Matt Maurano ’06, M.Ed. ’16 and Sarah Burke – An Inside Perspective on Applying to PC

Ever wonder what admission counselors do? It’s not one thing, it’s everything they can to help high school students who are interested in applying to Providence College. As PC approaches its popular Fall Open House on October 5, Matt Maurano ’06, M.Ed. ’16 and Sarah Burke from the office of admissions share their insights about the application process, navigating deadlines, keeping up with FAFSA, and what it means to be test-optional. 

Creators & Guests

Host

Stasia Walmsley

Sr. Director of Marketing & Creative Services

Producer

Chris Judge

Multimedia and Live Event Producer

What is Providence College Podcast?

The Providence College Podcast features interviews with interesting members of the Friar Family. These in-depth conversations with PC students, Dominicans, faculty, staff, and alumni provide a rich look into the lives of noteworthy Friars. Occasionally we will also bring you on-campus lectures and presentations. Go Friars!

00;00;00;00 - 00;00;14;23
Stasia Walmsley
welcome to the Providence College Podcast. I'm Stasha Walmsley here with Sarah Burke and Matt Morano from our Office of Admission. Today we're going to talk a little bit about recruiting the next class of Friars, the class of 2029, to Providence College.

00;00;14;26 - 00;00;16;07
Stasia Walmsley
Thank you for being here today.

00;00;16;09 - 00;00;17;28
Matt Mauarno
Of course. Yeah. Thank you for having us. Thanks for.

00;00;17;28 - 00;00;18;19
Sarah Burke
Having us.

00;00;18;22 - 00;00;32;24
Stasia Walmsley
So I'm wondering if you could tell me first a little bit. And, Sarah, we can start with you, to explain a little bit about what it means to be an admission counselor. What are some of the things you do to recruit students, work with students to help them learn a little bit about Providence College?

00;00;32;24 - 00;00;49;17
Sarah Burke
Yeah, absolutely. Our job here is to really support students at every part of the process, and that starts whenever student is ready to talk to us. So juniors as well, answering questions about programs. We run a lot of events here on campus when students come visit, and we hit the road in the fall, we go to a lot of different high schools to chat with students.

00;00;49;17 - 00;00;55;23
Sarah Burke
One on one. We go to college fairs. And then, of course, we also have the privilege of reading their applications once they've submitted them.

00;00;55;26 - 00;00;58;01
Stasia Walmsley
And Matt, you've been doing this for a little while too, right?

00;00;58;01 - 00;01;27;08
Matt Mauarno
Yeah, yeah. This is year 17 for me in the office. That sounds really weird to say out loud. I feel like I was a prospective student last week. But, yeah, I think one of the things that I really like about this is that it's very cyclical in nature. Every three months it's something different. Like, Sarah and I are starting travel season right now, and, just as soon as we are getting tired of traveling and being on the road, then we are transitioning to reading applications.

00;01;27;10 - 00;01;44;27
Matt Mauarno
And then once that wraps up, we turn into event planners and start to welcome all the invited students to campus, for different targeted yield events and things like that. And then we're still pretty busy in the summer, welcoming visitors and families, oftentimes getting their first look at Providence. During those summer months.

00;01;45;03 - 00;02;02;07
Stasia Walmsley
Yeah, I've been on second and. Yeah. Yeah. Right, right. I keep going. Yeah. I was just going to say that, I am on campus during the summer, and I can't believe how many people come into. And it's a beautiful time to see campus. But now we're in the fall. We're we're recording this, in late September.

00;02;02;10 - 00;02;05;19
Stasia Walmsley
So could you talk a little bit about where we are in the process?

00;02;05;21 - 00;02;06;01
Matt Mauarno
Yeah.

00;02;06;01 - 00;02;36;14
Matt Mauarno
so, as I alluded to earlier, we're in the beginning of travel season for us. So me, Sarah, the rest of the staff are going across the country to different high schools and college fairs. We are visiting. I think it's just right around a thousand different high schools this fall. And the goal for us is to meet as many students as we can, to talk to them about the things that Providence College has to offer and what makes us unique and makes us stand out a little bit.

00;02;36;17 - 00;02;54;16
Matt Mauarno
Answer their questions. You know, a lot of times the students have already visited campus, and so they have a pretty good familiarity with who we are and what we're all about. But they have more targeted questions like, what are the experiences of a political science student? Or what can I expect as a first year student coming from outside of New England?

00;02;54;19 - 00;03;05;15
Matt Mauarno
And so we're happy to answer all of that. Basically, our goal is to get them to apply to Providence College so that we can build an applicant pool and then start the selection process that way.

00;03;05;15 - 00;03;19;23
Stasia Walmsley
so for those students who are really, looking now to prepare their applications, to get everything in order to apply to Providence College, what do you recommend they prioritize? What are we really looking for in an applicant when we get their applications?

00;03;19;29 - 00;03;42;01
Sarah Burke
This is a great question. So for seniors who are applying this year, it's all of their senior year. And they have a lot of the materials together. Whether they know it or not. Their academic record exists. They've done well in their classes. They're ready to send in things like their transcripts. And so right now, where they can really focus their attention, are the parts of the application that they get to write that tell us about them as a person.

00;03;42;01 - 00;04;01;03
Sarah Burke
So their activity lists the essay. You know, at Providence, we had a little over, 1200 students come in last year, which is really exciting. And some students, some high school students might think that's a huge number, but in the spectrum of colleges, it's pretty small. And so we want to know that the students that we're inviting here are going to contribute to our community.

00;04;01;10 - 00;04;10;04
Sarah Burke
And so we get to get a sense of what they're interested in through things like their activity lists in their essay. And so I always recommend students prioritize those at this point. Yeah.

00;04;10;06 - 00;04;22;01
Stasia Walmsley
You know, I think that makes good sense. I know, we are welcoming this year, our second class of nursing students. And I understand the application process is a little different for them. Is that right? Yes.

00;04;22;01 - 00;04;46;02
Sarah Burke
So it's our, third class of nursing students that we're currently recruiting for. And so we are definitely looking at those a little bit differently. Nursing is our only direct entry program here at Providence. And that means that students can't transition into that program later if they have to come in as nursing students. And so we are definitely looking a little closer at things like their math and their science preparation to make sure that they're going to excel in that program.

00;04;46;04 - 00;05;03;18
Sarah Burke
This is the first year that we have an optional nursing supplement that our nursing students will have the opportunity to complete. It's not required to similar to the a supplement on the Common App, it's optional. But they get to share a little bit more about their interest, specifically in nursing and specifically at Providence. And so that's a new thing that they'll see this year.

00;05;03;20 - 00;05;22;08
Stasia Walmsley
And because we're on this topic, I'm curious to know a little bit about our, test optional policy. This question comes up, even, you know, friends of mine that know I work at Providence College. And because we were, I, you know, so early, in adopting a test optional policy, but it's still we still get a lot of questions about it.

00;05;22;08 - 00;05;22;11
Stasia Walmsley
Right?

00;05;22;11 - 00;05;41;12
Matt Mauarno
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I think because the test occupies a lot of brain space in, in pop culture and just in, like, high schoolers lives, like it's a big source of stress for a lot of them in their families. But yeah, you're correct. I mean, Providence was one of the first private schools to move towards a test optional policy.

00;05;41;15 - 00;06;03;21
Matt Mauarno
And for us, I think the easiest way to explain that is that the philosophy behind being a test optional school is that we think three and a half years of a student's record in high school, and what they've done in and out of the classroom is a lot more indicative of their fit to Providence College than the 3.5 hours it takes them to take a test on Saturday.

00;06;03;21 - 00;06;25;22
Matt Mauarno
Yeah, yeah. I kind of joke with families because I know this year they're shortening the test from 3.5 hours to three hours. So, like, congratulations, everyone. Yeah. That's fun. But also to kind of, like, reinforce the test optional, policy that we have from last year's applicant pool. Over 70% of students did not submit a test score to us.

00;06;25;25 - 00;06;48;22
Matt Mauarno
And so we think the message is getting across to families. You know, when when students visit, we always tell them that a test score is really the least important factor in your admission decision. Sara talked about all the things that, you know, we want to see from students in that personal aspect, and that absolutely always outweighs anything that a standardized test score is going to tell us.

00;06;48;24 - 00;07;11;22
Stasia Walmsley
Yeah, and it's funny because we're we're sitting outside here today. We're getting kind of a view of campus. And, you know, we see student athletes out. We see other activities going on on campus. So I can understand how there's, you know, the that test would only be a piece of what you're, they're looking for. The the other question I wanted to ask, that's an important piece of applying to college.

00;07;11;22 - 00;07;28;19
Stasia Walmsley
And certainly what's on family's mind is paying for college. So I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about the conversations you're having with families about paying for college, because we are a private institution. We always hear that people may have a bit of sticker shock with college across the board, not just at Providence College.

00;07;28;21 - 00;07;35;19
Stasia Walmsley
So, you know, what kind of conversations are you able to have with, with families, as they're considering PC yeah.

00;07;35;20 - 00;07;46;23
Sarah Burke
So as an admissions team, we're definitely cognizant of that price tag. I like to tell families that I talked to that 82% of our first year students receive some sort of aid package here from Providence.

00;07;47;00 - 00;08;08;03
Sarah Burke
And so I encourage all families to certainly apply for, financial aid here. We have merit scholarships and there's no extra application for that. But we do have a lot of need based aid that we're able to give out here as well. I know the Fafsa has been in the news a lot lately. And it's going to be a little bit delayed this year, so students won't be able to submit that likely until sometime in December.

00;08;08;05 - 00;08;18;27
Sarah Burke
But we do have deadlines posted on our website, and we are committed to we are committed to being flexible, you know, this year and working with families to try to make sure we can get, aid out to students in a timely manner.

00;08;19;03 - 00;08;40;23
Stasia Walmsley
Yeah, I know that. We were families were in the same boat last year. You all were in the same boat last year, kind of making sure that we were up to date, and we were sharing as much up to date information as possible about the Fafsa. Unfortunately, we're going into another bit of uncertainty, but I think it's great that we have, that kind of assurances will keep things up on the website and stuff like that.

00;08;40;25 - 00;08;46;15
Sarah Burke
And the best thing students can do is just keep updated, read their emails, and try to make the deadlines that we do have posted.

00;08;46;18 - 00;09;09;23
Stasia Walmsley
Yeah. Okay. That's wonderful. I was referring to the fact that we're just welcome, the class of 2028, moving towards recruiting the class of 2029. But this incoming class, 10% of all students who are first in their family to go to college or are first in their family to attend college, which is, which is exciting and, really exciting for the college.

00;09;09;26 - 00;09;31;25
Stasia Walmsley
Because it's kind of really baked into the mission going back over 100 years to bring in, first and family students. But I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about what that means when students get here, who might be their first generation to go to college, like, what support systems does the college have? Once they are on campus to, to make that, comfortable for them?

00;09;31;25 - 00;10;03;14
Matt Mauarno
Yeah, absolutely. I think that first of all, there are great resources for all students, not just first gen students. I think the development of the student success Center, in the library and the staff they have there are great resources for students. But yeah, specifically for first gen students, I think Providence has done a really good job of creating a program called PC1 G that has really stepped up the mentorship and like the one on one relationship that students have that are first generation coming here.

00;10;03;14 - 00;10;25;15
Matt Mauarno
Because oftentimes, you know, and you just they don't know to ask certain questions. Right. And they don't know because they haven't had a mentor to to tell them to ask these questions. So I think giving those students that one on one relationship is really like kind of a hallmark of PC in general, right? Like we always talk about the smaller community that exists here.

00;10;25;18 - 00;10;45;17
Matt Mauarno
And I think the PC one G program kind of mirrors that on a smaller scale. So, students get paired up with, faculty and staff that we're also first generation college students so that they can help them navigate it as well as students. Right. That student mentorship and having like, an older student kind of guide them through their first couple months.

00;10;45;19 - 00;10;54;20
Matt Mauarno
As students at Providence, I think it has made a really big impact with first generation students, and it's one of the more successful new initiatives that the college has done in the past couple of years.

00;10;54;23 - 00;11;03;08
Stasia Walmsley
And since you mentioned the Student Success Center and as a resource for all students, I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about what what do they do at the student Success?

00;11;03;08 - 00;11;22;17
Matt Mauarno
Yeah, yeah. So the Student Success Center, I always pitch it to students as like, here's where you go to ask a question. If you don't know who else to ask a question, and they can either give you an answer there because they're super knowledgeable and they know a lot about campus, or they can at least point you in the right direction of who do you need to talk to?

00;11;22;17 - 00;11;41;04
Matt Mauarno
Whether it's a question about study abroad or you're thinking of adding a minor or you'd, like have, a question about a residence life, like literally anything on campus. And I know that the student success there was kind of designed to be like the one stop shop to get your questions answered.

00;11;41;04 - 00;12;02;17
Stasia Walmsley
So we're we're sitting here on campus. It's beautiful. Early fall day, late September. What opportunities to students have to come to campus and, experience what it's like to be a student here? Whether or not they've had a chance to visit before or this is the first time, what do you recommend they do over the next several months?

00;12;02;17 - 00;12;23;02
Sarah Burke
Yeah. So visiting campus is really a great way for students to decide on where Providence falls on their college list, as they're thinking about sending in their applications and things like that. We have an October open house this year. It's October 5th. That is definitely the largest event we have in the fall, but there are so many options for students to visit outside of that as well.

00;12;23;05 - 00;12;40;12
Sarah Burke
So we are open Monday through Saturday from now through November, for tours so students can come check it out that way. This year we are doing something called preview Providence, which are school specific options for students to come to to learn more about, say, the School of Nursing and Health Sciences or the School of Business.

00;12;40;14 - 00;12;55;18
Sarah Burke
And so those are great options as well. We have virtual info sessions, too. If students aren't able to get to campus but want to learn a little bit more, all of our options are being kind of continually updated on our website. And we really urge students to see if anything kind of fits with their schedule.

00;12;55;18 - 00;13;07;28
Stasia Walmsley
So you just mentioned preview Providence. I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about that because my understanding is that's somewhat new. In terms of students being able to come for specific school specific information.

00;13;08;03 - 00;13;30;04
Sarah Burke
Yeah. So we used to offer an event in the summer called Preview Providence. That was just one day, and it was a bit more like a summer open house. We've put that event up now, and so students are able to come, they'll learn about the admissions process from one of us, or our colleagues. And then we also invite leadership from our different schools to come talk, and present to students about each of the schools.

00;13;30;07 - 00;13;45;05
Sarah Burke
And then they get to go on a tour that largely features those spaces as well. So it's a great opportunity to learn more about schools if students know what they're interested in. But no to that. A lot of students don't know what they're interested in, and this can be a great option to learn more about the college in general.

00;13;45;07 - 00;13;48;06
Sarah Burke
So students can feel free to sign up, you know, regardless.

00;13;48;08 - 00;14;09;01
Stasia Walmsley
Yeah. That's great. And I know that so many students come in undeclared, and that's part of what the Student Success Center can help, folks figure out, you know, which direction they they might want to go in. So I imagine these visit options open house specifically. You see a lot more than just prospective students. You see all these families come and visit, right?

00;14;09;01 - 00;14;21;24
Stasia Walmsley
And some who may have attended PC themselves. Right. But when you think about the admission process, can you talk a little bit about how you include the whole family as part of the process?

00;14;21;25 - 00;14;52;18
Matt Mauarno
Yeah, yeah, I think that's definitely been a shift for us. In the office, you know, I think back of like my time when I first started here. And now looking at it, in like, current times that you really like you said, you're recruiting the family and not just one student anymore. And so I think that we are a lot more, intentional with the way that our programing works about, like, when students come for these visit opportunities that Sarah talked about, there is a student component.

00;14;52;18 - 00;15;05;09
Matt Mauarno
And then there's also a parent component. So instead of just the parents dropping them off and saying like, okay, pick up at the end of the day, like now there are specific things where parents are learning about the different resources that exist on campus.

00;15;05;09 - 00;15;21;23
Sarah Burke
And I would add to that as well. When program that I didn't mention that I absolutely should highlight, we have a shadowing program called Day in Prior Town, where seniors specifically can come to campus and get paired up with a current student that takes place throughout the fall. And there is a parent specific component of that.

00;15;21;23 - 00;15;29;17
Sarah Burke
So once the students go off to their classes, the parents get to hear from a senior member of the admissions department about things that a little bit more pertain to their interests.

00;15;29;17 - 00;15;54;16
Stasia Walmsley
Oh, wow, that's fantastic. That I'm sure that that's very much appreciated. So we're we're, you know, moving towards some of the admission deadlines. There's a lot of options, right. I think a little different than I was. I was going to college, wasn't many. There maybe some schools had early decision, but now there are many.

00;15;54;18 - 00;15;55;15
Matt Mauarno
The full menu.

00;15;55;15 - 00;16;18;03
Stasia Walmsley
Yeah. There's a full menu of options. Right. Which is great for students who want to, make a choice or figure out where they may want to apply over the course of, of, their learning about, colleges and universities. Talk to me a little bit about what Providence College offers and what you might recommend for students, in terms of what they might want to prioritize applying to.

00;16;18;03 - 00;16;36;26
Sarah Burke
Yeah, absolutely. So we have two main deadlines. So the first one that's coming up is November 1st. That is for students who want to apply early Decision one or early action. These are our first deadlines. Early decision is a binding program. So it's a great option if we are at the top of a student's list and they know that they want to be a friar.

00;16;36;29 - 00;16;55;15
Sarah Burke
But we're not a school where everyone comes to really decision about 30% of our classes, typically from early decision, early action is not binding. So it's an opportunity for students to get their stuff into us, and get an admissions decision quicker. But they don't have to commit until May 1st. So they have that flexibility in that time.

00;16;55;17 - 00;16;59;24
Sarah Burke
Early action is a great option for students who have those ducks in a row and are ready to check it off.

00;16;59;24 - 00;17;00;06
Stasia Walmsley
The to do.

00;17;00;06 - 00;17;21;15
Sarah Burke
List some things. And, but we also have a January 15th deadline. That's for regular decision and early decision to, this is a great option, particularly if students are having a phenomenal senior year. Students to apply early action or early decision. One we don't see that work in their senior year. We see what classes they are taking, but we don't see their performance in those classes.

00;17;21;15 - 00;17;36;23
Sarah Burke
And so for students that are having a great senior year and want to share that with us, regular decision, does provide them an option where we'll see those mid-year grades. And so that's great. If a student maybe had a little bit of a harder start to high school, or just really wants to showcase some of that work in their senior year.

00;17;36;25 - 00;17;43;22
Stasia Walmsley
And what somebody applies to which, which option, does that have any bearing on financial aid?

00;17;43;29 - 00;17;56;26
Sarah Burke
It does not. No. That's a great question. The deadlines are different for each of these rounds. And so from that sense, the deadlines are different. So they need to meet different deadlines depending on the round. But the financial aid process works much the same way.

00;17;56;29 - 00;18;14;11
Matt Mauarno
In scholarship too. So like okay, for someone that applies to Providence early action, they'll get the same financial aid and scholarship award that they would have gotten had they applied any other admission deadline or any other method. So yeah, it's completely like, nondiscriminatory in that way.

00;18;14;13 - 00;18;16;28
Stasia Walmsley
Oh that's great. I'm sure families are happy to hear that.

00;18;16;28 - 00;18;36;25
Sarah Burke
Yeah, yeah. And every year, early action tends to be our largest, application round. Yeah. Students like hearing back quicker. But it also gives students a lot more power in the process. I think they have all spring to revisit campuses and think through their options. Regular decisions. Fantastic. You have six weeks, usually to make your decision once you find out from Providence.

00;18;36;25 - 00;18;42;18
Sarah Burke
And so early action just has a little bit more flexibility, which is why I think we're seeing students gravitate towards that. Yeah.

00;18;42;19 - 00;18;53;04
Stasia Walmsley
Yeah. And I think you've both been doing this for a little while now, Matt. You just you just mentioned that, what did you say, 17 years? Yeah.

00;18;53;05 - 00;18;53;23
Speaker 4
Yeah, yeah.

00;18;53;25 - 00;18;56;26
Matt Mauarno
I ran up against. So. Yeah. Appreciate that.

00;18;56;28 - 00;19;20;07
Stasia Walmsley
So I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit if you were to think back to yourself at 17. Yeah. You know, what would you do. What would you tell a 17 year old, 18 year old. You trying to apply to college, trying to think about college. How to approach it. In because I think that that so many students, bring it's exciting, but it can also be anxiety inducing.

00;19;20;07 - 00;19;23;21
Stasia Walmsley
Right. So I'm wondering if you could give a little advice in that respect.

00;19;23;21 - 00;19;55;15
Matt Mauarno
Yeah, definitely. Looking back on my college search, I did the tours I didn't go to, like any of the bigger events that schools offered, which is okay. But I think the best advice that I can give students is to try to connect with as many current students on the campuses that they're looking at. We always say that the students are our best resource in terms of showing them what campus is like and authentically answering their questions about campus life and academic experiences and things like that.

00;19;55;17 - 00;20;11;01
Matt Mauarno
So regardless of whether you're looking at Providence or any other place, I would try to connect with as many current students as possible and get as much face time with the current students, and that's going to really help you out, deciding if you think you're going to be a good fit on that campus.

00;20;11;04 - 00;20;30;09
Stasia Walmsley
Yeah, we have, on our social media accounts. There's some short videos that we've been doing, and producing, I know that are about a day in the life of students. Right. So stuff like that. I think you're right. It can give a real feel for what Providence College day to day is like. Yeah.

00;20;30;09 - 00;20;31;00
Matt Mauarno
Yeah, absolutely.

00;20;31;01 - 00;20;31;22
Stasia Walmsley
How about you, Sarah?

00;20;31;25 - 00;20;51;21
Sarah Burke
I would echo some of what Matt saying. I remember when I was applying to college, I was stressed. I taught a lot of different colleges. And I remember really prioritizing the academic components, which are obviously extremely important in the college search. But I think my advice to my 17 year old self would have been permission to also prioritize the community side of things.

00;20;51;24 - 00;21;10;12
Sarah Burke
You're joining a community for four years while you're on campus, but for the rest of your life as an alumni, and so kind of looking around campus, envisioning yourself there, talking to the students, talking to the people, I mean, these will be your friends for life. You might meet your spouse there. You'll be going to alumni events for the rest of time.

00;21;10;12 - 00;21;24;07
Sarah Burke
And so just thinking through, that the community part is equally valid. We have a phenomenal community here at Providence. I think it's something that attracts a lot of students to us. And I think I just wish I'd gone back and told 17 year old me that that is equally as important as the academic piece.

00;21;24;07 - 00;21;40;26
Stasia Walmsley
Yeah, well, thank you so much. This has been great. Is there anything that we hadn't touched on that you wanted to mention about? I know we went over a lot of things. I, the other resource that you were telling me about before we, jumped on cameras, webinars. Right. So we offer webinars as well.

00;21;40;27 - 00;22;03;03
Matt Mauarno
Yeah. I think our admission page is really helpful. Both in terms of, like, the PC website, but also the different YouTube, and webinar pieces that we offer to, because they're it's tough to cover all of admission in just a short amount of time. There's a lot of depth about what we do and, the different aspects of a successful application.

00;22;03;03 - 00;22;13;11
Matt Mauarno
So we try to make a lot of those resources available online. We use we're rerecording webinars all the time. So we're used to all that. It's a lot of fun.

00;22;13;14 - 00;22;14;02
Stasia Walmsley
That's great.

00;22;14;02 - 00;22;29;21
Sarah Burke
Yeah. And I would tell students like, don't be shy to reach out. I think the reason we stay in this job, the reason we love it, is the interactions with students. And I think sometimes students don't necessarily want to reach out to their admissions counselor. We seem maybe a little scary. Yeah. But we are absolutely not that we love hearing from students.

00;22;29;21 - 00;22;41;16
Sarah Burke
We love hearing from students families, particularly as they're kind of zoning in on that choice, and kind of ready to make those college decisions. They have a lot of questions, and that is why we're here. That's our job. And so I always encourage students to reach out.

00;22;41;18 - 00;22;42;12
Stasia Walmsley
That's terrific.

00;22;42;12 - 00;22;49;22
Stasia Walmsley
Thanks, Sarah. Thanks, Matt. Thank you for joining us on the PC podcast today. And don't forget about open House on October 5th.