Our Newest Campus Addition Deserves Its Own Glamour Shoot

Yeah. I know. There are those of you out there who say that there is nothing glamorous about a parking lot. 

Those of you who say that have obviously not tried to park on our Palos Verdes campus during finals week. Think Hunger Games meets Fast And Furious 6.

[It was never actually our fault—our footprint in the beautiful Palos Verdes hills was necessarily restricted to preserve the land around us—but that didn't change the fact that one of our top complaints from students, staff and faculty was a lack of available parking.]

Check out a video about all our campuses here. 

Mariners, we have heard (and felt) your pain! Now, as part of the school-splosion we've been undergoing since 2010, we've transformed what used to be our practice field into the world's most beautiful parking lot.

Rejoice! Rejoice as you ease your car into a comfortable spot without making enemies of your fellow Mariners! Rejoice as you stroll about 8 1/2 feet to the door of your class! Rejoice, Professors, as the "I-was-late-to-Biology-because-I-couldn't-find-parking" excuse will soon go the way of Potorous platyops! 

Seriously, though. I've never been so excited about asphalt. Check out the pictures after the jump and let us know what you think. 

5 Things NOT to Consider During Your College Search

The search for a college can be stressful, terrifying, and confusing—but most of life's truly rewarding events are. The biggest mistake you can make while searching for a college is to become overwhelmed and give up. Neither of us wants to run into each other at a drive-thru, right?

So, above all, remember to persevere and keep the following "don'ts" in mind:

Admitted Student Day On March 31st Is Better Than Flying Space Dolphins

If you have zero artistic taste, you can buy this awesome poster here. 

The feeling you get when you open your first college acceptance letter should be bottled. It's kind of like winning the lottery while riding a flying dolphin into a pastel sky of cotton candy clouds. At least, that was what it was like for me.


Sadly, we were unable to bottle the experience of pure joy (apparently Apple already owns the patent and is attempting to make it a standard feature on the iPhone9S), but we were able to channel its essence into our planning for Admitted Student Day this year.


ASD (appearing in shortened form to save me from developing carpal tunnel) is our celebration of your accomplishment. You're proud, we're proud of you, and we're proud to welcome you into our fall class. To reflect all that pride, we've planned an awesome day for you.


Read on for the schedule:

The Correctly Named "Spring Preview Day" Is On Saturday, 2/11

Yes, that's really our campus. No, it's not 'shopped. 

It's almost time for Spring Preview Day! Woot! 

That's a day in spring when you can preview our campus. Hence the name. 

Logical appellations aside, Spring Preview Day is truly "woot"-worthy because it represents one of your best (and last) formal opportunities to see all that Marymount has to offer. 

Oh yeah, it's free and comes with two awesome meals—which is certainly reason enough for me (I like food). 


In addition to eating, you can:

• Meet our faculty
  
• Get the insider secrets to earning admission into Marymount, and complete your application during another aptly named event—the "application workshop" (see what I did there?)  
• Interview with your admission counselor
• Learn about our various degree programs
• Get all of your burning Financial Aid questions (the FAQs of FA, as it were) answered and file your FAFSA with the support of one of our Financial Aid team members. 
• Tour our awesome, townhouse-style residences
• Tell me how awesome my blog is and watch me blush (like a ripe strawberry on a warm spring day. ...Nummers.)

Click here to RSVP!

Read on for the full schedule.

Walk-In Application Day Returns Like a Jedi on 12/2/11

Image from starwars.wikia.com. Property of Lucasfilm Ltd. 

Last year we had five Walk-In Application Days. At the onset I thought I'd be clever and compare each to the nearest major holiday. 


Why holidays? Because WIAD is a long tradition (like Thanksgiving Dinner), stressful (like Black Friday), and fun for the whole family (like Christmas Morning). 


That was fun for the first few, but I rapidly ran out of witty holiday metaphors (and also, incidentally, of the holidays themselves). So this year, rather than resorting to a hackneyed attempt at making a analogy to National Mutt Day on 12/2/11, I'm going to try something new (and equally hackneyed):


Movie Sequels 


And what better sequel to start us off than George Lucas's finest work, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi?


So, here goes after the jump. 


...Please pardon my nerdiness.

Experts Agree: Marymount Housing is More Awesome Than Soviet Bloc Apartments

Yeah, we're pretty proud of our Residential Life at Marymount. After all, you get a house—a fully-furnished two-or-three bedroom townhouse to be more specific. And we include utilities, food (from the same company that caters for the Getty Museum), parking, 24-hour gated security, and transportation. 

It's certainly better than some of the alternatives.


Learn more here, or check it out during our Fall Preview Day on November 19th! 

It's Friiiday, Friiiiday, Friiiiday [This Just In: Saturday Comes Next]!

Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun (yeah!)--you know what fun is! Take some time this weekend to have some! Forget the important decisions, like whether to take the front seat or the back seat. Just kick back, relax, and "party" like a tone deaf 13 year-old.

Here's some good news to assuage your worries and ease your troubled mind into weekend mode: we haven't lost your application. If you haven't heard from us yet, it doesn't mean that something is wrong. We're still admitting for fall, we're still giving out financial aid, we're still accepting applications for housing. We have a record number of applications, and we're committed to making sure that each applicant gets the same careful consideration that we've always given in the past. It might take a little longer, but don't worry. You'll hear from us. We promise.

So, now you can breathe a big sigh of relief and start planning your weekend festivities. Read on after the jump for our top ten list of things to do in the Marymount (South Bay) area.

The Return of the Son of Walk-In Application Day Pt. 3

So, if the last WIAD was metaphorically Christmas, I suppose—in keeping with the seasonal theme I never should have gone with—this one is analogous to Valentine’s Day.

How romantic.

Come in this Friday from 9am-5:30pm and our whole office will be your collective Valentine! We’ll cook a nice meal for you [snack table], our little cupids [student workers—but they won’t be wearing diapers or armed with archaic missile weaponry] will flit around and shower you with personal attention [tours of campus], and then our admission committee will potentially profess their collective love with a same day decision. We’ll even waive your $40 application fee--and we promise we won’t spend the whole weekend sulking if you don’t buy us something in return (though we do enjoy flowers, candy, and diamond jewelry).

Here’s what you’ll need to bring.

• Your completed application (if you filled it out online, you don’t have to bring it in. We’re all high-tech and 21^st century here).
• Official transcripts from every high school and college at which you’ve attempted coursework (even if you withdrew).
• SAT/ACT scores (Optional. Don’t bring them if you’re against being considered for thousands of dollars of free money. Otherwise, bring them. Can’t hurt.).
• Personal statement/Letter(s) of recommendation. (Optional, but again, it can’t hurt).

That’s it! You don’t have to RSVP (hence the “Walk-In” part of Walk-In Application Day).

Stayed tuned next month when I valiantly attempt to make our next WIAD (March 18^th) tie into St. Patrick’s day. Any ideas?