Understanding Admissions

Editor's Notes

1. Good evening. I am glad that you, the newly formed admissions committee, are able to join us as we work together in understanding the admissions process for Roman Catholic High School. Before we begin, let me first say that Roman follows a Prep school format in our admissions process and we are able to do so because of your hard work. Thank you.
2. For the past several years, we have faced what we like to call a “good problem.” We have been unable to accept every student that applies to Roman Catholic. While it is nice to have more applicants than we can accommodate, we have devised a plan to manage enrollment. But, we need your help.
3. We need to first ask, who makes up the admissions committee? Well, if you’re in this room, you’re part of the Admissions Committee. The admissions committee is made up of the following people. (Name people on slides). As I will explain, you will all play specific roles at various intervals of the school year. It is important to remember that we are all working toward the same goal. The first step in the process is enacted by me, the Director of Marketing, and Sr. Joan, the Recruitment Coordinator. And that step, simply put, is (change slide)
4. Recruitment Recruitment for next year’s freshmen class begins in the summer. By June, the Recruitment Coordinator will have received a list from the Archdiocese with the names and addresses of the 8 th grade boys in parishes that we select. For us, that totals over 1,000 boys. Meanwhile, the Director of Marketing works on scheduling the print materials featuring this year’s campaign to the boys on the list. Approximately half of the students receive the official materials and the boys that live in the outlying suburban parishes receive a personally signed letter from the Director of Marketing to pique their interest .   At the start of the school year, visits to elementary schools are made consistently during the day and according to the Diocesan schedule at night. While I will be making all of the “day visits” in conjunction with our sister school, I ask for as much help as possible for the night visits. The classroom day visits are geared toward students and these night visits are more for their parents. If you have a suggestion for a school not on the list, please let me know and I will attempt to schedule a visit. Recruitment season really lasts until late November, but our first collaborative effort as a team takes place in October at:
5. Open House This year’s Open House will be held on Sunday, October 16 th , exactly one week before our first admissions exam. Marketing for Open House will be strategically planned as it has been every year between both the President and the Director of Marketing. Open House is a mandatory day for all on staff. Last year, we had 355 people attend Open House but the previous year we had 400. We need this number to be at least 400, so we have been working toward several new plans…
6.   New Plans Less Powerpoint Presentations. The Faculty Liaison and the Principal will work with department chairs to implement this change. We have seen that it is better to show more of your lessons than simply describing them on powerpoint. An Athletics Video/Presentation. While the coaches do a great job recruiting, we want to have the students create videos on the school’s Flip cam and display the videos on monitors in the athletics fair along with the standard coaches and players at information tables. Our Athletic Director will coordinate with coaches and our IT manager to complete this task.   Supervision of the Student Guided Tours. Because we are so spread out during the day and we entrust the guided tours to our students, we will need parents to ensure that the tours are moving smoothly and there are no jams in the hallways. A successful Open House will propel us into having successful…
7. Testing Testing will take place 3 times throughout the fall. Every student planning to attend Roman next fall must take this test. The testing dates are printed on the opposite side of your hand-out. I encourage you all to sign-up for the testing days. All tests are on Saturday mornings and there is a sixty-dollar stipend. Once testing is done, we will navigate the admissions process beginning with…
8. Recommendations Recommendations for potential students are not required but are always accepted. Yet in recent years, they have become a big part of our admissions process for many students. So, we need to set some guidelines for recommendations you may receive from others or that you may have yourself.
9. Put it in writing Recommendations should be in written form even if it is a simple statement that you are recommending the student. Please don’t make your recommendation in check form. We’d love to take it, but unfortunately we can’t.
10. Follow PIAA rules for Student Athletes Any coach that wants to recommend a student or is approached by a student should direct their recommendations and students to the admissions office to ensure that they follow the process from the start.
11. A recommendation does not guarantee admission. We make it clear to those making the recommendation and those who receiving the recommendation that it does not guarantee acceptance but does guarantee an interview.
12. The Interview The final step for over 80% of our class is the interview. The admissions interview Interviews are scheduled every school day and can be conducted by anyone on staff. Two staff members are preferred. The Guidance Department will be asked to intervene along with the Disciplinarian for potential academic, social, or discipline problem. Admission will be determined based on testing score, interview, and 8th grade report cards. During this entire admissions process, we should work together to remember that there is only one thing that matters…
13. Their Success While every student is to be held to the same standard, we recognize that those standards include individuality. It is our mission as an admissions committee to take the students who not only perform well academically or athletically, but those students who strive to do their best in order to have a successful four years here at…
14. Roman Catholic High School. Thank you.