!
It’s hard to believe June has arrived and we are less than 2 weeks away from the first Mustang Day orientation program. While many students have already committed to attend Stevenson for the Fall 2011 semester, there are still many of you out there that have not told us your plans. At this time, it looks more and more likely that our freshman class will be filled shortly and so will our available housing. I strongly encourage any admitted freshman who is still considering Stevenson to submit their enrollment deposit and housing forms as soon as possible.
Also, I want to encourage all admitted students, whether or not you plan on coming to SU, to complete our student questionnaire survey. It’s available on-line at: https://www.asqsurvey.com/plus/stevenson. You’ll need your SU ID, which is Students who are enrolling at Stevenson this fall and who complete the survey will be placed in a drawing for a $100 gift certificate for the SU Bookstore. Students who are enrolling elsewhere, but take the time to complete this survey, will be placed in a drawing for a $100 Visa gift card, compliments of the SU Admissions Office. So, go ahead and spend the 1o minutes on the survey…you never know if you’ll be a winner (but you got to play to win, right?).
Tags: Mustang Days, Stevenson Admissions, Stevenson University
No, all you Harry Potter fans, not those O.W.L.s! The Orientation and Welcome Leaders here at Stevenson (a.k.a. the OWLs) start their summer tour of duty on campus today. I am excited to have them working as ambassadors for Stevenson for the next 3 months. And, all of you incoming freshman and transfer students will be meeting them in June when you come to campus for transfer days and Mustang Days.
My thanks to Sarah and Candace for their hard work in getting them ready. Also, Maria Riveros, David Judy, and Corinne Thompson (pictured above) are the three Senior OWLs who will be helping to lead the teams throughout the summer. As always, everyone in Admissions is excited to be working with all of them this summer. To learn more about these amazing Stevenson student leaders, go to their website: Meet the OWLs. Go Mustangs!
Tags: Orientation and Welcome Leaders, Stevenson Admissions, Stevenson University
Now that I think about it, the title of this post sounds more like a 30 page white paper with charts, graphs, and regression analyses. Fortunately, that is not the case. Rather, I have been thinking about how student interactions with college admissions offices have changed over the years. Several years ago if you conducted a personal interview with a prospective student or applicant, you would (more often than not) receive a thank you note via snail mail within a few days. As time has gone on those thank you notes became emails, and also become more infrequent. Today I would daresay that receiving a sincere thank you note (or email) is a rare instance for an admissions counselor. Call me “old school”, but I still feel that manners and courtesy are important and can illuminate the positive aspects of a student’s character. Moreover, I shutter to think what my own mother would say if I were not to thank someone for their time and consideration following a college interview.
Another interesting observation over the years has been the waning sense of responsibility students display in notifying colleges of their intent not to enroll. Imagine is you had five different job offers fromgreat companies. After thinking over the choices, you decided to accept the job that best fit what you wanted to do. But, after telling that company you were taking the job, you decided to ignore the other four and act as if they did not offer you a job at all. Hmmm…how did you think those potential employers would feel? That scenario has pretty much become the landscape during May at most colleges and universities. While we are genuinely excited about the students who are going to be part of our incoming freshman classes, there are exponentially more students who we admit but never contact us at all. Right now you might be saying, “Bob, you’re upset because you’re not feeling the love from those students.” Well, I honestly don’t look at it that way. I really feel that given the time and effort that both students and admissions officers put into the process, there should be a bigger push for bringing closure to that process.
Think about those students who are admitted to college via early decision programs. Once admitted they commit to that school and then notify all of the other colleges they applied to and ask them to withdraw their application. The question is: why doesn’t that courtesy translate to the majority of students who make their decision around May 1st? I know high school seniors are quite busy, but I don’t think you can convince me that they cannot spare ten minutes to send a few quick emails to the schools they will not be attending. Again, like the interview thank you note, I believe it comes down to manners and courtesy.
So, in closing, my advice to high school seniors during this time of year: don’t forget about those schools you will not be attending, and just let them know your plans. As for prospective students, please remember to write a thank you email or note following your admissions interview. During my time in admissions I have rarely witnessed a colleague advocate admission for a student who did not make a positive impact on that counselor. Take the extra step, show us your character, and you’ll make an even better impression. Is student courtesy waning in our current entitlement society? Well, maybe…but perhaps students going through their college search will remember that “manners matter”.
Here’s the latest I’ve observed from around campus. As you can see, the stadium is coming along well and looking good. In the picture above you can see the framework now of what will be the press box, coaches suite, and the presidential suite. I took this picture standing at the top of the hill by the Brown School of Business and Leadership building, so you can defintiely tell the stadium is going to be big! Would be nice to see it full of students for the upcoming NCAA lacrosse championships this weekend, but, alas, we’ll have to wait until September 10th when football takes the field for their first home game! Remember you can watch the construction live by clicking here!
Also, I saw they have started the demo at the old Granny’s restaurant at the bottom of the hill. That site will become a new university store here on the Owings Mills campus. I think we’re all looking forward to that opening up!
Lastly, the 2 new suite-style residence halls are coming along well. This shot is a few weeks old (but I hadn’t posted it), so the outsides of both buildings are nearlt completed now. As with the stadium, they will be ready to go “on time” for the fall 2011 semester.
The Stevenson Athletic office announced yesterday that we will be leaving the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) after this coming season, and joining the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) beginning July 1, 2012. Click here to read the full story.
Tags: Middle Atlantic Conference, Stevenson Admissions, Stevenson University
Yes, I have been extremely bad about blog posting since early March. Guess life in the Stevenson admissions world has kept me way too busy this spring! Nonetheless, I wanted to post a quick reminder that today marks the May 1st candidate reply date. If you are an admitted freshman student for the class of 2015, you can either submit your $300 deposit via our online form today or mail in your deposit and enrollment form tomorrow. Because May 1st falls on a Sunday this year, the postmark deadline will be tomorrow, May 2nd.
If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact the admissions office tomorrow. There’s still time. Generally, we will continue to accept enrollment deposits after May 2nd, as long as we have space available in our freshman class. Again, congrats to the class of 2015 and we look forward to welcoming you in June for Mustang Days!
Spring break is here! I took this picture of the apartment quad earlier today, and it’s pretty much looking like the students have already fled for warmer climates.
Well, it’s hard to believe March is already a third over, and application review at Stevenson remains in full swing. Definitely one of the blessings is that there are still many well qualified candidates who applications we are just beginning to review at this time of year. On the other hand, we have been inundated with so many applications for freshman admission for the Fall 2011 semester. Over 5,300 students so far have chosen to apply to SU this year…that represents a 36% increase over last year at this time. I have to say the buzz about Stevenson is so positive and exciting. I am truly looking forward to President’s Celebration on April 2nd.
Today marks our priority application deadline. So…if you haven’t submitted your application for admission, today is the day! Remember you can apply to Stevenson using the Common Application, Universal College Application, or our Stevenson application. Also, don’t forget to send in your supporting credentials and materials as soon as possible. Since we do utilize a rolling admission process, the sooner your application is complete the sooner you’ll hear back from us.
If you have questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to call the Admissions Office at 1-877-468-6852 or email us at admissions@stevenson.edu.
In order to receive full consideration for financial aid at Stevenson, we strongly encourage students and parents to submit their FAFSA form by February 15, 2011. For you to be eligible for state, federal, and institutional assistance, please be sure to complete your FAFSA as soon as possible (preferably tomorrow, but definitely no later than Feb. 28th). If you need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact Stevenson’s Office of Financial Aid at 443-334-3500.
Click here to get your PIN for the FAFSA (P.S. you should already have done this by now!)