Edward J. Connor '92

Dean of Admissions

Monday, April 14, 2008

Tax Day

A long night ahead as I finish up my taxes...with the Red Sox losing 4 to 1 I am just about out of excuses....I guess I need to bite the bullet and finish them up!! Oh wait a nice single to right by Manny Ramirez....are they going to suck me back in?

Don't forget to get your free donut at Dunkin Donuts tomorrow...the only good thing to look forward to on tax day!!

In WPI news - lots of visitors to campus the last several days in spite of the rash of bad weather we've been having on Saturdays. Don't forget we'll be open the next 4 Saturdays.

For the admitted students don't forget to RSVP for Closer Look next week (the 23rd).

And last but not least - If you are waiting on your financial aid award, please be sure to make sure all your paperwork has been submitted....we do require the CSS PROFILE form as well as the FAFSA...not everyone seems to realize this!!

Have a good one,

Ed

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Movies and FAQs


Happy Saturday everyone!! The sun has finally come out and it’s over 50 degrees, who can ask for more...

Things are quieting down in the office just a bit before our visit programs kick in this week. I actually had the chance to sneak in a couple of movies last night; No Country for Old Men and The Queen. I’ll have to admit with all the hype surrounding No Country, I was a bit disappointed. Now I had no idea what to expect from The Queen (My wife’s choice) but I’ll say it was pretty darn good. Two thumbs up!! Michael Clayton is on deck for tonight.

We were open this morning (and will be open the next 5 Saturdays) and welcomed over 30 families to campus. I had the chance to chat with families from New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, and London, England…I hope everyone had a great visit.

A couple of items that have been popping up in the admissions in-box and elsewhere….

Deposits – If they are postmarked by May 1st you are all set!!

Housing Selection – NEW this year – Students do not select a specific residence hall. Instead you will let the residential services staff know the type of hall you would like, big, small, co-ed, etc and they will look to match you up with a roommate(s) with similar interests, as well as with someone looking for the same type of living environment. This is new, so if you visited in the past you may have heard something a bit different. We are excited about this new process and think it will work great for students.

Pre-Professional Programs – Lots of great options at WPI. Pre-Med, Pre-Vet, Pre-Law and Pre-Dental. There seems to be some concern among some admitted students that choosing a pre-professional program might delay graduation or that it will take you 5 years to compete. Not at all true. Students in those programs are on 4-year tracks and will beginning submitting applications to their professional schools early in their senior year.

That’s all for now….Keep the comments coming.


Ed



Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Congratulations

A quick word of congrats to all of our admitted students!! I hope to see many of you on campus for a visit in April...the weather will improve, I promise:)

Go Sox!!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Have the letters mailed?

Yes the letters have mailed!!

The majority of our decision letters mailed over the past few days. You should be getting your news shortly if it has not arrived already. If you are living overseas letters will take a bit longer to arrive. (If you are an international student (non-US citizen) your letter will mail in a few days. For our admitted students we will include financial aid awards with your admission packet.)

Believe it or not we still have a handful of files that are incomplete. Without all the required items we were unable to make a decision on these applications. If you fear you might be one of those students please feel free to contact the office.

Congratulations to all of our admitted students and best of luck to everyone with the remainder of their senior year in high school.

Ed

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

New Addition to the Office

There was lots of excitement in the office today as our newest addition to the building was delivered, our WPImap kiosk. This Interactive Project was just completed by two WPI juniors and advised by faculty in the computer science department, with a bit of input from the Office of Admissions:)

At a quick glance you might think you are looking at an arcade game, but the kiosk actually houses a 3D virtual map of the WPI campus and allows the user to walk around WPI’s campus in a virtual setting. If that’s not enough fun for you, you can hop on a Segway and take a virtual tour of campus complete with 7 minutes of audio.

It's a great addition to the building and we are looking forward to sharing this with prospective students and their families. If you are on campus make sure you come by and check it out, it's a most impressive example of our student's work!!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Spring, Scholarships, and the Red Sox

So is Spring almost here? Well with the clocks springing back it was nice to actually get home before the sun set…well just barely!

I hope you have been checking out a couple of our other blogs as well. Visit admissions.wpi.edu and check out Adam’s Blog and some of the WPI student blogs. The student blogs are centered on the project experience and typically change every couple of months as students come and go from our project centers around the US and around the world. Jeremy will be getting his started this week from Denmark…be sure to check it out.

If you are waiting to hear your application decision just hang in there. Decision letters will be going out by the end of the month. The admissions staff will be spending lots of quality time with me these next couple of weeks as we meet in committee to make our final decisions on all the regular decision applications.

We’ve been getting some questions about scholarship notification. Just to remind everyone some scholarship letters are mailed with decisions, but others come a week or two later. The scholarship committees are busy meeting as well, but until they know who we are going to admit they can’t finish their job!!

It is worth mentioning that we still have applications that are incomplete and can’t be reviewed for admission. We are trying to contact you!! However between e-mail blockers, caller id, and spam filters it’s not always easy to reach you. If you think you might be one of the applicants we are trying to chase down give us a call or check your application status on-line.

So you’ve been admitted and still aren’t sure if WPI is for you? Join one of the many Facebook groups, “I’ve been admitted to WPI” or “WPI Class of 2012” to chat with other accepted students. Check out the admitted student section of the admissions web site and make your plans for our Closer Look program in April. Closer Look will give you that last chance to see the campus, meet the professors, and of course sample the food one more time.

Finally, I will have to admit there haven't been many comments so far on my blog (thanks to Kushi for getting the comments started!!). So any thoughts on the Red Sox chances this year? Maybe this will spur some conversations;)

To all you seniors, have a great Spring and go Sox!!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Applications, Oscars, and Basketball

The counseling staff is in the throes of application review and we are getting to know the applicant pool very well. Many of us are spending a good part of our evenings and weekends reading the essays, recommendations, and transcripts that have been submitted. We've just surpassed last year's application count and have set another all time high for applications. I am pleased to see all the interest in WPI.

A good part of my weekend was dedicated to the very same, although I did take a break to watch the Academy Awards on Sunday. Now I thought I had done well this year and I would be familiar with many of the movies up for awards, however I was only fooling myself once again. I can share that I thoroughly enjoyed 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster, and Eastern Promises but it looks like I still have some viewing to do when things quiet down in May!!

If you've been to campus recently you have probably heard about the new apartment style residence hall opening this summer. Everything is on track for an August opening. The housing selection process for upper-class students was completed just a few days ago and I am excited to share that it seems to be a big hit!! It is filled to capacity for next year. If you haven't had a chance to check it out see the web site and live web cam -http://www.wpi.edu/About/NewResHall/. Of course you may want to wait until the snow stops!!

And last but not least, congratulations to all the winter sports teams as the season winds down. The Women's Basketball team finished the season 14-9 and will be hosting a first round playoff game Wednesday night at WPI. Not to be outdone, the Men's Basketball team wrapped up another tremendous season with a 20-5 record and will be hosting the NEWMAC semi-final game at WPI this Saturday at 1PM. Come on out and cheer on WPI!!

See you at the game....

Ed