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Writer's pictureJanice Royal, MA

Insider Information from College Admissions Officers

Over the last two months I have attended webinars presented by Admissions Officers from well over two dozen colleges and universities. Each hour long Zoom session provides me with pages of notes detailing admission data from the fall 2021 class, new majors being offered, new buildings coming online for the fall, and much more.


Attending these webinars provides me valuable information that will be applied during the intensive application work I do with rising seniors this summer.


Here is a small sampling of what I have learned.



University of Oregon

  • The university received a record number of deposits from students committing to attend this fall.

  • There is now a non-stop flight from LAX to Eugene, Oregon making visits home and back to campus easy for southern California students.

  • Engineering now at U!

  • The Oregon Guarantee means incoming freshmen tuitions is fixed for up to 5 years.


Emerson College

  • Has a huge Comedy scene! There is even a Comedy Troupe Union. You can find a comedy performance every night of the week at Emerson.

  • There isn’t a football team, but there is an outsized student theatre and theatre going culture; so, a typical Saturday social event isn’t in a stadium, rather it’s in a performing arts center.

  • New major Global BA in Business of Creative Enterprises: Australia. This new major captures the unique fusion of the arts and business—and takes you across two continents and three major cities (Boston, Sydney, Los Angeles).

  • Emerson will be open for in-person tours for prospective students in July!


Brandeis University

  • Curriculum allows students to explore different areas of interest.

  • Work hard, play hard campus culture.

  • Offers virtual fly-in campus tours for qualified applicants.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

  • WPI admissions is now TEST BLIND!

  • WPI has a project-based curriculum and splits semesters into two 7-week terms, 3 classes each, term allowing for STEM majors to study abroad and IQP projects.

  • The Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP) is one of the most distinctive elements of the WPI Plan and WPI’s signature project-based curriculum – IQP is a nine-credit-hour requirement involves students working in teams, with students not in their major, to tackle an issue that relates science, engineering, and technology to society.

  • Every student has 3 advisors: a faculty advisor, resident advisor, and community advisor.

  • Rolled out new undergraduate degree – Data Science. DS is the top career field in the country according to Glassdoor. This interdisciplinary major combines Computer Science, Business, with a little Psychology. The degree in data science is interdisciplinary, meaning that in addition to core classes in analysis techniques, computing, mathematical sciences, and business, students take classes in advanced topics such as visual analytics, machine learning, statistics, deep learning, artificial intelligence, and big data management.

College of the Holy Cross

  • Home of the SPUD - Student Programs for Urban Development, or SPUD is the largest student organization on campus. At the heart of the student volunteer experience is the opportunity to build relationships with others through ongoing direct service throughout the academic year. The work SPUD engages in ranges from serving meals and working at food pantries, to tutoring children, visiting the elderly in nursing facilities, playing basketball with youth in detention, or being present with those in hospice.

  • Recently completed building on a new athletics complex which includes the 3,536 seat Hart Center Arena for varsity basketball teams games, Hart Center Ice Hockey rink, and indoor practice facility with 100 yards of turf, batting cages and running lanes.

  • Nearing completion on a new, $107 million performing arts center which will house a 400-seat proscenium-style concert hall and theatre, a 200-seat fully flexible experimental theatre space, and a scene shop, costume shop, recording studio, lighting and set design study, and multi-use spaces to encourage collaboration among the arts.



As an Independent Educational Consultant, I spend 20% of my time meeting with admissions officers, touring campuses (virtually and in-person), and exploring the campus environment. This gives me extensive, first-hand knowledge of colleges, big and small, around the country.

This personal insight provides my clients/students with a much deeper understanding than any catalog or website can convey. Because I am familiar with a multitude of institutions, I can present applicants with a much wider selection of possibilities and provide vital help in weighing factors such as cost, location, and curriculum.

With my extensive knowledge of colleges and universities, I can broaden the potential choices and work with students to explore a wider variety of options. This is possible because I am not tied to any specific college or university, am not burdened with unrelated school counseling duties, and are available at the family’s convenience-not just during school hours during the school year.

In fact, I will be working throughout the summer meeting with rising seniors weekly to ensure they have well-written college essays, detailed extracurricular resumes, and correctly completed admission applications. If you, your child, or another student you know would benefit from this one-to-one college planning guidance, please click on the link below and reach out to me.

 

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This blog was written Janice Royal, MA. She is the Founder and CEO of Royal College Consulting.


Let's get started! Click here to book a complimentary discovery call with Janice.


Email: janice@royalcollegeconsulting.com

Phone: (714) 319-0399





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