So, you've made the big commitment to us. [Yay!] ...Now what?

image from www.themodernjewler.com

The college admissions process is frighteningly like dating. You, the applicant, scope out some hot prospects to see what they have to offer. There are a lot to choose from. Some may be a bit of a reach, some may be below your personal standards, but when you're playing the admission field it doesn't serve to be too exclusive, right? [Besides, they should already know you're not looking for anything serious yet. It's way too early for that...]

Eventually, when you get a better feel for what's out there, you start "talking" to some of the most attractive prospects. You'll visit a few of them on admission dates. Some will scare you off (stage seven clinger!). Some will sweep your off your feet ("how would you like a scholarship?"). Once you're smitten with a school or two, you ask them out (or, more accurately, ask yourself in). If you're lucky, the feeling is mutual. They'll formally accept your advances and ask if you want to take it to the next level. Then comes the big decision:

Are you ready for serious commitment?

Marymount College Has Pre-Med!

I should have listened to my parents. "Go to med school," they said. "There is always demand for healthcare."
 

But I knew better, of course. So I went off and got a degree in creative writing. I wanted to learn critical thinking and analyze works by some of the greatest minds of all time. I wanted to create something that would be a lasting legacy. I wanted to avoid calculus at all costs.
 

I accomplished all of this, but the fact remains that in terms of remuneration (See, Dad? I did learn something in college), the ability to operate on a living brain beats out free-verse poetry nearly every time. After all, you rarely hear: "We need a writer, stat!" or "Is there a writer in the house?!" or "The timely intervention of the talented writer saved my life."
 

Still, though I will likely scrape by on a diet of ramen noodles and unfulfilled dreams for the rest of my life, I am very proud of my liberal arts background and feel that I received an education that ideally emphasized my strengths (And my parents are proud that at one point they saw me don a lab coat for an acting role, so everyone is at least somewhat happy). But, if only there had been some way to get both: a personalized education and a lucrative career saving people's lives—a way, essentially, to become Michael Crichton... 

The Final Walk-In Application Day - Friday the 13th!

"Wait," you say. "You're having another Walk-In Application Day?! Again? But the May 1st deadline has already passed..."

Yes it has. But just like Jason—and the entire series of Friday the 13th Movies—our Walk-In Application Days simply won't die. You think they're over, but when you aren't looking they rise again, lurking just around the corner, ready to assail you with smiles, campus tours, food, and offers of late admission (aren't we scary...).

Especially if you're a transfer student. 

We really like transfer students.

In fact, we like you so much that we're still giving away transfer scholarships to qualified students.

The May 1st National Reply Date is, uh, Sunday

"Sonic" Franchise is property of Nintendo via SEGA

I've developed a twitch in my left eye that kind of makes it look like I'm trying to flirt with Sonic the Hedgehog. All of us in the office have, to some extent. This is due both to near-lethal levels of caffeine consumption and—more tangibly—the looming May 1st deadline. In the admission world, these last few days of April are called interchangeably: "Crunch Time," "Ulcer Week," and "Divine Punishment." We're madly processing deposits, scheduling last-second interviews, explaining the multilevel mysteries of financial aid, and desperately trying to match floating SAT scores with the proper applications.

You, too, are probably stressed—unless you've already paid the commitment deposit to a school of your choice, in which case you're probably kicking back with a cold soda and planning the color scheme of your dorm room. If you're not one of those lucky deposited students, you're probably waking up every night in a cold sweat, having dreamed that you're sitting for yet another SAT session but can't concentrate because for some reason you forgot to wear pants. So, let's help each other out. Read on for some things you can do to make all of our lives easier. 

Attention International Students!

Some of our international soccer players. And Sarah.

Due to some nifty tracking software, we can see the geographic location of those who view this blog (don't worry...we won't start calling you with offers for long distance phone service), and we're delighted to see that we're developing a following all over the world. We're doubly delighted (especially Sarah, our Assistant Director of International Admission) because international admissions is one of our top priorities at Marymount. So, my global friends, we in the admission office wanted to let you know that we see you. We see you, Thailand. And you New Zealand. And the hundreds of you in Russia. And you chaps in the U.K., the E.U., and the U.A.E. We even see you, lone visitor from Panama, and to you we say Bienvenidos.

Do you want to come to school in California?

Read on after the jump for [un]official reasons that students from all over the world should check out Marymount College! 

Admitted Student Day Recap

Click to view the slideshow!

Well, Admitted Student Day is over and has faded into that soft, fuzzy place where all happy memories dwell. Our Director of Admission has stopped hyperventilating (for now), there is parking on campus again, and my prodigious sunburn from our Major and Student Involvement Fair has faded to a pastel rosiness.  It was one of our most successful Admitted Student Days ever. We had over 275 attendees from all over the country, and over thirty students made the decision to deposit for our fall class on the spot.  If you haven't deposited yet and would like to, contact us today!   A lucky few of those (pictured in the slide show above) were able to walk away with some snazzy Marymount Apparel (and one Ikea gift card good for at least a thousand Swedish meatballs...or a desk). Highlights of the day included a candid student-life discussion, a student-moderated faculty panel, and a presentation on our patented "Anti-Monster" job and internship placement program.  Our soccer tryouts on Saturday were also extremely successful, with more than twenty new players vying for a spot on the team! Great work, ladies and gents!  We had a blast, and we hope you did too. Hopefully we'll see you here in the fall, but in the meantime, make sure to join our Admitted Student Group and meet some of your future classmates, like our Admitted Student Page (and/or our Office of Admission Page), and join our twitter following! What was your favorite part of the day? Tell us below!

Admitted Student Day (April 15th), and "A Day in the Life of a Marymount Student" - Straight From the Students Themselves

I was a Marymount Student once upon a time, but it's been...a while. When I attended, Facebook was not nearly as cool as Myspace, "Yeah" by Usher and Lil' John was the top song on the radio, nobody had ever heard of an iPhone, and Justin Bieber was in 4th grade (isn't he still?).

Yes, kiddies, I'm old. 

Aside from being a depressing reminder that I am officially a "grown up," my graduation to the real world means that I am not the most up-to-date reference for what it is actually like to be a student at Marymount. Though my job gives me a pretty good "official" idea, dig a little deeper and I'm likely to start talking about archaic things like Playstation 2® and cargo shorts. So, instead, I'm going to leave it to the experts: our current students. 

This Friday, April 15th, we're hosting our Admitted Student Day. Specific details will follow at the end of this post (tease!), but the idea is that our admitted students will be offered the opportunity to see what it is actually like to attend Marymount. You can meet your prospective classmates, get to know our staff and faculty, and talk candidly with current Marymount students about their experience here. 

Read on after the jump to get the inside scoop about Student Life!