College of the Holy Cross Admission
College of the Holy Cross Undergraduate Program
College of the Holy Cross Application

The Facts

The College of the Holy Cross is a member of the Jesuit collegiate organization and is located in the town of Worcester, Massachusetts . The college is home to over 3,000 undergraduate students, and the school is perhaps best known for its unwavering dedication to excellent undergraduate education. The college is renowned for its many preprofessional majors grounded in the liberal arts, including pre-med, pre-dental, and pre-law. Some other poplular major choices include economics, psychology, political science, English, and history.

Admission to the College of the Holy Cross is fairly competitive, and every year, the number of students applying to the school increases, in part due to growing awareness of its stellar preprofessional programs. Last year, over 5,035 students applied for admission, and approximately 2,100 students were accepted; of those, about 700 matriculated. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1110 to 1350, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 26-32. Additionally, over 68% of those admitted were ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of 3.67.

The College of the Holy Cross has a low student to faculty ratio of 11:1, and the students say that their teachers are incredibly accessible and very laid-back, although they aren't afraid to challenge their students. There are also plenty of great internships available, and many students take part in summer internships in the Washington D.C. area, often at offices of representatives or senators.

The Social Scene

The town of Worcester is quite small, but there are several other colleges in the town, and students often socialize with students from the other colleges. Otherwise, the town itself doesn't really have very much to offer beside some bars, cafes, shops and movie theaters. For those students who crave a bit more urban excitement, the city of Boston is only about a half an hour away by car, which many students own.

There are no fraternities or sororities at the school, but students don't really seem to mind. Drinking is definitely a popular activity here, despite the absence of Grrek life. The administration does have a very strict dry policy, but that doesn't really seem to hold Holy Cross students back. Athletics are also quite popular at the College of the Holy Cross, particularly when it comes to the football and basketball teams, both of which draw a large majority of the student body to their games.

The dating scene is much more vibrant than the town; people don't have much to do besides date each other.

What’s Good

“The pre-med program is amazing, and you end up with a great chance of getting into medical school.”

“There is a big emphasis on community service here, and this leads to people being really generous and friendly.”

“The party scene here is awesome, and the few bars in the town don't really card, which is nice.”

What’s Bad

“Our mascot is the “Crusader,” which isn't exactly a way to positively promote the college.”

“The town is really boring. There are only, like, two places to go here, which gets really old, really quickly.”

“The religious elements do tend to get a bit stifling; if you aren't particularly religious, it's not a great environment.”

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