I really enjoy my travel schedule for a few reasons not the least of which is the actual areas to which I have the privilege of going! This month I’ve been to Denver, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, Tucson, Phoenix, and many smaller cities and towns among them. Add in the end of September, and the grand total is fifteen states, ten flights, over two dozen hotels, nearly 80 high schools, about 40 interviews, thousands of miles driven, and one set of keys locked in a rental car! Talk about a whirlwind!

It’s great to visit so many places and meet so many wonderful students, but the downside and challenge is covering all of that area in such a short amount of time. I could easily double the amount of time to visit more high schools and interview more students, but it just isn’t feasible!

If we didn’t have the chance to meet on the road, I’m sorry! If you’re from any of the states for which I am responsible (see above) and you’d like to connect for an interview, I will be happy to schedule a time for us to speak on the phone. Please get in touch.

My next few days will be spent traveling locally in Massachusetts, and then my schedule is complete on Friday just in time for Halloween which happens to also be Homecoming at WPI. The next week will be a transition period as a catch up and chance to unwind from travel and gear up to begin reviewing applications. I’m eager to see yours!

And, interpret as you will, the following from Robert Frost:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

To the members of the Class of 2013: Welcome—officially! I hope you will seize the opportunities at WPI and make the most of them. If or when you need help, don’t be afraid to ask. Above all, I wish you each the best of luck and extend a warm welcome to the WPI community:

Babadee, Jeffrey, Wilmann, Nouran, Jeremy, Christopher, Nicholas, Ting Ting, Jeffrey, Shuimiao, Philip, Jose, Jacob, Qiying, Autumn, Lindsey, Victoria, Ryan, Jennifer, Nathaniel, Alan, Nicholas, Aaron, Ryan, Benjamin, Derek, Donal, Madeleine, Benjamin, Vincent, Tanya, Sean, Caitlin, Laura, Timothy, Anthony, Sarah, Nikole, Lindsey, Joseph, Drew, Dennis, Zachary, Nicole, Nikole, Christopher, Klevis, Caroline, Emmanuel, Angel, Patrick, Runzi, Brian, Hui, Wyatt, Ryan, Chang, Linjun, Karin, Joshua, Rachele, Xiao, Daniel, John, Richard, Michael, Jameel, Nhi, Scott, Michael, Drew, Matthew, Christopher, Corey, Dustin, Joseph, Paul, Jennifer, James, Patrick, Junbo, Conrad, Ricardo, Claudia, Tyler, Alfredo, Daniel, Gregory, Maksim, James, Jack, Wesley, Lauren, Sidney, Devin, Jenny, Kathryn, Ryan, Deborah, Wenxuan, Ennio, Kandace, Daniel, Robyn, Silvia, Bryan, Alexandra, Amanda, Mathew, Timothy, Stephen, Lucien, Alex, Samantha, Yanxin, Benjamin, Erik, Shane, Johan, Joshua, Corey, Shawna, Rohit, William, William, Matthew, Daniel, Carlie, Ryan, Alexander, Blair, Nicholas, Joseph, Christopher, Christine, Kassondra, Tudor, Michelangela, Brandy, Kimberly, Emily, James, Alexander, Ian, Matthew, Kevin, Kai, Matthew, Kelly, Brian, Courtney, Michael, Richard, Hosung, Zachary, Earl, Zephyr, Abdulla, Tuhina, Samantha, Kassandra, Sebastian, Giles, Max, Alexander, Joaquin, Maria, Sean, Jeremy, Meredith, Ivy, Michelle, Jonathan, Maureen, James, Gabriel, Elyssa, Daniel, David, Srinivas, Roxanne, Linhai, Matthew, Anders, Cara, Justin, Adam, Adam, Raymond, Nathanael, Brendan, Max, Stephan, Bryan, Timothy, Jeffrey, Anthony, Chelsea, Cynthia, Nicholas, Katherine, Sarah, Marissa, Thomas, Steven, Ben, Cody, Rebecca, Michael, John, Katrina, Emily, Daniel, Claire, Philip, Andrew, Paul, Yimin, Adam, Prashant, Lauren, Michael, Nikole, Michelle, Kasif, Maria, Anthony, Jonathan, Alex, Kevin, Frank, Christopher, Michael, Jessica, Carl, Michael, Phuoc, Stephany, James, Gregory, Elizabeth, Kevin, Jeffrey, Thomas, Julian, Alexander, Robert, Raymond, Michael, Angela, Daniel, Adam, David, Daniel, Jonathan, Danielle, Timothy, Andrew, Thomas, Mark, Nathan, Nataniel, Thomas, Justin, Jaime, Brittany, Ryan, Daniel, Marco, Victoria, James, Thomas, Josephine, Justin, Drew, Patchara, Dylan, Gregory, Adam, Andrew, Derrick, Cassandra, Neil, David, Georgi, Sarah, Robert, Shawn, Ngoc, Gallagher, Stephen, Ji-Hun, Xavier, Thomas, Chris, Hillary, Richard, Ignacio, Ryan, Jonathan, Chenchen, Samuel, Evan, Nancy, Sarah, Dale, Xu, Christopher, Geoffrey, Taylor, Serena, Eric, William, Noor, Cory, Christopher, Arten, Alexander, Kristen, Shaine, Amber, Nicholas, Stasia, Kristina, Sydney, Shashank, Scott, Julie, Joseph, Frederick, Sabrina, Zhen, Samuel, Anthony, Katherine, Mario, Brian, Caitlin, Theresa, Francisco, David, Christopher, Christa, John, Daniela, Darius, Jessica, Kelsey, Aaron, Andrea, Chelsea, Meagan, Xianjing, Bangyan, Joshua, Kevin, William, Randal, Patrick-Joseph, Katherine, Jeffrey, David, Kellie, Caleb, Yusuf, Patrick, Katharine, Ajay, Joshua, Geordie, Nuri, Daniel, Benjamin, Joseph, Glen, Michelle, Jennifer, Sasha, Jeremy, Justin, Emily, Jocelyn, Bailey, Andrew, Adam, Joseph, Bradley, Joshua, AlJohn, James, Ryan, Matthew, Emilee, Corey, Meghan, Jonathan, Courtney, Robert, Igor, Nicole, Jonathan, Nesa-Maria, Lauren, Jonathan, Bereket, Griffin, Christopher, Sofia, Anthony, Jacob, Joseph, Ijeoma, Ross, Guanyu, Erin, Jillian, Brandon, Jay, Michael, Jacqueline, Alexander, John, Matthew, Zaki, Cesar, Christopher, Katherine, Rinaldo, Nisha, Erin, Jeffrey, Lazaro, Lukas, Brian, Felipe, Alexander, Joseph, Spencer, Niroshni, Raymond, Stephen, Jason, Emily, David, Joshua, Andrew, Chelsea, Michael, Patrick, Aviv, Jonas, Sandesh, Jake, James, Jessica, Edward, Erin, John, Cody, Macauley, Janneth, Evan, Renee, Jennifer, Sean, Mathew, Jian, James, Zehao, Richard, Daniel, Daniel, Zachary, David, Cassiopia, Andrew, Shubham, Ashley, Sean, Samuel, Laura, Nathan, Christopher, Gregory, Paolo, Pattipong, Daniel, Mason, Adam, Robert, Peter, Elante, Ryan, Abigail, Eric, Thomas, Devin, Brandon, James, Cian, Korapat, Nediva, Max, Nicolas, Lauren, Petra, Claude-Reynald, Nicholas, Xuanya, Sarah, Adrianna, Jesse, Brian, JungMi, Pak, Brendan, Alex, David, Jonathan, Frank, Chuqiao, Marinela, Peter, Zijian, Patrick, Matthew, Eric, Khanh-Nhan, Shaun, Simon, Nicholas, Christopher, Kevin, Brandon, Andelle, Andrew, Jessica, Jared, Stephen, Sergey, Brian, Codi, Eric, Hussein, Dunia, Jared, Hayley, Heather, Shannon, Devon, Melanie, Dean, Nathaniel, Katherine, Susan, Kyle, Benjamin, Michael, Paul, Fred, Nicholas, David, Naveed, Ye, Roni, Wilfredo, Patrick, Nathaniel, Bryan, Jennifer, Autumn, Christopher, Valerie, Peter, Seth, Virginia, Breanna, Cassandra, Amy, Jessica, Michael, Xueyang, Cody, Charles, Elliott, Christian, Gabriela, Brent, William, Danielle, Adam, John, Sonya, Michael, Daniel, Cullen, Howard, Colin, Tyler, Blake, Arben, Erin, Thomas, Kevin, Lauren, Kevin, Lucas, Jerone, Tory, Jonathan, Ethan, Jeremy, Noelle, Daniel, Eric, Bryan, Congyi, Samantha, Bianca, Julie, Derek, Fabrice, Aaron, Nicholas, Emily, Anthony, Caitlin, Miye, Evangelos, Cordell, Fangjie, Connor, David, Cing, Joseph, Christopher, Gregory, Mingnan, Gregory, Victoria, Catherine, Stephen, Matthew, Aileen, Robert, Jessica, Jennifer, Heather, Ryan, Nicholas, Yidi, Brittany, Andrew, Thomas, Yunwen, Nicholas, Jacob, Hailey, Keegan, Robert, Joseph, Daria, Daniel, Kerrin, Melinda, Alicia, Edward, Michael, Andrew, Erika, Neel, Shelby, Daniel, Farrah, Bobbie Jo, Cindy, Eben, Thomas, Marc, Jighjigh, Elizabeth, Lee Joan, Alex, Steven, Joseph, David, Christa, Tyler, Richard, You, Seth, Stephen, Paul, Andrew, Jesse, Madison, Jessica, Nathan, Joshua, Craig, Meng, Justin, Ricky, James, Jibin, Kun, Ethan, Praphapan, Justin, Evren, James, Drew, Jared, Christian, Caroline, Michael, Seth, Jonathan, Kevin, James, Lukasz, Neil, Rebecca, Aren, Evan, Richard, Duje, Catherine, James, Ian, Julian, Adrian, Andrew, Steven, Shane, Richard, Richard, Alexander, John, Kyla, Anthony, Shelbye, Mikhail, Alexander, Mohammad, Bryce, William, Anthony, Brenna, Alyssa, Jeffrey, Santiago, Ingrid, Stephanie, Leah, Jeffrey, Elisa, Steven, Ryan, Brennan, Hao, Daniel, Barbara, Jenni, William, Emily, Francis, Elise, Evan, Myo, Justin, Stephan, Jacquelyn, Christopher, Erik, Brooke, Maciej, Brittany, Matthew, Sheila, Alyssa, Jason, Matthew, Jeffrey, Rebecca, Alexandra, John, Gabriel, Richard, Christopher, Derek, Chris, Jeremy, Dong-Uk, Ryan, Brian, Elizabeth, Paul, Xiaojing, Kiara, Caitlin, Michael, Catherine, Grant, Joseph, Kaung Myat, William, Ian, Olivia, Jason, Jonathan, Julie, Martha, Rachel, Mark, Jocelyn, Katie, Jeffrey, Andre, Tyler, Ying, Jonathan, Bradford, Benjamin, Devon, Marcela, Somyi, Yunxin, Andrew, Saviniano, Burak, Emma, Lauren, Gabriel, Anthony, Noah, Conor, James, Owen, John, Ryan, Neal, Nathaniel, Megan, Kimberly, Ana, Shane, Syed, Salik, Emily, Nikolaos, Elizabeth, Michal, Bethany, Daniel, Keith, Ryan, Long, Loribel, Robert, David, Brian, Jaimes, Anthony, Edward, Max, Ilea, Jenine, Katelyn, Christopher, Xiao, Emily, Matthew, Brett, Patrick, Michael, Jennifer, Belinda, Kaleigh, Gabriel, Mackenzie, Troy, Jacob, Alessandro, Beth, Joseph, Hairan, Nicholas, Kerrie, Alexandra, Laura, Matthew, Woo Chan, James, Joseph, Shuang, Hannah, Kali, Jacob, Gregory, Chloe, Aaron, James, James, Melanie, Markus, Rebecca, Victoria, James, Justin, Kathryn, Shane, Shaun, Jay, Malessa, Ryan, Emily, Peter, Alyssa, Wan, Matthew, Matthew, Jared, Warren, Joshua, Brett, Kyle Patrick, Heather, Peter, David, Gregory, Margaret, William, Timothy, Timothy, Marissa, Nicholas, Leinal, Brianna, Livia, Bruno, Michael, Joan, Michael, Megan, Elizabeth, Lauren, Amy, Lindsey, Bethany, Jackson, Christian, Amanda, Hanxiong, Todd, Stephen, Jean Paul, Mariah, Tania, Alexander, Julian, Alec, Alberto, Christopher, Yiling, Nathan, Mitchell, Roberto, Paul, Antonio, Daniel, Brian, Nathaniel, Gabriel, and Savan

For those of you about to begin your senior year of high school and considering or planning to apply to WPI, now’s your chance to join the official WPI Class of 2014 Facebook group. This group is a great place for you to meet other students considering attending WPI. You never know, you might even connect with your future roommate or best friend! The group is also a great way for you to ask questions of current WPI students, other prospective students, and the Admissions staff. I look forward to interacting with you there.

While you’re at it, why not become a fan of WPI and WPI Admissions?

Please keep in mind that our official Admissions pages and groups are in no way connected to your application review. With that said, please be respectful when posting in the groups and pages; inappropriate and disrespectful posts will be removed.

First, we’ve modified our application deadlines slightly. We still have three rounds of application: two early action options and a regular decision option. The changes are to the early action rounds and are as follows:

• Early Action Round 1: Application deadline is November 10 with a decision notification of December 20
• Early Action Round 2: Application deadline is January 1 (no change) with a decision notification of February 10
• Regular Decision: Application deadline is February 1 (no change) with a decision notification of April 1 (no change)

All application options are non-binding meaning that you can apply whenever you want and, if admitted, have until May 1 to let us know whether or not you are enrolling. Learn more by reviewing our full Admissions Deadlines.

The other addition to our application this year is the inclusion of a supplemental form for students applying using the Common Application or Universal Application. In the past we have not required a supplement, but we have found ourselves making admissions decisions with varying amounts of information. Students applying with the WPI application are asked questions specific to WPI. On our application, we’re able to ask students for a specific intended major (if known), whether they are interested in one of our pre-professional programs (pre-med, pre-vet, pre-dental, pre-law), whether they have relatives employed at WPI, and if they have family members who attended WPI. We’ve been unable to capture this information fully on the Common and Universal Applications, and now the supplement will allow for it.

If you apply with the Common or Universal Application online, you’ll be able to complete the supplemental form with your application. If you submit a paper version of the Common or Universal Application, you’ll be able to download a copy of the form from the Admissions Web site. If you use the WPI application, the questions asked on the supplemental form are built in, so you won’t need to complete the form (unless you choose to not submit your SAT or ACT scores by using our Flex Path option; in that case, you’ll need to submit our Flex Path form).

Some publications and Web sites outside of WPI may have outdated information regarding the above deadlines and forms. In this first year, we will be slightly flexible with the application deadlines, but the supplementalal form for the Common and Universal Applications will be required. Please refer to the Applying to WPI section of the Admissions Web site for the most up to date and accurate information.

If you are ready to apply now, you are welcome to submit a Common or Universal Application. The WPI application and supplement mentioned above will be available in August. You’re certainly welcome to wait since our first deadline is not until November, but in the meantime you may consider spending your remaining summer weeks thinking about your essay.

We look forward to reviewing your applications soon!

If you are among the thousands of families making one or more college trips this summer—even if only to a handful of schools—you should be sure to make the most of your visits. Not only is someone spending money to travel to these locations, finding the college for you is important and should be taken seriously. You’re not too cool to visit colleges, you shouldn’t feel like you are being dragged by your parents, and you shouldn’t just sit back and take everything at face value.

So, how should you make the most of your visits? Here are a few of my suggestions:

1. Take notes. I’m not suggesting you write down every piece of information you hear (in fact, many of the statistics and details will be provided in print) but rather make note of what makes each institution unique. What do the student tour guides spend most of their time discussing? What’s the most important piece of the admissions presentation? Is the campus well maintained? Are people on campus outside of the Admissions Office friendly and helpful?
2. Imagine yourself here. Don’t forget, you are going to be living at the college you choose for the next four years. You want to find the right fit. The right fit should take into account all aspects of college life: academics, social life, surrounding area, activities on- and off-campus,
3. Ask thoughtful questions. College is a big decision and a big investment. You want to get as much information as possible, and you want to be sure that all of your questions are answered. Whether your parents are paying none, some, most, or all of the bills, they’re probably going to want to get answers to questions—some the same, some different—too. For example, it’s easy to find the student-to-faculty ratio number. I’d suggest asking a more thoughtful question about that number to find out what it really means. That number is irrelevant if the faculty do research in their labs or offices all day and your classes are taught by graduate students. Perhaps, to a student, “Tell me about how you interact with faculty members on a daily basis,” or “What opportunities have you had to get involved with faculty research?”

I could go on. In short, make the most of the time you spend visiting college campuses. Most people wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it. Most people wouldn’t buy a house without going in it. Most people would ask questions when buying those big ticket items. You should too when it comes to your college search process.

Quite often I am asked questions by students and families about the personal statement or essay that is required as part of an application to WPI. This submission is one area where you have full license to send us whatever you’d like. We don’t have a carefully scripted question for which we want a carefully scripted answer; your personal statement is just that: personal.

I suggest that you read Ms. Merrill’s advice, but I’ll quote two of her ten suggestions in particular:

Don’t repeat what is already in your application. If you go to a performing arts school and all of your extracurricular activities and awards relate to dance, don’t write about how much you love dancing. Tell me something I couldn’t know just from reading the other parts of your application.

Be genuine. Don’t try to impress me, because I’ve heard it all. Just tell me what is important to you.

Okay, maybe I haven’t heard it all, but I’ve heard quite a bit. And if you are genuine and don’t repeat what’s already in your application, then you are getting somewhere. I read every essay—in good applications and bad—and the ones I remember most are the ones that are unique and display a passion about the topic.

Here are two additional tips of my own that hopefully have already crossed your mind: 1) spell check, and 2) proofread. Don’t do one without the other. You can click that “ABC” button as many times as you want, but its not going too find correctly spelled words in improper places (among other things). Let me rephrase: it’s not going to find correctly spelled words in improper places.

At WPI we know that our students’ strengths typically fall in math and science rather than English, grammar, and writing. But the essay is still a very important piece of your application—and one to take seriously. Write and proof it yourself, but also ask a friend, family member, teacher, or counselor to proofread it for you. As Ms. Miller says, “The truth is that while no essay will make an unqualified student acceptable, a good essay can help a qualified applicant stand out from the competition. A good essay just might be what turns a ‘maybe’ into a ‘yes.’”

So, it’s time to get to work! Spend some time this summer piecing together your essays, and when it comes time for you to submit your applications you’ll be ahead of the game. Good luck!

Once Commencement was over, I began to use some of my vacation time. I don’t use much throughout the rest of the year, so I had a lot remaining which means I’m in the office only 6 full days this month. Sounds pretty good, huh? Well the problem is that the work and the Web don’t stop, so I am still writing this post on a day off and I’m still monitoring Twitter and Facebook. I disconnect for a day here and there and on the weekends, but with an extended amount of time away I can’t help but stay connected.

So, what will keep us busy for the rest of the summer before we begin traveling again? The Frontiers and Launch summer programs begin in mid-July; we have a few summer planning days for the Admissions staff; we’re open every day for visitors including some special visit options; and I have some other projects that I’m spending some of my time completing.

What I mean to say is that yes, I’m still here. Just taking some time away to relax before we come back full swing later this month. How is your summer going?

Now that the last day of classes has passed a whole host of rituals are being observed in preparation for the 141^st Commencement on Saturday, May 16.

The most visible of these is the preparation of campus for the thousands of students, families, friends, faculty, and staff that will be on campus for Commencement. Behind the scenes, the Registrar, Faculty, and Trustees go through the formal processes that enables the primary purpose of Commencement: the awarding of degrees.

The Registrar is the first step. This portion of the process is the most complex as it involves hundreds of students. Everyone will have one or more majors, some may have minors, and some will merit distinction or high distinction. The transcript of every student will need to be compared against the degree requirements set by the university for all students (2/3 unit social science, 8 units in residency, 1/3 unit physical education among others for undergraduates) as well as the major specific requirements set by the academic departments and the faculty. Grades for D-Term and the spring semester are not due to the registrar until the close of business on Friday, May 8 which means the Registrar’s Office has less than one week to prepare this list! Once all grades are turned in, a list is prepared in time for the faculty meeting the following Thursday.

The Faculty will hold its last meeting of the academic year on the Thursday before Commencement, May 14. At this meeting, the Committee on Academic Operations will make a motion to approve the undergraduate graduation list (as provided by the Registrar).  The Committee on Graduate Studies and Research makes a similar motion to approve the graduate graduation list. The list then passes on to its last stop, the Trustees.

WPI’s Board of Trustees will hold its annual meeting on Friday, May 15. Among other business that will be conducted, the graduation list, as provided by the Registrar and recommended by the Faculty, will be voted on by the Trustees.

Only after passing through this process can a student be presented with a degree at Commencement. The degree received is signed by Donald Peterson, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Dennis Berkey, President of WPI.

I’ll be posting information here, on Facebook, and on the Class of 2013 Web site over the summer for the incoming class, and keep an eye on your e-mail as well for important information. Soon you’ll be able to register for classes and create your WPI e-mail address (you get to choose it, and you have up to 16 characters—start thinking)! If you have not already done so, you should complete the housing form for first-year students.

I tweeted last week that as May 1 approached, it was not the day towards which I work. Sure, it’s a milestone and (hopefully) cause for celebration and a bit of relaxation after months of hard work and building relationships, but really it’s only a stepping stone. I hope to continue the relationships I’ve built with the enrolling students and their families over the next several years and see them walk across the stage at Commencement in four years and 10 or so days. That’s the real goal.

Congratulations to the newest members of the WPI community in the Class of 2013, and congratulations to the Class of 2009 whose last day of undergraduate classes is today! Commencement is in only 11 days!

Meanwhile, with next week being school vacation week for many students and Patriots Day in Massachusetts on Monday, we’re expecting to have our busiest week of the year! Don’t be scared away by potential crowds, though, we’re lining up extra tour guides and ordering food for your lunch when you finish your tours and information sessions. Read more about campus visit options.

I’m away from campus now in Colorado, and as long as I don’t get too buried in the several feet of snow predicted, I’ll look forward to seeing you on campus soon! My colleagues tell me that today is a gorgeous day on campus with temperatures in the 70s and trees and flowers in full bloom!