Saturday, February 9, 2013

"What a great day for Rockhurst"

The title of this blog was the title of an email sent out to the student body, yesterday (Friday) was competitive scholars day at Rockhurst University. Over 305+ high school seniors came to Rockhurst. All of whom have been admitted to come here next year and represent to top tier of students. 
From the  competitive scholars day reception after all the interviews were done. Notice how nice the convocation center got transformed!

The email read "We have 305 scholars attending, and with their guests, a total of 835 people! These are record numbers for this program.We have 440 guests arriving at 8:30am, for optional morning program and by 12:30pm all of our 835 guests will be on campus.Close to 200 members of our campus community; from faculty to staff to students will be involved in making this day a wonderful experience for our guests, and in allowing Rockhurst to show one of its best attributes—our people."

It was really exciting to see all these potential Rockhurst students and their parents on campus. It reminded me of three years ago when I came here to interview for one of the 10 full ride scholarships. The year I came to interview there were only about 100 students here interviewing. This year the number of full ride scholarships they are giving away is up to 30 since they had over 300 students come for the interviews! 

Thinking back to when I came for Competitive Scholars day, it really confirmed where I was thinking about going to school. Going into the interview secession's with other candidates (potential classmates) and getting to know their background. More than the full ride conversations it is a chance to have an intellectually based conversation around topics that are of interest to everyone. You also get a chance to meet with some of the faculty members who conduct the interview secession's  To this day I still remember some of the faculty members that interviewed me while I was here. Additionally, some of my fellow students who came to be interviewed I have ended up becoming good friends with here at Rockhurst. For me the interview was not very intimidating instead it was a really good chance to share with others some of the life experiences that I had that shaped and formed me. 

Now for the 300+ Students that came to competitive scholars day it is waiting time to find out if they are one of the luck 30 to get a full tuition scholarship. If any of the competitive scholars happen to be reading this blog I would love for you to comment on how you enjoyed the experience of the day and if it swayed your college choice at all? Hope to hear from some of you! 

Here is the Quote for the week!

7 comments:

  1. I attended the Competitive Scholars Day on Friday and honestly had a tremendous experience. Starting off at 9:00 my family and I went to the pre-medical scholars information session. Dr. Salem did a great job presenting the various options we have to choose from in this program. From what I learned in this session, I definitely plan on pursuing a minor in Physics of Medicine with my major in biochemistry. After this, we went to a student panel where there was a general Q&A with current students, which was really helpful for both myself and my parents! Then we went to mass, which was quite different for my family and me, but we truly enjoyed the experience there. After mass was over, we had a fantastic lunch that was catered for us including soups in bread bowls, sandwiches, salads, etc. This concluded the morning program.

    I was amazed when we walked into the Convocation Center to see how well everything was put together for us. After two speakers, Father Curran challenged us with a phrase that I won't soon forget: "Be who you are and be that well." We then had three rounds of interviews (parents went to their separate sessions), each an hour long with fifteen minute breaks in between. Each interview consisted of two interviewers and seven interviewees. They told us that the tone of the interviews would be geared toward a group discussion or conversation. At the start of each interview, the interviewers informed us the theme of the interview. The first was leadership, the second was service, and the third was a general interview with catch-all topics. I was pleasantly surprised that the interviews themselves were not as uptight as I anticipated. Another great thing was that the interviewers really didn't care about a resume of the things we had done throughout high school. Instead, they truly focused on who we are as people. The conversations in all three interviews were the greatest, most intelligent conversations I had ever had. I learned so much about myself, the other interviewees, and gained perspective on things that perhaps I hadn't thought about before.

    The Competitive Scholars Day concluded with a nice reception in the Convocation Center with some nice local Kansas City Jazz music. Rockhurst really thought out every single part of this day to make it a great success, which it definitely was. Whether or not I receive the scholarship, I know that I will not forget this day as I know it helped me gain valuable experience not just interviewing, but thinking about the things that truly matter and are the basic principles of Rockhurst: learning, leadership, and service, all in the Jesuit tradition. I am glad to know that this fall, I will definitely be a Rockhurst Hawk.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I attended the Competitive Scholars Day on Friday and honestly had a tremendous experience. Starting off at 9:00 my family and I went to the pre-medical scholars information session. Dr. Salem did a great job presenting the various options we have to choose from in this program. From what I learned in this session, I definitely plan on pursuing a minor in Physics of Medicine with my major in biochemistry. After this, we went to a student panel where there was a general Q&A with current students, which was really helpful for both myself and my parents! Then we went to mass, which was quite different for my family and me, but we truly enjoyed the experience there. After mass was over, we had a fantastic lunch that was catered for us including soups in bread bowls, sandwiches, salads, etc. This concluded the morning program.

    I was amazed when we walked into the Convocation Center to see how well everything was put together for us. After two speakers, Father Curran challenged us with a phrase that I won't soon forget: "Be who you are and be that well." We then had three rounds of interviews (parents went to their separate sessions), each an hour long with fifteen minute breaks in between. Each interview consisted of two interviewers and seven interviewees. They told us that the tone of the interviews would be geared toward a group discussion or conversation. At the start of each interview, the interviewers informed us the theme of the interview. The first was leadership, the second was service, and the third was a general interview with catch-all topics. I was pleasantly surprised that the interviews themselves were not as uptight as I anticipated. Another great thing was that the interviewers really didn't care about a resume of the things we had done throughout high school. Instead, they truly focused on who we are as people. The conversations in all three interviews were the greatest, most intelligent conversations I had ever had. I learned so much about myself, the other interviewees, and gained perspective on things that perhaps I hadn't thought about before.

    The Competitive Scholars Day concluded with a nice reception in the Convocation Center with some nice local Kansas City Jazz music. Rockhurst really thought out every single part of this day to make it a great success, which it definitely was. Whether or not I receive the scholarship, I know that I will not forget this day as I know it helped me gain valuable experience not just interviewing, but thinking about the things that truly matter and are the basic principles of Rockhurst: learning, leadership, and service, all in the Jesuit tradition. I am glad to know that this fall, I will definitely be a Rockhurst Hawk.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you so much for your comment! I am so happy you had a fantastic experience on Friday! Enjoy the rest of your senior year!

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  4. Thanks! Now we will wait. And wait some more until Monday rolls around!

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    Replies
    1. The waiting game...I remember that part all too well. I didn't get the scholarship but still ended up here. I am currently waiting to hear about a different scholarship for grad school...maybe my next blog entry!

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    2. Well good luck to you in your grad school endeavors!

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  5. Also! Encourage any of the other people you met at the competitive scholars day to post their thoughts on the day on here! Thank you again!

    ReplyDelete