Ed's WPI Admissions Blog

I'm Moving

2011-01-24T12:15:00.003-05:00

OK I am not leaving WPI...but my blog is moving...after my first 117 posts we decided to incorporate the blogs of our admissions staff members into one....Adam Epstein, Liza Michie (a new addition!) and I will all be contributing posts to http://wp.wpi.edu/counselors/

I hope that you'll continue to follow the happenings in our office!!

Ed

Time to sign the letters!!

2010-12-11T20:25:00.005-05:00

It's been a busy weekend already in the Connor household. A Christmas party last night, a breakfast with Santa this morning (my son had a ball!!), a bit of Christmas shopping, and of course signing the Early Action acceptance letters.

For all of you anxious to hear about your application to WPI we hope to have all the letters in the mail by Wednesday. I'll be busy signing letters over the next couple of days. I am about to start with the Ds...I've already signed dozens of letters headed across the US and around the globe...Worcester to Walpole and Peach Tree City to Paris!!

Hang in there...you'll be hearing soon.

PS - We still have about 130 applications that are incomplete...if you think one might be yours give the office a call on Monday.

WPI Basketball on ESPN!!

2010-12-08T12:39:00.006-05:00

Well I didn't think I'd ever see WPI basketball on ESPN, but last night it happened...almost:) The Men's Basketball team took on Harvard and while the game wasn't televised on ESPN the score made it to the ticker on ESPN!! It doesn't often happen that a Division III basketball team gets coverage (in any way shape or form!) on ESPN, but actually it was the second time in the last 3 years.

Unfortunately both times were in losing efforts. In addition to the Harvard game, WPI was featured when Bobby Knight set the all-time coaching mark for wins in men's college basketball in 2007. WPI has the distinction on being on the losing end of Coach Knight's first NCAA basketball victory when he was coaching the Army collegiate team.

So what about last night? Keep in mind that Harvard just beat Division I Colorado and only lost to Michigan by 3 points...so this seemed like a mismatch for the ages!! When all was said and done I will have to say I was very proud of my alma mater. Harvard held a double digit lead for much of the game, but when WPI had the chance to cut it to 5 points in the second half I thought the impossible just might happen...Unfortunately the Harvard team proved too strong and WPI went down in defeat 69 to 54. I think the Engineers surprised everyone with their strong outing and this contest should only help them in the Division III rankings in the weeks ahead.

All the winter sports teams are out to great starts and hopefully you can come out to a game!!

Ed

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-19T18:52:00.004-05:00

After a hectic couple of weeks in the Admissions Office I am looking forward to the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Our Early Action Rd 1 deadline passed on the 10th and we were excited to see our applicant pool continue to grow. We received just over 2,000 applications which represents a 20% increase over last year. We'll be busy reviewing the applications over the next few weeks. Some are sure to be read between the main course and dessert on Thanksgiving!! If you are interested in who will be reviewing your application you can learn more about our staff here...

If you are one of our Early Action applicants we'll be sending out decision letters in time for you to receive them by the 20th of December. Please make sure that your application is complete...we do need first quarter/marking period grades before we can review your application. We'll be reaching out to applicants and schools to follow-up on missing items, but don't forget you can check your application status online. You will need the login and PIN that were sent in your acknowledgement mail and letter. If you have questions just let us know!

We hosted our 2nd open house of the fall on November 11th and were pleased to see almost 500 students in attendance. The weather cooperated and we were able to provide a traditional fall New England day for all of the guests in attendance from outside the area:)

Last but not least we will be launching a new Admissions web site tomorrow. This is phase one of a two-part project. You'll notice a new admissions home page and redesigned pages on all levels of the site. Next time you visit admissions.wpi.edu be prepared for something new and exciting!! If you are a frequent visitor you won't notice many changes to the architecture and the links off of the home page...most things should still be easy to fine. Phase two will include some tweaks to the architecture and some new/refreshed content on may pages of the site. Be on the look out for phase two early in 2011.

I've worked closely with Julie Chapman and Adam Epstein in our office on the web project. We worked in conjunction with the WPI Marketing and Communications Office over the last few months and we are all very excited with the results. I appreciate all the hard work and time to pull the project together. Please consider sharing any feedback by e-mailing me or commenting here on my blog...

I wish you and yours a very safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Ed

New Sports and Recreation Center Taking Shape

2010-10-25T21:29:00.004-04:00

October has been a busy month in the Office of Admissions and on campus as a whole. Our staff has been busy visiting high schools and conducting interviews around the globe. We'll visit about 300 high schools in October and interview over 200 students away from campus by the time the month ends. We had a great open house on Columbus Day with over 1,100 visitors on campus. It's hard to believe that the fall recruitment season is starting to wind down already.

On campus the first day of classes for B-term kicked off today and all of our students were back from fall break looking a bit more relaxed. In addition, today our new sports and recreation center reached another major building milestone with the start of steel erection for the building’s structural frame! The first steel column was placed on the southwest end of the building (below Morgan Hall and near the running track).

The next milestone is scheduled to happen on Thursday November 4th as we begin to erect nine 216-ton pre-cast concrete “ribs” of the Natatorium. If you are in the neighborhood come by and check it out!!

After 5 months of working “in the hole on the hill”, it will be great to start to see the structure rise up and the building take shape over the next several months.

Ed

PS - Don't forget our Early Action Rd I deadline is just around the corner...November
10th...call or e-mail with any last minute questions.

October In the Office of Admissions

2010-10-06T20:58:00.006-04:00

Well after a long hot summer the last couple of weeks have been damp and chilly. September is typically one of the quietest months for visitors to WPI as everyone is busy returning to school and getting into the new routine. Given the weather and the rainy tours probably a good thing!! That will all change with our first open house of the year next Monday. We are expecting about 400 students and 1,000 visitors overall...extended forecast looks good:)

In addition to September being a quiet month for visitors, there are many days when the staff offices are dark. From mid-September until mid-November most staff members are traveling across the US and around the globe meeting with counselors, families and students. As we speak there are WPI Admissions Staff in Louisiana, Minnesota, Maryland, New York, and Connecticut.

If you come for a visit in the next couple of weeks you are likely to find Julie Chapman or me in the office, along with another counselor or two in between their recruitment trips. However even I get out of the office a bit as well. Last week I was off to St. Louis for the National Association of College Admissions Counselors Conference. This is the "main event" each year for the profession.

In addition to a couple of thousand admissions counselors, the conference welcomes hundreds of guidance and college counselors, as well as many companies with educational related products. It was a short trip...2 nights...but a busy couple of days. Yes I did squeeze in a short steamboat ride on the Mississippi, but in addition got to attend a couple of sessions, meet with a reporter from CBS Moneyline, touch base with some vendors we team up with, and connect with colleagues at many of the other technological universities across the country. In addition several schools (MIT, Carnegie Mellon, RIT, U-Miami, WPI and others) hosted a dessert reception for guidance counselors from across the country. I was pleased to see over 200 guidance counselors in attendance. A good time was had by all and hopefully the counselors learned a bit about our schools as well.

That was my excitement for the fall...although I will be in Framingham, Maynard, and Lincoln next week. Maybe I'll see you there:)

Ed

Brochures, Photos and the Web

2010-09-14T16:55:00.006-04:00

I trust that many high school seniors return home everyday to a mailbox full of college brochures. Yes, I have seen the videos on what happens to them, including the video of a young man weighing everything he had received. Now I will say WPI probably does contribute our fair share, but as many schools we also spend a lot of time connecting with students electronically. Whether it is e-mail, Facebook, or our own website we try to provide important and pertinent information to prospective students, families and the counseling community.

I am pleased to share that we are working on a new undergraduate admissions web site and we hope it will be live in the next 5 to 6 weeks. This is an exciting project for us and we do hope that everyone will be excited with the results. I am spending a fair amount of time on the project, and even helping out a bit with photo shoots...(see above right). One of the featured elements will be our new virtual tour, Eye on WPI, which recently went live. I hope you are enjoying the virtual tour and that you'll find time to check out the new web site as well!!

Ed

WPI Virtual Tour

2010-09-05T15:04:00.005-04:00

After several months in the making, WPI's new virtual tour, "Eye on WPI" launched on Friday. I am very excited about this great new option for students, parents and counselors. It has been designed to help you learn more about the WPI experience, and can be customized to meet your needs. I hope you'll spend a few minutes to check it out.

Enjoy the holiday weekend.

Ed

2 weeks and counting...

2010-08-05T20:16:00.006-04:00

It is hard to believe freshman orientation is just around the corner. The orientation programs kick off two weeks from today with an extended orientation for international students and the full orientation beginning two weeks from Sunday. Whats even harder to believe is that classes begin three weeks from today!!

We've been welcoming dozens of visitors to campus each day checking out WPI for the first time, but we haven't forgotten about the Class of 2014!! We've seen some of you on campus taking a peek at your residence hall, buying books, and just checking things out for one last time. In addition to these "unofficial" visits we've been happy to partner with the Alumni office to sponsor a number of BBQs for incoming students over the last couple of weeks. Several events were held across the Northeast, with the final event held last evening in Worcester. We had about 100 people in attendance. Over 25 incoming students attended, along with a number of parents and family members. It was great to see so many people in attendance and a great time was had by all!!

Enjoy the rest of the summer...we'll see you on campus soon.

Ed

What to eat in Worcester

2010-08-01T21:33:00.006-04:00

A question we often get is how is the food on campus? I'll have to say it's great. Lots of options in the dining halls, an on-campus pub, Dunkin Donuts, Quiznos and more!! But if that's not enough you don't have to wander far from campus to find great seafood at the Sole Proprietor, great pizza at Tech Pizza, and solid burgers at the Boynton, great sandwiches at New England Roast Beef, and for those venturing a bit further, classic hot dogs at Coney Island Hot Dogs right here in Worcester!!.

As you might guess from some of my favorites I am not a vegan or even a vegetarian, but for those of you who are take a closer look at Worcester...Earlier this month PETA named Worcester a top 10 veg-friendly small city in the US. Now I will have to admit I haven't been to many of the restaurants mentioned in the article, but it certainly is another testament to the great food one can find all over the city!!

Next time you visit campus just ask the Admissions Office for culinary suggestions...we'll be happy to help!!

Ed

Academic Visit Days

2010-07-26T21:49:00.004-04:00

This year's academic visit days started off with a bang!! We welcomed close to 50 families to campus today. In addition to touring the campus and learning about the admissions process, the families had a chance to attend a general engineering overview and to learn more about our Global Perspective Program through special presentations offered during the day. These programs are a great way for families to enhance their visits to campus. If you are thinking of visiting campus soon check out the offerings over the next two weeks.

Ed

Videos, Videos, Videos

2010-07-23T09:07:00.004-04:00

Over the last several months the admissions office has been upgrading our video content and we are on the cusp of several new releases. We wrapped up a 10 minute overview video in the spring. So far we've shared that with some of our admitted students back in April and a group of visiting guidance counselors last week. This video is typically shown at open houses and off- campus receptions, but it will be up on our YouTube channel soon.

We are also putting the finishing touches on our new virtual tour, "Eye on WPI". If all goes well this should be launched in early August!! We are very excited about this new feature which will allow students to choose from 15 short videos or create their own video by picking the topics that they are most interested in learning more about.

Last but not least Adam Epstein is working with the Academic Technology Center here at WPI to create a ton of new video content for our YouTube channel. This will include interview with faculty, staff and students.

Be sure to check out the web site for all this new content in August!!

Ed

Frontiers at WPI

2010-07-14T21:50:00.005-04:00

It's hard to believe that the WPI's Frontiers summer program has been going strong for 27 years!! This years program kicked off on Sunday and we welcomed over 180 students to campus from around the US and from around the globe. The program continues to expand each year, with this year being the biggest program yet. Last year we added a second session specifically for our Robotics Engineering students. As you might imagine that program filled quickly and we are expecting another great group of students for that program in 10 days.

I had the chance to meet some of the students and many of the family members during move in day on Sunday. I realize for some families this may be a stressful couple of weeks as their son or daughter is away from home for the first name ever...and still others may be enjoying the quiet:)
Overall I can assure you the students are having a great time in and out of the classroom. We have some great activities planned over the coming days and will get to know many of them a bit better as they may choose to schedule an interview with our office over the next few days.

Looking forward to Session II...

Ed

Summer break and new rankings

2010-07-01T21:48:00.007-04:00

The summer break is flying by...almost 2 months since classes ended and new students will be arriving on campus in just over 6 weeks. Visitors to campus have been increasing day by day and July and August always prove to be a couple of our busiest months of the year.

If you are planning a visit to campus consider one of our academic visit days later in July and early August. They are a great way to learn more about the undergraduate programs and opportunities on campus.

Also keep an eye out on the WPI website for more news about our latest ranking...#14 in the country for return on investment. The ranking looked at the return on investment of graduates over the past 30 years and it came as no surprise that WPI shined. Check our the Business Week article for more details. (Also check out the tables for more complete rankings.)

Hope to see you on campus this summer...

Ed

Time Flies

2010-06-05T08:40:00.004-04:00

Wow I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since my last post. April is a traditionally busy month in the admissions world and things typically quiet down a bit in May...but not this year!!

While the office was fairly quiet in May, my family and I moved at the end of the month. We'd been in the same place for 8 years and it is amazing how much stuff one can gather it 8 years!!

So what else happened at WPI since my last post? Here's a top ten list of sorts....in no particular order:)

We held two very popular Closer Look Programs for Admitted Students

Our 2010 Commencement which included Curt Schilling as the Commencement Speaker

The ground breaking for WPI's new Sports and Recreation Center

The release of WPI's new Admissions Video...look for it on the web soon!!

The 2010 Reunion at WPI...taking place this weekend

The WPI academic plan celebrates its 40th year!

New project sites in Japan and Santa Fe, NM offered for the 2010/11 academic year

We welcomed a group of Russian university officials to campus interested in learning more about the unique nature of WPI's programs

WPI won the Worcester Cup for the second straight year. It recognizes the college athletic program in Worcester with the highest winning percentage over the entire year.

The May 1st enrollment deadline passed and we saw over 900 students choose to enroll at WPI as part of the Class of 2014!! (We expect an incoming class in the upper 800s come August.)

That's all for now....I promise to be back soon!!

Ed

Closer Look 2010

2010-04-12T22:43:00.005-04:00

We are less than 48 hours away from our first Closer Look program for our admitted students. As you might imagine it's been quite busy in the office over the past few days preparing for the program. We are expecting about 300 admitted students and I am happy to see that good weather is expected.

Each year at our Closer look programs we see many students and their families decide that WPI is their school of choice for the next 4 years. If you haven't already paid your enrollment deposit, but choose to do so on Wednesday, we'll give you a free sweatshirt!!

Hope to see you on campus soon!!

Ed

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T20:38:00.004-04:00

March did not disappoint and proved to be one of the busiest months of the year. I've had a few days to catch my breath now that all the decision letters have mailed.

I am in Florida for a few days with the family visiting my mother-in-law for Easter. Beautiful weather 80+ degrees every day!! We've been able to take our little boy to the beach each day and boy does he love the water!! Spent a good part of the Easter holiday at the beach...feels a bit odd, but not complaining:)

Of course the trip's not all fun and games...I'll be heading to Miami tomorrow and will be meeting with some of our admitted students and their families on Tuesday night.

We'll be offering several events for admitted students across the country over the next couple of weeks...check out our web site for the details.

Off to watch the Sox vs Yankees...see the Sox are already losing :(

Ed

A break from application review

2010-03-09T21:36:00.005-05:00

We've been quite busy reviewing hundreds of applications a week over the last few months, but the admissions staff took a quick break last Friday for our annual bowling competition. We all headed over to Gompei's Gutters on the WPI campus for lunch and a couple of hours of bowling. Congratulations to Jay who took home the high score of the day!!

This week as been filled with committee meetings to discuss all the regular decision applications. We still have over 400 applications that are incomplete...it's down to the wire so if you think one might be yours give us a call!!

Decisions will mail by the end of the month and be in your hands by April 1st. Enjoy the last couple months of high school!!

Ed

Post #100 - Curt Schilling

2010-02-16T20:58:00.005-05:00

Well I guess my 100th post is something to note...wasn't sure I'd make it to 10 posts when I got started, but here I am...and people tell me they actually read this thing:)

As a huge Red Sox fan I was most excited yesterday to learn that Curt Schilling will be WPI's commencement speaker this spring. I know someone who will be volunteering to help with graduation this year!!

Ed

Early to Bed Early to Rise

2010-02-13T19:56:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow will be our first admitted student event of the year at WPI. We are expecting approximately 400 students at the Winter Preview event from across the country tomorrow, including a number of students from the west coast. It will be an early morning for many families as they head to campus for 9AM registration....but a great day is planned and we'll be there ready and waiting.

We'll be handing out a few prizes during the opening remarks...one for the student coming the greatest distance and one for the first student to arrive tomorrow...so if you happen to be reading this tonight get an early start:)

Ed

Visitors from China

2010-02-08T11:34:00.004-05:00

On Friday the Office of Admissions welcomed 28 students from China to campus. In addition a handful of teachers and parents joined the group for a full day on campus. All students attend the High School Affiliated to Nanjing Normal University and are part of the new IB program at the school. The Director of College Counseling, Bruce Hammond, organized the trip. We were pleased that they were able to include WPI in their plans as they were only in the Boston area for a short time.

In addition to a campus tour, information session and lunch, the students had a chance to split up into small groups and chat with both admissions staff and current WPI students on topics ranging from the admissions process to student life at a US university. A couple of current WPI students, who had attended the High School Affiliated to Nanjing Normal University, also joined for some Q & A.

A great day was had by all and we hope to see some of these juniors in high school applying to WPI next year.

Ed

Beyond Feb 1st

2010-02-04T10:28:00.005-05:00

Looks like our applications are at 6,625 and counting as a few more trickle in with February 1st postmarks. Our growth was mostly among female applicants with an 11% increase compared to only a 1% increase in male applicants.

More to come on the applicant pool in the coming days.

Ed

PS - Our Early Action Round 2 letters should mail tomorrow....think your app might be incomplete? Give us a call...still close to 300 have not been reviewed because they are incomplete.

Application Update

2010-01-31T17:47:00.004-05:00

As we close in on our application deadline...February 1st....students are still submitting applications at a good clip. Close to 200 applications have been submitted on-line over the weekend and we still have about 30 hours to the deadline. It looks like we will have another record setting year at WPI. With over 6,400 applications so far this year, we will easily exceed last year's total of 6,284. Glad to see that the interest in WPI is remaining high!!

Best,

Ed

PS - If you applied Early Action Round II, and are waiting on a decision, please remember the notification date this year is February 10th. We hope to have the decisions in the mail by the end of the week.

Only 4 days to go....

2010-01-29T19:50:00.005-05:00

We are rapidly approaching the 2010 application deadline...only 4 days to go. If you are still putting the finishing touches on your application be sure to submit by 11:59PM on Monday or if applying by paper get that Feb 1st postmark!!

Questions? e-mail admissions@wpi.edu or me directly at econnor@wpi.edu

Have a great weekend...

Ed

Enrollment Form On-Line

2010-01-28T10:37:00.006-05:00

I am pleased to announce that our new on-line enrollment form is now live. If you visit the admitted student site you can access it through the forms link. While I hope everyone that submits the form will be enrolling at WPI, it can also be used by those students wishing to decline our offer of admission. Why would anyone want to do that!! :)

Ed

Congratulations!!

2010-01-19T09:38:00.005-05:00

Congratulations to all of the students who have received good news from WPI!! If you haven't seen this year's "Congratulations" Video check it out: http://www.youtube.com/user/WPIAdmissions#p/a/u/1/Ek-LeAELros

As we approach our application deadline of February 1st I am pleased to see that interest in WPI remains high. Our application numbers have risen about 5% over last year with another noticeable increase in students applying to WPI from outside New England. More to come on our applicant pool in February.

If you've started an application, but haven't submitted it yet, only 14 days to go!!

Ed

Happy New Year - WPI student accepts a challenge

2010-01-04T09:59:00.006-05:00

As students head back to high school and our office opens for the first time in 2010, I hope everyone had a restful, enjoyable holiday season. It's hard to believe 2010 is here!! For the more "mature" readers...10 years since Y2K? Now that makes me feel old!!

I got an e-mail forwarded to me from one of our Physics Professors a few days ago and I wanted to share it:

"A few days back a TV anchor joked that figuring out the NFL playoff scenario was harder than solving Rubik's cube. He got an email from a viewer who offered to prove him right by unscrambling the cube in less time than it took the anchor to explain the playoffs. The offer was accepted, and the anchor and his youthful opponent went head to head. The anchor spoke as fast as he could, while the young man turned his attention to the well scrambled Rubik's cubes that had been placed in front of him.

Wonder of wonders, the young fellow managed to unscramble not one, but three, Rubik's cubes before the anchor had time to get to the end of his explanation. The anchor then gave up. Time: well under two minutes.

Punch line: the unscrambler was Andy Camann, a junior majoring in Aerospace Engineering at WPI. I found the performance truly heartwarming!"

You too can enjoy it by going to the YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUbK2mXUpL4

Exercises

2009-12-10T15:34:00.004-05:00

It's the time of year to start the hand strengthening exercises....what do I mean? It's almost time for me to sign our Early Action decision letters!! The staff has been busy wrapping up the review of applications and we've been spending the better part of the week meeting in committee to discuss the candidates. We hope to mail our letters next Wednesday. We are still a bit traditional....decisions are not available on-line, although we will e-mail decisions to students living overseas by the 20th of December.

We still have about 100 applications that are too incomplete to review...forget to request that transcript? Forget to send test scores? You can check the status of your application here: http://admissions.wpi.edu/application.html

So no Monday Night Football for me...I'll be busy adding my John Hancock to your letters.

Ed

Application Review

2009-11-17T16:23:00.006-05:00

With Thanksgiving just around the corner we are busy starting to review applications here in the Office of Admissions at WPI. Our Early Action Round I deadline passed a week ago today and it appears that just about all the applications have been loaded or hand entered into our database.

Yes, we still get paper applications...how many you ask? We received over 1,650 early action applications and 70 of them were paper. Last year, 1,627 early action applications and 97 were paper. As you might imagine the numbers continue to shrink each year.

If you are one of our early action applicants I would encourage you to check your application status on-line. The portal will tell you what support materials have been received and if we are missing anything that will keep us from reviewing your application. Keep an eye on your e-mail for your user name and password that will be sent to you. We'll also sent some updates on any missing materials to the e-mail address that you provided in your application.

Curious who is doing the initial review of your application? Meet the staff!!

Ed

A rainy October day

2009-10-27T16:17:00.004-04:00

I thought it was supposed to be another beautiful fall day today...guess I haven't been following the weather closely enough.

Hard to believe Halloween is almost upon us as well as our early action deadline of November 10th. I just sent off our annual "15 days and counting" e-mail to remind prospective students of the upcoming deadline. Seems that I just sent the same e-mail a few months ago. Just a reminder that we did change our Early Action Rd I deadline to November 10th this year. We've been doing our best to get the word out. If you have questions just let us know.

We are in the midst of the transition from recruitment and travel to reading applications. The staff is starting to show up in the office again and we actually have more than half the staff on campus today!!

Still a fair amount of travel to go...Cape Cod, Vermont, Massachusetts, Europe and Asia...you haven't seen the last of us just yet:)

Have a great Halloween:)

Ed

WPI Alums do the Most Interesting Things

2009-10-15T13:45:00.004-04:00

While the majority of WPI students graduate with a degree in math, science, engineering, business or another technological field, not everyone makes a career out of it. I am a good example...a civil engineering degree and I have been working in higher education for the last 15 years. Aleksandra and Adam, who are part of the admissions team here at WPI, both WPI graduates.

Aside from the thee of us you'll find lots of interesting people across the world engaged in a wide variety of careers.

But if you want to see something a bit out of the ordinary check out: http://www.vimeo.com/7067250 You'll find a few very cool videos posted by one of our alums, Ali Kabas. Ali resides in Turkey and is a professional photographer. You can google him to see some of his photography. His clients include American Express, Ritz Carlton, EMI Records and British Airways.

Feel free to share the link with friends.

Ed

Time Flies

2009-10-10T14:41:00.004-04:00

Whether you consider time in the micro or macro sense it sure does fly!! I find it hard to believe that I am already well into my 5th admissions cycle as director of admissions here at WPI. It seems like it was just yesterday when I moved into the "big" office as the new director of admissions. A lot has happened over that time here at WPI. Thankfully almost all of it has been good:) Even in this relatively short period of time it is amazing to think about how I spend my days and how that has changed over the past few years. Yes I still read files and I still travel and recruit, but what about everything else?

Here are some of my upcoming meetings for next week:

A meeting about a new template for our blog page on the Web

Meeting with a video crew on campus to shoot a new admissions virtual tour

Signing off on a new design for our admission packets that better incorporates information on our admitted student microsite and Facebook presence

A call with College Week Live to set-up a web cam for my talk on their upcoming event

Finalizing the details of a new Global Scholars program and discussing how to get the word out about the program

Now if I had written down this list of meetings 5 years ago, and shared it with a colleague, half of the meetings wouldn't have made any sense....the topic areas barely existed. I guess that's why time flies in admissions...things are always new and exciting.

Time in the micro sense? We are open until 3PM today and I had 4 or 5 projects I was hoping to wrap-up in between our presentations....other than this post and meeting with families not much got done....time flies!!

Ed

New Blogs

2009-09-27T22:16:00.004-04:00

With all of our student bloggers graduating last year we reached out to find some new students to share their WPI experiences with you. We have 5 new student bloggers and a new home page for the student bloggers: http://wp.wpi.edu/admissions/.

I hope you'll check it out. We'll be making several enhancements to the web page over the next couple of weeks, but enjoy the posts:)

College Fairs

2009-09-16T18:02:00.005-04:00

In addition to the 600 or so high schools we will visit, the 15 evening information sessions we are offering, and the close to 50 nights of interviews planned around the globe, WPI will be represented at about 200 college fairs around the world.

Even in this day of high tech gadgets and on-line applications college fairs are still they way a high percentage of our students learn more about WPI and all we offer. It's a great opportunity to ask some of your questions face to face and to meet one of the admissions staff and/or a current student and alum. Will we be at your local college fair? Check out our fall listing of college fairs that went live earlier today.

Ed

New Blogs

2009-09-11T15:15:00.004-04:00

If you are wondering what's happened to our student bloggers...wait no more. With all of our bloggers graduating last spring there's been a bit of a lull in the student voice over the summer. We'll have some new blogs up next week, along with a nice new look for the student blog page.

Visit www.admissions.wpi.edu/blogs.html next week when we are up and running!!

WPI Web Application

2009-09-09T19:06:00.004-04:00

The WPI application went live earlier today...sorry for the delay.

Apply away!

Travel Kicks Off and an Application Delay

2009-09-04T15:31:00.005-04:00

I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful holiday weekend as the unofficial end to summer is upon us
:(

The end of summer means the beginning to the college admissions recruitment season...things got kicked off today as Bonnie Hall headed to a program at the Academy of the Pacific Rim in Boston. Michelle and Karen will both being heading to international locations over the weekend; Latin America and India respectively. It promises to be a busy fall and we hope to see many prospective students on the road.

Interest in WPI remains very high with an increase of visitors over the summer and more than 17,500 students requesting information from WPI so far this year. We already have over a dozen applications in hand, with the first one coming in in mid-August. If you are one of the early birds hang in there...no decisions will mail until mid-December.

Speaking of applications, the Common Application and the Universal Application are up and running, however the WPI on-line application won't go live until next week. We had hoped to be live in August, however we've made substantial improvements to the application and testing has taken a bit longer than anticipated. If you prefer to use our application, hang in there...we'll be up and running by the end of next week...I promise:)

Enjoy the great weather and hope to see you at WPI soon!!

Ed

International Interviews

2009-08-25T10:31:00.005-04:00

Our international interview locations were just finalized earlier today and added to the web. If you are following from overseas we may be coming to your hometown!! We'll be visiting 28 international locations and be offering the opportunity for prospective students and their families to meet with our WPI representative. If you are interested in setting up an interview
e-mail intl_admissions@wpi.edu.

If we are not coming to your hometown we are always willing to set-up a phone interview. The best time is typically in November as the travel season winds down. You can also e-mail intl_admissions@wpi.edu to arrange that.

Ed

PS - The domestic locations for interviews have been posted for a while and are filling up fast....e-mail admissions@wpi.edu if you are looking to make arrangements for a domestic location.

Move-In Day

2009-08-20T21:48:00.006-04:00

While many of our first year students have already arrived over the last few days, Sunday is the big day for most of the families. Look forward to seeing many of you then.

While it may be a bit late for designing your residence hall room for this year a colleague forwarded this to me and I thought I'd share:

http://www.designyourdorm.com/

Enjoy!!

Ed

New Inquiry Form and Common App Supplement

2009-08-13T14:28:00.006-04:00

The summer brings all sorts of projects...and we've been busy!!

Earlier today we launched a new on-line inquiry form. In addition to being more attractive, all students, whether they are first-year or transfer candidates, will go to the same form and complete only the information that pertains to them. If you been meaning to request some information check it out!!

Our supplement for the Common Application has also gone live. A pdf version will be available on our web site in the next few days. If you've started the Common Application you can access the on-line version directly through their web site. Don't forget our Early Action deadline has changed to November 10th!!

Last but not least our evening information sessions across the country have been finalized. Want to learn more? http://admissions.wpi.edu/Visit/infosessionsoff.html

Ed

Happy Days

2009-07-30T12:47:00.005-04:00

You may have noticed the Princeton Review released their 2009 guidebook to the best colleges in the US. They pick 371 of us...not exactly sure how they settle on that number...but once again WPI was included in the prestigious group. http://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings.aspx

What makes for better reading are some of the top twenty lists they compile...jock schools, best college radio station, best party school (we are not on that one!) and Happiest Students!! I am pleased to share that WPI made it to the top twenty for Happiest Students this year!!

If you are a current student reading this glad you are enjoying your 4 years...if you are a prospective student or parent come on out to Worcester and meet some of our happy students:)

Ed

Starting Salaries at WPI

2009-07-23T22:17:00.005-04:00

WPI continues to rank near the top of the median starting salary list for US universities. Payscale.com compiles rankings each year that are typically picked up and "presented" by a number of different media outlets including the NY Times, Boston Globe and Forbes. A year ago the Boston Globe recognized WPI for having the 3rd highest median starting salaries of all colleges in New England and the 12th highest in the nation...don't forget there are about 4,000 colleges in the country!!

According to the new Payscale.com rankings WPI is now #2 in New England and #10 in the nation!!

The NY Times has picked up the new rankings info and released an article in the last few days. In addition to recognizing specific schools, they list the "Top 10 majors that lead to high salaries". 7 of the 10 are engineering fields..all offered at WPI and physics, computer science, and economics round out the top 10...all also offered at WPI:)

As I often say it's not all about the money, but great to see our graduates doing so well for themselves:)

Application Supplement

2009-07-17T14:59:00.007-04:00

It's Friday!! But before I head out for the weekend I wanted to share that we are putting the final touches on new supplemental questions for the Common Application, as well as the Universal Application. Starting this fall, applicants to WPI will be asked to complete a few supplemental questions before submitting their application. For those students submitting the common or universal application on-line the questions will be integrated into the application. For those using a paper application there will be a link to a pdf of the supplemental questions which will be housed on the WPI web site.

Why are we doing this? The main reason is to better accommodate our Flex Path Option. Do you know that WPI went test optional three years ago? Students have the option to have their standardized test scores considered by the admissions committee, or if they feel that their test scores are not a good reflection of their potential for academic success at WPI, they can submit supplemental materials to be considered in lieu of test scores through our Flex Path Option. Learn more in our Applying to WPI section.

The supplement will give all applicants a chance to clearly state whether or not they want their test scores to be considered. In addition, we've added a few more questions to help the committee get to know our applicants a bit better.

We don't want to create more work for our applicants, but with applications essentially doubling over the past 5 years a little more information can be very helpful in our admissions deliberations.

The supplement should be live by the end of the month for all you early bird applicants!!

Enjoy the nice weekend:)

Ed

A Quiet Weekend? Never!!

2009-07-13T10:45:00.006-04:00

On Sunday over 170 rising high school juniors and seniors arrived on campus for WPI’s 27th annual Frontiers Program. This group represents our largest enrollment in the program’s history. Students arrived from various locations across the country and around the globe, including Greece, Brazil, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Traditionally a two week program, a third week has been added this year which focuses on Robotics Engineering. Participants will have the option to stay for all 3 weeks, or to attend Session I (first two weeks) or Session II (the third weekly only).

More information on the Frontiers Program can be found at www.wpi.edu/+frontiers, including academic descriptions, program schedules, and the “Frontiers Newsletter” for participants.

Ed

Eary Action Deadline for Fall 2010

2009-07-08T10:44:00.006-04:00

With the new application season just around the corner I wanted to share that we are making a slight change to our Early Action Round 1 deadline for the coming year. The deadline is moving up 5 days from November 15th to November 10th. We are in the process of updating the web and our admissions publications. We do realize that many brochures and guidebooks already in student hands will list the old date and we are prepared to be flexible for the coming year.

The change should give students a few extra days to complete their applications, which often means requesting first quarter senior grades, and will give the admissions committee a few extra days to review the applications and to be sure we get all our decisions out before the holidays.

Ed

It's July!! Where did the spring go?

2009-07-01T20:58:00.006-04:00

Wow I guess it's been a while since I sat down to post...hard to believe it's already July 1st.

What's been happening? Well my son is growing up so fast...he amazes me every day with all the new things he can do. I've taken a short 3 day vacation to the Adirondacks. (Yes I grew up in upstate New York.) We've booked a trip to Disney for 5 days in September..can't wait! And the Red Sox are playing well, despite their shocking loss last night!! Looking forward to a relaxing holiday weekend...word is we'll actually see some sun this weekend!!

We are looking forward to about 900 new students arriving on campus in August. There is a ton of activity on campus. Significant renovations are wrapping up at Goddard Hall and renovation projects in the library and Morgan Hall are underway.

If you are one of the Class of 2013 hopefully you've done the following:

1) Submitted your housing application

2) Set-up your WPI e-mail address

3) Registered for classes

There are a number of other items to take care of, but those are three of the most important!! Now when you set-up that WPI e-mail address don't forget to log-in over the summer...we start sending information to it right away...including important items like the tuition bill:)

And what's happening at WPI? It's the calm before the storm. High school has just wrapped up for students around the world and the visitors are coming!! June was relatively quiet with about 100 families on campus for tours, but between the rainy weather and longer school years for many area schools, it's what we expected. July and August will be a different story with several hundred families descending on campus before school starts up again for the fall.

Thinking of visiting? We've just announced our academic visit days at the end of July and August. This will be the third year that we'll be offering the special visit days which incorporate academic presentations into your day. In addition to the information session and tour, hear from professors in the academic department that you are considering. Learn more at http://admissions.wpi.edu/Visit/summervisit.html. (A little insider tip....attend one of the noon time sessions and you'll get a nice lunch to enjoy during the presentation!)

We've also been busy planning recruitment travel for the fall. We'll be busy travelling throughout the US and around the world. If you are reading this is Tuscon, Arizona or Santa Fe, New Mexico, or Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are heading your way!! We are always excited to add new locations to our travel schedule and will be visiting each of those cities for the first time ever!!

Lots more to come on our travels in the coming weeks.

Enjoy your summer.

Ed

Congrats to the WPI Baseball Team

2009-05-11T20:25:00.003-04:00

After winning the ECAC Baseball Tournament this past weekend the WPI baseball team in moving on to the NCAA Div III championship tournament for the first time in team history!!

They will be taking on Suffolk University this Wednesday at host Eastern Connecticut State University. Have the day off? Go out and cheer on the team!!

For more tournament info you can visit: http://www.littleeast.com/sports/bsb/newenglandregional/index

Ed

Changing of the Guard

2009-05-11T10:10:00.004-04:00

The WPI campus has been buzzing these last few days. Students moving out for the summer, graduation preparations underway, and of course students dropping off their enrollment forms to become part of the Class of 2013.

Graduation is coming up this Saturday the 16th of May and WPI's Class of 2009 will cross the stage to receive their diplomas. In early June the incoming students will begin arriving on campus to take part in our academic advising days. This is always a strange time of year, a real changing of the guard.

It's been 17 years since I graduated, (hard to believe) but it really does seem like yesterday. Over the weekend we had a first birthday party for my son and I was pleased that a couple of my closest friends were able to join us. One of my WPI classmates was here and it is hard to believe its been that long. We fell back into that familiar rhythm just like we would during an intramural soccer game or over a pizza at Tech Pizza....or one of our spring break road trips to Florida. He hasn't really changed, have I? I suppose, but people always say make the most out of your college experience, it will be the fastest four years of your life; true but I'd say the last seventeen have gone a lot faster then the first seventeen did:)

Advice? Sure.... For the graduating seniors: treasure the memories, take advantage of all the opportunities WPI has prepared you for, and value the friendships you've made...they really can last a lifetime. For the entering students: my advice is the same...you'll just need to wait four years to really appreciate it, but you've made a wonderful choice in WPI and we'll see you all soon:)

WPI Class of 2013

2009-04-27T20:30:00.003-04:00

We are closing in on the enrollment deadline of May 1st and about 75% of our incoming class is in place. About 30 states and 30 countries represented so far!! More students from CA and FL then Vermont....what's up with our friends from the Green Mountain State? Let's go Vermont!!

A Stressful Weekend

2009-04-25T20:49:00.004-04:00

What a beautiful relaxing weekend - nice weather, a trip for ice cream, and two Red Sox victories over the Yankees....what could be stressful?

As I anxiously wait to see who else will be joining the WPI Class of 2013 I know that even this beautiful weekend is likely filled with some stress and anxiety for many families across the country. The college search process, while fun and exciting, is winding down. Making the final college choice can be nerve wracking and stressful. Which school is the right one for me? Big or small? City or suburbs? Public or Private? Will I fit in? Will I make friends?

I went through the same thing that many students are going through this weekend a mere 21 years ago:) Was I sure of my choice? No. Did I change my mind a few times? Yes. Did my parents leave the choice to me? They tried:) Did I change my mind at the last minute? Yes. Did I go with my gut? Yes. And that's my best advice. Weigh opinions of family and friends, but when the day is done it's four years of your life...go with your gut:)

Best of luck with your decision!!

2009-04-16T20:50:00.002-04:00

Think it's quiet for the admissions office once all the applications have been reviewed?

The admissions office has been buzzing with activity over the last few weeks. We've been welcoming dozens of visits to campus each day and hosted a great open house for our admitted students yesterday. Approximately 300 students and their families visited campus yesterday and were treated to academic presentations, tours, conversations with current students and staff, and of course an opportunity to try out the food!!

Is that all? Of course not....we've been open each Saturday and for tours and information sessions and have been pleased to see so many sophomores and juniors getting an early start on the college search process. Over the last two weeks we've also been working with our student tour guides and interns to contact admitted students by phone. Not surprising that the parents are often the ones who have the most questions, but we've been able to reach out to the majority of admitted students over the last two weeks. Julie and I had the opportunity to make some calls tonight along with about a dozen WPI students. Calls were going out to students across the country and I was focusing my efforts on New Hampshire. I spoke to a few answering machines, several parents and few live students. Some good questions and some great interest in WPI!!

So that must be it? Of course not....Jay, Karen and Katie are in Atlanta for the FIRST Robotics World Championships and will be co-hosting a reception tomorrow evening with our Alumni Office. Adam is in Denver for an admitted student event and for a reception at the Denver School of Science and Technology tomorrow night and Michelle is just returning from a two day college fair in Maryland.

Next week is Closer Look #2 and then in about 10 days we'll be hosting over 50 guidance counselors from around the world for a visit to WPI. And of course by May 1st we'll know who's part of WPI's Class of 2013....and then we'll rest:)

Hope to see you on the WPI campus in August as part of our incoming class!!

Ed

A grand opportunity for the men's crew team

2009-04-11T18:02:00.006-04:00

The WPI men's crew team in in mid-season form, but the season will be a bit longer this year with a trip to England this summer. They will be competing in a number of regattas over their stay, with the culmination being the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley on Thames.

Learn more about the opportunity to row at WPI and this exciting opportunity to compete at the Henley Royal Regatta.

Finances and Happiness - Can they go hand in hand?

2009-04-08T20:45:00.001-04:00

Now that all the decisions have been finalized and the letters have arrived the questions and appeals begin. Some are of course regarding the wait list…will I get in? How big is the wait list? What number am I on the waitlist? Can I come for a visit to interview and better my chances for admission? (See Adam’s blog for great waitlist info.) And others are from those students who were admitted and are now wondering about how to pay for it, or if it is worth the investment.

Data certainly shows that the value of a college degree versus only a high school diploma is at least $1 million dollars over one’s lifetime, but are all degrees the same? Are all programs the same? Will I get a “good” job when I graduate? (see below) And certainly beyond those questions the ever popular can I get more merit scholarship money or more financial aid to make attendance more affordable?

We always welcome scholarship appeals from students particularly when there is additional information to consider. On the merit scholarship side that may mean additional grades, new test scores, a new honor or award, another letter of recommendation, or maybe some additional activities that you’ve gotten involved in. On the need-based side this typically means a significant change in your financial situation.

I am busy going to scholarship committee meetings and chatting with families and students as we consider their requests for another look at a merit scholarship, or a plea for the scholarship committee to consider them for a new award based on new information.

There is no denying that the economy is making the college selection process much more stressful for many families this year. College savings or the plans that were in place may have gone by the wayside as the stock market has dropped like a lead balloon and many parents have lost jobs over the last year. That being said I feel it is important to make changes to academic scholarship when situations warrant a change. My colleagues in Financial Aid use the same philosophy as they consider appeals from families.

I am amazed to hear of schools encouraging families to fax them awards from competitors so they can match or beat awards or telling students that if they don’t enroll shortly a financial aid award might disappear. As Adam recently posted making your college choice is about the fit and about being excited to call a school home for the next four years. Figuring that out is hard enough for all the young adults across the country this month without the added pressure tactics.

I encourage students to visit the schools you are considering over the next few weeks. Ask the questions that are important to you. If they are financial so be it, but think long and hard about the investment for your future and your happiness. Yes, students graduating from WPI get great jobs and are admitted to the world’s best graduate schools each year. The Boston Globe recently recognized WPI for having the 3rd highest average starting salaries in New England and the 12th highest of all universities in the nation. Yes, the engineering and science and technology fields have a great outlook for the future. Yahoo Hotjobs ranks engineering as the No. 1 occupation in its “Staying Power: 5 Careers with Bright Futures” survey.

Hope to see you in Worcester soon!!

Think you know Worcester?

2009-04-07T19:50:00.002-04:00

Were you recently admitted and trying to make that final college decision? Or perhaps you're a junior just starting to plan those college visits over spring break....

Think you know Worcester?

Sure we don't have the Sox right in town (of course they're less that an hour away!), but we were just named the 9th most livable city in the country by Forbes.com!! A big congrats to Worcester!!

Come on over for a visit:)

Ed

Opening Day

2009-04-05T22:44:00.002-04:00

For all you red sox fans out there tomorrow's the big day...but looks like rain:(

We'll have the game on in the Bartlett Center after the 2PM group information session (weather permitting). If you happen to be visiting tomorrow come by and check out the game!! Unless you are a rays fan:)

Ed

Decision Letters and an Interesting Article

2009-03-24T22:04:00.004-04:00

Congratulations to all the recently admitted students!!

I see that Adam has been providing some great information about the WPI decision letters that are just hitting mailboxes around the world.

I'd like to underscore that this was a very competitive year and left me with more difficult decisions to make than I have ever been faced with in my 9 years at WPI. No matter what decision you may receive from WPI know that we did enjoy getting to know you through your application and wish you nothing but the best wherever college takes you next year.

I've gotten a bit of feedback on some of the committee posts from a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share an article that appeared in the Boston Globe on Sunday. This article focuses on the admission committee discussions our colleagues are going through at Amherst and Tufts...it all sounds very familiar. A great read if you have the time.

Ed

Happy St. Patrick's Day - Class of 2013 Map

2009-03-17T20:24:00.003-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

For those of you living in Boston I hoped you enjoyed the day off....I hear there's a push to make Evacuation Day a national holiday...I'm not holding my breath, but you never know!!

Curious to know where the class of 2013 is from? Check out the new map just added to the admitted student site yesterday. We'll be updating on a weekly basis!!

Ed

Five for Five

2009-03-13T21:43:00.003-04:00

Adam asked me today if I'd go 5 for 5 and post today about committee....it was a long week but here it is!!

Another good day of decision making came to a close a few hours ago and I've been spending a little time running the numbers at home. We have about 100 more files to wrap up early next week and have 180 files that still haven't been reviewed because they are not complete.

Today Karen and I spent time reviewing many of the applications we have from China and Jen lead a committee meeting of most of the remaining counselors to discuss their remaining candidates.

It's always interesting to see which schools send us the most applicants. The top 10 are always fairly similar, but the positions do change a bit year to year....

The top 10 this year:
(In Massachusetts unless noted)

Acton-Boxborough Regional HS - 40
Shrewsbury HS - 31
Wachusett Regional HS - 31
Bishop Guertin HS (NH) - 27
Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science - 27
North Quincy HS - 25
Bishop Feehan HS - 24
Salem HS (NH) - 23
Boston Latin School - 23
Quincy HS - 23

The top 5 outside the United States:

Nanjing Foreign Languages School (China) - 20
Academia Interamericana (Panama) - 11
HS Affililated with Nanjing Normal Univ (China) - 11
Chengdu No 7 Middle School (China) - 10
Koc Ozel Lisesi (Turkey) - 9

I suspect the numbers are so high at Action-Boxborough since I was the one to visit this year:)

More posts to come as the decisions mail. Hope you enjoyed hearing a bit more about our committee meetings this week.

Ed

A Long Day Four of Committee Meetings

2009-03-12T19:39:00.004-04:00

The light is at the end of the tunnel for us and for the students. After several more hours of committee meetings most of the applications have been reviewed....just a few hundred to go!!

We'll have a busy day tomorrow and then head into some clean-up meetings next week. I know many of you are anxious to get your decision. Based on all the phone calls and e-mails I know there are lots of anxious students out there. We are still over 2 weeks from April 1st, but hope to have all the decision letters out a few days before then.

We still mail our decisions...call us old fashioned...but we still think it's the best way send out our decisions. I suppose at some point we'll have to make them available on-line to keep up with the times, but don't go looking for your decision on-line this year...you won't find it:)

If you live outside the US we use a mix of airmail and DHL to send out decision letters. If you have reliable mail service it's likely to come by airmail...if not then we'll send by DHL. It may take a couple of extra days depending on where you live...but hang in there we'll get the news out as soon as possible.

A Light Day 3

2009-03-11T20:01:00.003-04:00

Day 3 of Committee week was a bit light today. Many staff members were involved in scholarship committee meetings and a couple of staff members were prepping to hit the road for college fairs and conferences...yes the next cycle of recruitment has already begun!!

Some additional decisions were made today, mainly in the international group, but we are also working on wrapping up completion and reading of applications. We still have about 400 incomplete applications, but good to see that number dropping over the last week.

Sometimes students are surprised to find out we haven't been able to review their application and are sure everything was sent in....

Let's do some math -

6,300 applications, SAT scores, transcript, mid-year progress reports, at least
two recommendations, an essay, resumes from about half the applicants, certification finances forms from international applicants, and TOEFL scores from students who did not grow up speaking English as a native language...

GRAND TOTAL - just under 45,000 items...and that's not counting all the wonderful supplemental materials we get.

Our first application deadline is November 15th and our final notification date is April 1st....lots of paper floating around and lots of documents in cyberspace in a short period of time.

Do items ever get lost or misfiled? You do the math:)

Check those apps on-line!! http://admissions.wpi.edu/application.html

Ed

Day Two is in the books

2009-03-10T16:56:00.003-04:00

Our second day of committee has wrapped up with decisions made on another 300+ applications. My day was dedicated to the evaluation and discussion of international applications. Michelle, Karen, and I were holed up with laptops, printed reports, peanut M&Ms, and of course lots of files.

What are we looking at? What are we discussing? With our international applicants a lot of time is devoted to making sure we have a full understanding of the curriculum and grading system of the country and that we are giving a equatable review to each file. As you might imagine when considering candidates from countries such as Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, and Brazil within an hour's time there's a lot to wrap your brain around. And yes we were discussing files by country:)

What's most important to discuss? We want to be sure that students have the appropriate background to do the work at WPI, but also are considering what they will contribute to the WPI community and how academically competitive they are within the applicant pool.

How much time do we spend discussing a candidate? It can be as short as a minute or two, or stretch to 7 or 8 minutes for more complicated discussions.

Do we all agree on who to offer admission to? Sometimes;)

Day three will be here before we know it!!

Ed

Day One of Admissions Committee

2009-03-09T23:01:00.003-04:00

We kicked off our admissions committee meetings today and devoted most of the day to discussion of our applicants. In case you are wondering, we don't typically all meet together for the entire day. The staff spent the first couple of hours all together, broke for lunch from New England Roast Beef, and then reconvened into two smaller groups for the afternoon.

Have you visited the meet the staff page? One group consisted of me, Katie, Julie, Kait, Aleksandra and Michelle...the other Jen, Adam, Jay, Karen, Bonnie, and Liza.

How many applications get discussed in a day? This depends how many groups we are breaking in to, but we wound up making decisions on a couple of hundred applications today.

Tomorrow we'll break into 3 smaller groups for the day....

Hang in there...decisions will be available soon.

Ed

PS - Congrats to the women's basketball team for winning their 2nd ECAC Championship in the last 3 years!!

Application Review and Committee

2009-03-05T21:21:00.003-05:00

The counseling staff is putting the finishing touches on their recommendations for the Class of 2013. We'll be heading into a week of deliberations on Monday...so as they say if your ears are burning we may be talking about you:)

Looks like we'll wind up with just under 6,300 applications and we've all been busy getting to know the applicants over the last few months. So where are they all from? All 50 states are represented, as well as 79 countries, and just under 2,500 high schools!!

As of today about 10% of our applications are still incomplete and not ready to be reviewed...think you might be in that group? If so please call the office 508-831-5286 and we'll check it out for you.

Ed

Playoffs for the WPI Basketball teams

2009-03-04T23:18:00.002-05:00

A big congrats to the women's basketball team for their first round victory in the ECAC tournament over Colby-Sawyer...they'll be playing at home against Emerson on Saturday.

The men will be taking on Husson College in a first round NCAA tournament game on Friday night also at WPI's Harrington Auditorium.

Come on out and catch the action!!

Ed

Return to Winter

2009-02-27T19:09:00.004-05:00

After spending the last 6 days in sunny Florida (Miami and Naples) it seems a bit cool back here in Worcester....even with 50 degree temps today!!

I was lucky enough to spend this time my my wife and son in Florida, even though part of the trip was admissions related. Last Sunday I was in Miami at the National College Fair. Even though I was far from home the fair was quite busy for WPI and I spoke to over 50 prospective students and their families. One might call this fair college recruitment of the future. I had the opportunity to rent a bar scanner before the fair, and being a technological university I of course thought it was an intriguing idea. So one might wonder what would I do with a bar scanner at a college fair? Scan students of course!! Students were encouraged to register their information on-line before the fair, or to do so upon arrival...instead of filling out inquiry cards for all the colleges to receive information from all the colleges, each student had a bar code that I would scan when they came up to the table.

I'll admit I was a bit skeptical at first and reached out to see what other experienced scanners at other schools thought...I heard good things and now I am a convert!! Instead of lots of wasted time for both students and admissions representatives, a quick scan allowed for much more conversation and allowed students to have the opportunity to check out more colleges and universities.

I know that NACAC is not providing this option at all locations yet, but hopefully in the near future this will be standard practice!!

So what else did I do in Florida? In addition to attending the college fair I also had an opportunity to connect with some of our applicants in the Miami area before heading to the Gulf Coast to spend some time with family. Had a chance to take in a Red Sox spring training game, spend some time on the swings with my son (his new favorite activity!!) and spend a little time by the pool. Before I knew it I was on the plane answering e-mails and breaking out the sweatshirt and jacket for my ride home.

Admissions Committee begins in a week!!

Ed

Winter Preview

2009-02-16T21:31:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we welcomed approximately 400 of our recently admitted students to campus for our Winter Preview event...It was great to see this group of excited students on campus getting to know each other, mingling with our current students and of course checking out the food! We had students on campus from across New England and from across the country.

If you've been admitted, but weren't able to make it yesterday, we are already starting to plan our Closer Look programs for admitted students in April. Consider joining us on April 15th or April 22nd.

We'll be getting some pictures of the event up soon!!

Did you take some pics of your own? Consider posting them on Facebook....WPI Class of 2013

Ed

New Admissions Viewbook

2009-02-09T22:07:00.002-05:00

Every three years comes a complete redesign of the admissions viewbook and several of the brochures we send out to our prospective students....well it's 2009 and it''s time to start the process again. The admissions staff will be working closely with our friends in marketing and communications at WPI for the next several months as we pull this project together. We will also be working with an outside design firm, FORGE Worldwide, on this exciting project.

So what do YOU want to see in the new viewbook? What sort of a cover gets you to open the publications that come in the mail? Do you want to see more information on student life or on academics inside? Post your thoughts and comments or send me an e-mail. (econnor@wpi.edu) Have you visited WPI and taken some great pictures? Let me know...maybe we'll use one!!

If you are an admitted student coming to this weekend's Winter Preview event come by a bit early....8:30ish and you can join a focus group to give your input on some early design concepts we are considering....maybe you'll even get a free WPI hat for helping out.

Stay tuned...I'll be posting some cover concepts to check out shortly.

Look forward to your ideas!!

Ed

PS - If you were recently admitted don't forget to check out the admitted student site - http://admissions.wpi.edu/Congrats/

Committee Wrap-up

2009-01-28T14:18:00.002-05:00

After several days of committee meetings and some late nights reviewing applications I spent last night doing some non-admissions related things...taking the on-line Jeopardy test (they certainly won't be calling me!!), watching Scrubs (I've always liked that show but hardly ever see it), and reading a bit of a new book I got for Christmas (Three Cups of Tea).

No more slacking tonight...time to sign the decision letters. About 80% of our Early Action Round II decisions will mail on Friday. What about the other 20% you say? Unfortunately the applications are too incomplete to review. If you want to check on your app status please use the log-in and PIN info in your acknowledgement letter to view your application status on-line.

Enjoy the snow!!

Ed

WPI Architectural Highlights

2009-01-21T22:19:00.002-05:00

If you are considering enrolling at WPI, or just checking things out on my blog, you may want to check out some fantastic photos of the WPI campus

http://www.wpiphotos.net/

I received permission to share these, although the photographer wishes to remain anonymous.

There are over 50 photos of campus. Enjoy!

Ed

Interactive Media and Game Development at WPI

2009-01-14T21:08:00.003-05:00

Thinking of majoring in Interactive Media and Game Development(IMGD)? Maybe your parents aren't convinced you can make a living off designing games?

Check out the IMGD seminar series at WPI. It's one of the most active speaker series at WPI welcoming guests on a weekly basis to WPI....and it's open to the public.

The spring series is just getting finalized:
http://www.imgd.wpi.edu/speakers/index_2009s.html

Ed

Potpourri

2009-01-12T16:00:00.002-05:00

Wow it has been quite a while since I sat down to post...so much has happened, the least of which is a new year!! As I read applications I feel older and older as I see birth dates of 1991 and 1992; soon our entire incoming class will have been born after I graduated from WPI!!

Virtually all of our early action applications have been reviewed and decision letters mailed...if you still haven't heard that means we are missing something...maybe a transcript or SAT scores for example. Give us a call and we'll let you know what's happening. We are anxious to wrap up those lingering applications as well.

We already have over 50 students that have submitted their enrollment forms and deposits for next year....this is great to see. That represents a little over 5% of the incoming Class of 2013. This includes students from Texas, Colorado, Maryland, Turkey, Honduras, and of course Massachusetts. If you are one of our admitted students still considering their options, don't worry you are not alone. If you spend time on Facebook you can connect with admitted students in the WPI Class of 2013 group...check it out!

I'd also encourage all of our admitted students to check out the Admitted Student site....http://admissions.wpi.edu/Congrats/ It is brand new and has been seeing lots of traffic. It was just the featured site on a popular higher-ed marketing site: http://www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com/linkoftheweek.html which is always nice to see:)

For those students still working on their application, or with it on their to do list, don't forget our February 1st deadline is just around the corner.

Enjoy the cold weather!!

Ed

Usain Bolt and a foot of snow!!

2008-12-20T22:59:00.004-05:00

Just in case you didn't believe me winter is indeed here!! WPI closed at noon yesterday in anticipation of a significant snowfall. The forecasters weren't wrong as you can see from my kitchen window this morning. The day was filled with snow blowing and shoveling...and just a bit of Christmas shopping. I am watching my beloved Cowboys losing to the Ravens as I type this...but I digress!!

The snow reminded me of our incoming students who will begin their studies at WPI in January. We will welcome about 30 new students to WPI next month. Some will be first time college students and otters will be transferring their studies to WPI for our spring terms. Some students will be coming from Massachusetts, but the snow made me thing of some of the other students coming from further distances...Greece and Jamaica for example. Each fall we welcome students from around the globe to WPI and some of those students have never experienced cold weather or seen snow for that matter. At least those students have a few months to ease into the cold weather...it may be a severe shock to the system for some of our incoming students in January!! Now I understand that Olympic Champion Sprinter Usain Bolt was in Boston last night and in attendance at the Celtics game...I figure if he can tolerate the snow our new students will be OK:)

That being said, we are of course looking forward to welcoming the new group of students wherever they might hail from and I hope to have the chance to meet you all in January.

Ed

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-17T23:07:00.003-05:00

Winter is officially here.....

A bad ice storm just a few days ago, followed by 2 inches of snow today, and two more storms waiting in the wings. Friday sounds to be a big one with upwards of a foot of snow in the region. I guess we'll have a white Christmas for sure!!

I finally fixed the snowblower tonight after it broke down late last winter and was sitting in the garage all summer...looks like just in the nick of time...finally putting that WPI engineering degree to good use:)

The Admissions Office is winding down for the holiday break. We'll be open through next Tuesday and then return on the 5th of January. If you have last minute questions about the app process or a visit to campus be sure to catch us in the next few days.

Ed

Decision Letter Update

2008-12-12T14:51:00.002-05:00

Hello from an ice covered Worcester!!

A quick update on Early Action decision letters: They have mailed!! However there may be some weather related delays with their arrival.....hang in there:)

Ed

Time to sign the letters

2008-12-10T19:51:00.002-05:00

After learning about many great applicants over the last few weeks we wrapped up our admissions committee meetings this morning for early action and now it is time for me to sign the letters!!

We plan to mail decision letters late Friday.

New Look for the Office of Admissions

2008-12-02T23:07:00.002-05:00

The posts have been a bit quiet as we are all hunkering down and reading applications...over 1,600 Early Action Rd I applications this year!!

I did want to draw attention to some great additions and a new look on the admissions home page.....admissions.wpi.edu. Check it out!

If you applied Early Action Rd 1you'll be hearing from us shortly...hang in there!!

Ed

Project Work on Nantucket

2008-11-20T23:05:00.002-05:00

If you are considering WPI you've probably heard about all the great project work our students are doing in their junior and senior year. Here's a great video showcasing a wind turbine project on Nantucket Island....

http://nantucket.plumtv.com/videos/life_nantucket_wpi_student_interns

Enjoy! (For some reason the small screen was choppy but full screen was much clearer...)

Ed

Praise for WPI

2008-11-19T22:51:00.004-05:00

Just a couple of days ago I learned that the Association of American Colleges and Universities highlighted WPI as one of “32 exemplary practices deserving of special note nationally” in its recent publication More Reasons for Hope: Diversity Matters in Higher Education.

Our students’ work through the Global Perspective Program was cited under the category of “Engagement with Local and Global Communities.”

Check it out....

Ed

Early Action Applications

2008-11-19T22:35:00.003-05:00

It is hard to believe that our Early Action Round I deadline has already passed. We are just getting the last few applications into the database. It appears that we will have a small increase in applications over last year's early action pool. The staff is already busy reading applications in anticipation of finalizing decisions before December 15th.

In order for us to get make a decision by the 15th applications must be complete within a few days of the deadline. If we are still missing some support materials when Thanksgiving rolls around we may not be able to get out the decision by December 15th.

If you are nervous about what's been received and what hasn't, you can check your application status on-line by visiting http://admissions.wpi.edu/application.html. You'll need to wait for your acknowledgement letter or e-mail that contains the login ID and Pin you'll need. That e-mail will be sent to the e-mail that was provided on your application....so check that account regularly!!

If something looks awry you can also e-mail admissions@wpi.edu or visit our staff page http://admissions.wpi.edu/Visit/staff.html amend e-mail the counselor reading files from your area.

Hang in there and enjoy your final year of high school!!

Ed

PS - We'll miss you Coco!!

WPI around the world

2008-11-11T22:18:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned a couple of days ago a couple of our admissions counselors are busy recruiting around the globe. In addition to meeting with prospective students and their families, we also connect with WPI alumni during our travels.

Here is Karen Goudey (front left) with several WPI alums in Istanbul, Turkey last Friday.

I've had the chance to visit Istanbul myself on four occasions over the years. What a beautiful country and a wonderful experience. While work always kept me busy, I did find the chance to visit the Blue Mosque, take a ferry across the Bosporus, and of course sample the cuisine and do a bit of shopping. Can't wait to get back some day. Go if you have the chance, you won't regret it!!

New Video on the Web

2008-11-08T09:06:00.002-05:00

Just yesterday we launched some great new video on the admissions web pages. Visit admissions.wpi.edu and click on some of the links under "Information For" on the bottom right....you'll get to see and hear from some of our students.

Enjoy!!

Travel and App Deadlines

2008-11-08T08:50:00.003-05:00

WPI's second open house of the fall is just around the corner. On Tuesday campus will be packed with hundreds of students and families checking out the campus. Weather looks to be nice but a bit chilly. Hope to see you there.

Most of our recruitment travel is wrapping up for the fall season, however we still have staff on the road. Adam will be heading to PA next week, Michelle is on her way to Eastern Europe tonight and will be visiting Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland and Germany, and Karen is currently in Turkey. It's been a busy travel season for everyone but we've been pleased to see so many students on the road. If we didn't get to your hometown this fall hopefully you will come and pay us a visit instead.

Our Early Action - Round I deadline is just a week away. We often get questions about the deadline. If you are applying on-line you should be sure you submit your application on or before the 15th. My best advice is don't wait until the 15th...the common app server slows down quite a bit on deadline days, and ours sometimes has the same problems!!

If you are submitting a paper application you should plan to get it postmarked on or before the 15th. Now if you live locally you can even drop your app off on the 15th. We'll be open from 8:30AM to 3:00PM next Saturday.

Ed

Campus Improvements

2008-10-30T23:08:00.002-04:00

There is so much happening these days at WPI it's hard to keep track of all the campus projects. From East Hall, our newest residence hall, to renovations of labs in Goddard Hall, to planning for the new recreation center, the campus is a buzz with improvements.

Check out this recent PowerPoint presentation to learn more about all the campus improvements:
http://admissions.wpi.edu/Images/CMS/AO/Campus_Construction.pdf.

Ed

New Transportation Options

2008-10-28T15:48:00.002-04:00

It's getting easier to get in and out of Worcester. On Monday additional commuter trains were added to the Worcester/Boston schedule. Two more round trips were added to the schedule giving even more choices for commuters. This brings the total to 13 trains a day...Check out http://mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail/lines/?route=WORCSTER for the full schedule.

Did you know that Worcester is the busiest stop on the commuter rail outside of Boston? More people take trains in and out of Worcester each day than any other stop on the MBTA Commuter Rail system.

Need to go further than Boston? Need to get to a warmer climate? Worcester Regional Airport has added commercial flights to Florida three days a week. Direct flights are available to Orlando and the Fort Myers area. Check out http://www.massport.com/worce/ for more details.

Go Phillies!!

A beautiful fall day

2008-10-14T13:26:00.002-04:00

We had wonderful weather for our first open house of the fall yesterday. Over 1,000 visitors attended the program and learned about all things WPI. If you did not have the chance to attend our next open house program is coming up on November 11th and I hope to see you there!!

Congrats to the men's and women's crew teams which both won gold medals this past weekend at the Quinsigamond Head Relays. They'll be off to compete in the Head of the Charles this coming weekend. Thinking of rowing at WPI? Check out http://wpi.prestosports.com/landing/index for more details.

Ed

October in the Admissions Office

2008-10-09T22:24:00.002-04:00

After a September that just flew by October brings our first open house of the fall. On Monday the 13th we'll welcome over 1,000 prospective students and family members to campus for the day to learn more about what a WPI education offers. We are busy preparing for the exciting day and look forward to a great event!! (So far the weather looks good!!)

We are already receiving applications for admission on a daily basis. We are just starting to process applications and load information into our database. I know we've had a few calls regarding application status and support materials. By the end of next week we should be in good shape to answer all these questions. We will also be sending out our first batch on acknowledgement letters and e-mails next week. These contain the login and PINs applicants will need to track their application status on-line. Please keep an eye on the e-mail account that you provided on your application for this important information.

Enjoy the holiday weekend...and go Sox!!

Ed

Recent Radio Interview

2008-09-29T20:10:00.000-04:00

I recently had the chance to be interviewed by Beth Pickett for the Countdown to College Radio Show. This interview gave me a chance to discuss many aspects of a WPI education and provides a good overview for someone considering WPI.

This was broadcast live on wsradio.com on September 19th and was rebroadcast on stations across the country, including locally on WNSH AM 1570 in Beverly, MA this past weekend. I was hoping to get this posted earlier but I just returned to Worcester on Saturday from a conference in Seattle...

But if you are curious to check out the interview you can hear the radio interview through wsradio.com archives.

Go Sox!!

Ed

Performance at Fenway Park

2008-09-29T16:22:00.002-04:00

Music isn't always the first thing one thinks of when they think of WPI, but approximately 1/3 of our students participate in music or theater groups here at WPI!!

Last night one of our men's vocal groups performed the national anthem at Fenway park...what a wonderful honor for Simple Harmonic Motion.

Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8v1vFnjYEM&feature=related

What's more the Sox beat the Yankees!!

Enjoy.

Ed

New web application is live!!

2008-09-18T22:24:00.002-04:00

I post with great news...the new WPI web application is up and running!! It will be linked to the admissions web pages tomorrow, but for anyone who might be checking out my blog tonight you can view the application by going to: wpi.gotoextinguisher.com/application

Enjoy!!

Ed

Sneak Peek

2008-09-16T21:50:00.001-04:00

Our new Virtual Viewbook is about to launch...

For a sneak peek go to admissions.wpi.edu/Viewbook/

Enjoy!!

Ed

This and That

2008-09-05T20:36:00.008-04:00

I was leaving work yesterday and saw this

interesting sight. Not something you see everyday!! No guards in sight....I hope is was all on the up and up:)

A few admissions updates to share....

I am excited to share that we are putting the finishing touches on a new addition to admissions web site...next week we hope to unveil our new virtual viewbook!! This should provide a fun way to learn more about WPI and to "meet" current students through some great video and audio clips...we even have some video in Spanish for our Spanish speaking families. Keep an eye out

here for the link!!

The new WPI web app is coming along nicely and should be live within the next week...keep an eye out at admissions.wpi.edu for the announcement.

Tomorrow marks our first Saturday visit day for the fall...we'll be open each Saturday from tomorrow through mid-December with the exception of the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend.

Classes begin tomorrow and already planning for the future

2008-08-27T21:03:00.006-04:00

Orientation wound down today with our annual activities fair on the quad. With classes starting tomorrow, new students had a chance to learn about how they might choose to spend their time outside the classroom by meeting with reps from many of the clubs and organizations on campus. The weather was great and the quad was packed!!

With our entering first-year and transfer students busy with orientation the last few days the admissions staff spent Tuesday and Wednesday holed up planning for the next admissions cycle. We spent time discussing recruitment plans, our new on-line application, meeting with our colleagues from financial aid, career development, and first-year programs, among others, to be sure we have the most up to date information to share with prospective students and their families.

We'll be visiting close to 600 high schools around the world, attending over 200 college fairs, offering off-campus interviews in about two dozen locations and delivering information sessions in 14 east coast cities...yes we will be busy this fall!!

We have 3 new staff members joining the counseling team this fall....Alison Sherlock, Admissions Counselor; Michelle Carrara, Coordinator of International Admissions; and Kait Gentile, Sr. Asst. Director of Admissions. We'll be updating our meet the staff page shortly, so check back for the most update information in the next couple of weeks.

See you on the road this fall!!

Ed

All things international

2008-08-21T20:30:00.005-04:00

Last week we welcomed a group of prospective students from Thailand to campus for a day long visit. This group of students will be sponsored by the Thai government as they complete one year at an independent high school in the US and then four years in a bachelor degree program at a US university. The students had a great visit to WPI and had many questions for the admissions staff and current WPI students. The students will be attending high schools across the country and we hope to see many of them submitting applications to WPI in the coming months.

Thai Students Outside the Bartlett Center

This morning we hosted a breakfast for the new student pre-orientation for all incoming international students. Approximately 100 international students arrived on campus over the last couple of days. They represent over 35 different countries from around the world. The students will have the next week to adjust to a new country and a new school before classes begin next Thursday. We are excited to welcome this wonderfully diverse group of students to campus to began their university studies. For the first time ever over 10% of the incoming class will come from outside the country.

We aren't slowing down either...our international recruitment plans for this fall include travel to Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, as well as the Caribbean. More details will be available on the web soon. If you are wondering if we'll be heading to your home country just drop us an e-mail at admissions@wpi.edu.

New Application

2008-08-20T17:14:00.002-04:00

So what do we do over the summer in the Office of Admissions? Well we are in the midst of a major redesign to our on-line application. We'll have a new attractive and user-friendly application for you in the coming weeks. For all of you anxious to start your applications for next year hang in there. We'll be launching the new application in early September.

If you just can't wait visit http://admissions.wpi.edu/application.html for other application options.

Ed

Looking to connect with other students considering WPI? Search for WPI groups, such as "I'm from the Northeast and I'm interested in WPI" or "I'm from the West and I'm interested in WPI" on Facebook.

Off-Campus Receptions and Interviews

2008-08-14T20:04:00.003-04:00

As the new class arrives the admissions staff is already busy making our recruitment plans for the Class of 2013.

We've just finalized our off-campus evening receptions across the northeast. If we are going to be in your area I hope you will join us.

We'll also be offering interviews with admissions staff members across the US and around the world. The domestic locations have been set for the fall, and the international locations will be posted shortly. If you would like to set-up an appointment please contact the Office of Admissions at 508-831-5286.

Hope to see you this fall....

Ed

PS - Manny who?

One week and counting

2008-08-14T20:00:00.002-04:00

Just a week from today our incoming international students will be arriving on campus. We look forward to welcoming approximately 100 new international students from over 30 countries. Just few days later, on Sunday the 24th, all first year students will be arriving on campus. This is an exciting time of year for all!! See you all you new students next week....

Top Colleges for Getting Rich

2008-07-31T20:53:00.003-04:00

Check out yesterday's Forbes.com article entitled "Top Colleges for Getting Rich".

WPI was ranked #9 in the country!! While the college experience is about so much more, the article and rankings demonstrate that WPI is a great investment for one's future. The article doesn't actually focus on starting salaries for graduates, but instead looks at earning potential later in life. The rankings are based on the pay of alumni with 10 to 20 years work experience.

WPI alumni (in the 10 to 20 year bracket) came in with a median salary of $114,000 to earn us the #9 ranking on the list.

Best of luck in LA Manny....

Life Sciences and Robotics Engineering

2008-07-29T20:24:00.007-04:00

We kicked off our Academic Visit Days with a bang today. Over 100 visitors came to campus to hear from professors in the life sciences and robotics engineering.

Robotics engineering you say? Yes, last year we introduced the first bachelor degree program in the nation in robotics engineering. We are expecting approximately 30 students in our incoming class to join the program next month.

Want to learn more? Check out an interview with the Director of the program, Professor Michael Gennert.

Want to learn more about the life sciences and other academic offerings? Head to one of our academic visit days over the next couple of weeks.

Ed

One month and counting...

2008-07-23T20:58:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow marks one month to go before New Student Orientation. It's an exciting time for all the soon to be college freshmen and we look forward to welcoming everyone to campus on August 24th. If you are an incoming student and haven't finished (or started!!) the course registration process please be sure to contact the Academic Advising Office immediately.

Lots going on over the next few days - The Frontiers Program is wrapping up. The students head off to the Museum of Science tomorrow and then the closing ceremonies on Friday. The two weeks flew by.

Next week will see the start of our academic visit days. Planning a visit? Check out the schedule on the web: http://admissions.wpi.edu/Visit/summervisits.html.

The student blogs will be kicking in again at the start of the school year, but in the meantime also be sure to check-out my colleague Adam's blog: http://www.epsteada.com/. He has some great updates on the new residence hall.

Ed

Summer brings campus improvements

2008-07-17T13:43:00.003-04:00

I am please to report that Harrington Auditorium will be reopening tomorrow. It will be boasting a brand new basketball court that was installed over the last several weeks. It's beautiful!!

If you are on campus stop by and take a peek or come to a game later in the season.

Ed