Category Archives: Applying

Everybody Loves FREE Stuff

Hey team,

Do all you seniors out there know that if you apply to Bellarmine before November 1 of this year, we waive your application fee?

We waive it. It’s gone. You pay zero, nada, zilch.

You pay nothing to submit your application. We respond by telling you how many thousands of dollars you’ll be awarded in yearly scholarships.

Sounds pretty win-win to me.

Just sayin’. :)

 

Go Knights!

-Carrie Daut, Admission Counselor

On the First Day of Classes…

Happy First Day of Classes, Bellarmine! Here in Admissions, we have this feeling that it’s gonna be a great 2012-2013 school year. We hope today proves to be an exciting preview of what’s to come these next two semesters. :)

In honor of BU’s First Day of Classes, we thought we’d shed some light on how prospective students can make their First Days of Class (or First Weeks of Class…are we approaching September already??) really count towards the college application process.

From sophomore through senior year, here are some tips for boosting your college application and easing your college search.

Sophomore year:

  • Take a look at your classes and think about how rigorous they are. Could you move up to Honors courses next year? Could you try an AP class next year? Should you move up to the next level in English but remain where you are in math? We do not encourage taking an overwhelming courseload, but we do encourage challenging yourself academically.
  • Get involved! Maybe you took it easy freshman year, but now’s the time to get involved! Check out your school’s clubs and sports teams, and sign up for something that speaks to you!
  • Begin keeping a list of your extracurricular activities, jobs, and academic honors. Save it on your computer, and update it every year. When senior year rolls around and it’s time to list this information on your college apps, you’ll be glad it’s already compiled!

Junior year:

  • All the sophomore year tips, plus:
  • Consider taking an AP class if your high school offers it. AP classes show us that you can handle college-level coursework. AP classes provide you the chance to begin college with some class credits under your belt. It’s win-win.  
  • Take substantial elective classes. We don’t love to see that you take PE for an elective every year. We do love to see you taking foreign languages, journalism classes, art, computer and graphic design classes (among others). Use your electives wisely: you should find them interesting, and they should also help you acquire new skills.
  • Keep your grades up. Your junior year grades are critical — they can help bring up a not-so-great GPA, or they can ruin a good GPA. It’s also the last full year of grades that we see when you submit your college application (because you’ll still be in the process of taking your senior year classes).
  • Consider running for leadership positions. Leadership speaks volumes to us when evaluating your college application. Look at your involvements, and consider running for captain, president, editor-in-chief, etc.

Senior year:

  • All the junior year tips, plus:
  • Continue taking math and science courses, even if your high school doesn’t require it. Your high school may not care if you drop all math and science courses your senior year, but colleges care. Try your very hardest to include at least one math or science class as part of your senior year courseload. If you hope to major in a math or science, this is especially important. This can have a real effect on your college admission.
  • Remember that senior year grades count. Your grades may not be in by the time you apply to college, but they will be in by the time you attend your first college class. Schools that offer merit scholarships may revoke them if your senior grades drop too significantly. And any state money (like the KEES program for Kentucky residents) that are determined by your high school GPA, can and will be taken away if your GPA drops significantly. True story, so stay focused senior year!
  • Ask your college counselor for a list of local college fairs, as well as a schedule of college visits to your high school. Keep this information in a safe place, and plan to attend some of these fairs and visits.
  • Decide who you’d like to write your college recommendation letters. Recommendation letters may be due as early as November, and you need to give people plenty of advance notice. On the first day of senior year classes, begin thinking of who you’d like to ask!
  • Research outside scholarships. Although this isn’t directly related to your college application, we cannot emphasize this enough. There is so much scholarship money out there, waiting to be awarded by banks, restaurant chains, big companies, and small firms. Go find them!

Wherever you fall on this spectrum, Happy First Day of Classes!

Go Knights!

-Carrie Daut, Admission Counselor

When Is the Earliest I Can Apply?

I’ve been hearing this question quite a bit lately:

When is the earliest I can apply? I know Bellarmine’s Early Action deadline is November 1, but how soon can I start applying?

(Sidenote — I love that you are all so ahead of the game! I’m already impressed.)

The updated Bellarmine application becomes available online in September of each year. So for all you rising seniors out there, stick a Post-it on the fridge/mark it in your agenda/set a reminder in your iPhone/fingerpaint a note onto your bedroom wall saying, “Labor Day! September is here! Time to apply to Bellarmine!”

From there, click the Apply Now link on our homepage, show us how fantastic you are, and best of luck as you apply for a spot in Bellarmine’s Class of 2017.

Hello Knights Nation!

Hello Knights Nation*! And welcome to The Bellarmine Admissions Blog.

This blog is new for us, and we’re pretty excited. We know that you can find your Bellarmine quick facts here, and that you can read our wonderful student blogs here, and that you’re certainly browsing the gorgeous Bellarmine photo tour that starts here.

But in the Office of Undergraduate Admission, we wanted a little bit more. Call us greedy, but we wanted another way to talk to you — on a regular basis, with honesty, and on a platform that’s easy to access. Bada bing, bada boom: we give you this blog.

What we discuss here will be primarily geared towards prospective Bellarmine University students and their family members. Our main goals are to clear up the confusing bits of applying and getting into college (and we know, there are several confusing bits), to provide the utmost transparency about the Bellarmine admission process, and to show you that the people reading your Bellarmine application are (are you ready for this?), in fact, real people!

If you have a question of your own, don’t be shy. Let us know.

And one last thing. While we’re eager to start the conversation with you via this blog, it certainly can’t take the place of a face-to-face conversation with you on our beautiful Louisville campus. Keep us in mind for your next road trip, and schedule your visit today!

Go Knights!

-Carrie Daut, Admission Counselor

*Knights Nation is how we lovingly refer to the Bellarmine University Pep Club — the chanting, screaming, hollering fans that make Bellarmine athletic events so much darn fun. I’m not one for exclusivity though, so how about this. If you’re here, visiting this blog, then welcome to the club. Consider yourself a part of Knights Nation. :)