Providence, R.I.--Approximately 180 Providence College graduates and family members visited the campus for the College's second annual Legacy Admission Information Day on Saturday, October 24. The turnout quadrupled last year's attendance at the first such event.

Legacy families from 10 states, including as far south as Virginia, attended a series of informational and athletic events intended to give them the opportunity to learn what it is like to attend PC today. The program was sponsored by the Office of Alumni Relations as part of its Legacy Program.

The keynote session was a legacy admission presentation featuring Christopher P. Lydon '83, associate vice president for enrollment planning and dean of admission. Also on hand to talk about their PC experience and answer questions were four panelists: legacy students Maura E. Hickey '10 (Northport, N.Y.), Lauren C. Kunze '12 (Germantown, Md.), and Kelly M. Whalen '10 (Warwick, R.I.), and Ronald Greco '83 & '12P, who represented the Parents for Providence Association.

The admission presentation, which opened the information day schedule, was followed by a financial aid informational session for parents and "student icebreakers" for prospective students with New Student Orientation leaders. The financial aid session was led by Elizabeth E. Scola, associate director of financial aid. The "icebreakers" program was facilitated by Gabrielle A. Ambrose '12 (Bridgeport, Conn.), Caroline M. Brown '12 (Northbridge, Mass.), and Kathleen R. Durkin '10 (Basking Ridge, N.J.).

Legacy families also were able to take part in campus tours and attend athletic contests, Friar Fan Fest, and "Formula4 the Future," an afternoon-long series of events geared to sciences alumni and sponsored by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Office of Institutional Advancement. 

Parent-student collaboration urged
Lydon began his presentation by telling legacy family members that the best way to "demystify and de-stress" the college admission process is for parents and students to accept the process as a partnership from the outset.

He said the process generally begins during the middle-to-late portion of the student's junior year of high school and involves three "kitchen-table discussions" over time. These conversations center on deciding which schools to visit, which schools to apply to, and, ultimately, which school to select.

Lydon urged families to make campus visits to all the schools they are seriously considering and to make sure that affordability is carefully gauged.

"Every single school should answer the question, 'If I go there, will I go happily?' If you can't answer that question positively, why would you consider applying?" he said.

Lydon gave families a thorough overview of PC's admission process from both a factual and a holistic standpoint, emphasizing that the academic component of the decision to offer a student the opportunity to enroll boils down to two factors: grade point average (GPA) and the strength of the high school curriculum.

"What's most important is, what did you take and what did you achieve? We expect students to take advantage of the increased academic challenges they are offered in high school," he said, adding that a student's senior-year performance in the classroom is critical in the decision to offer an enrollment opportunity.

He went on to say that since so many students demonstrate the academic preparation necessary to succeed at PC, the personal qualities evident from essays, recommendations, and activities were a vital part of determining the best fit to Providence College.

Legacy tradition important
Legacy applicants are held to the same high standards as any other applicant, noted Lydon.  Among students with the academic records to succeed at PC, the family tradition is a very helpful attribute.
 
"We'll give you every opportunity to come here if you are academically qualified," he said. "However, legacy cannot work miracles. We try not to hold the competitiveness of PC against our legacy applicants, but the academic strength must be there."

-30-

-Photos by Kelly Phillips '11