The Spire

Owen Whaley ’24

Chief News Editor

In a September 6 letter to the Class of 2027, Cornell B. LeSane II, Vice President for Enrollment  Management, reflected on the excitement of the new year. “In my role, I have the privilege of  witnessing the formation of each new class,” he wrote. “It is a joy to watch the journey from  applicant to classmate – as on day one 824 young people with a myriad of backgrounds, talents and perspectives form a singular class.” 

LeSane then mentioned recent “notable achievements in enrollment” – in short, Holy Cross admissions are more selective than ever before. 

Students have begun a new semester on the Hill at a moment of transformation. Over the past  year, dining facilities across campus have undergone extensive renovations, and the Performing  Arts Center and townhouses have remade Holy Cross’ skyline. Bolstered by an ascension in  national rankings, a heightened profile, and a competitive admissions cycle that has, in LeSane’s  words, produced “one of the most diverse and academically accomplished classes in the  College’s history,” signs of a Holy Cross on the rise abound. 

Of the more than 8,500 students who applied to Holy Cross last year, 21 percent received offers of admission. Of those, nearly half accepted their offers – a record-high yield. By comparison, the admission cycle for the Class of 2026 resulted in 7,036 applicants and an acceptance rate of 36 percent. Acceptance rates for the Classes of 2025 and 2024 amounted to 43 and 34 percent, respectively. 

Students in the Class of 2027, LeSane wrote in his letter, have “presented at foreign policy  summits, published original research on sea level rise and connectivity, prepared bi-annual  reports for the Governor’s Office on community mental health strategies, raised over $800,000  for cancer research, researched chromosome inheritance through genetic sequencing, started their  school’s first-ever Taylor Swift club, and lobbied their U.S. Representatives and Senators for  climate legislation.” The message is clear: the dynamic and enthusiastic class is equipped to  leave a mark on campus. 

Along with the expanded campus landscape and student body – the Class of 2026 was the largest  yet – has come a heightened national profile. Holy Cross was ranked number 60 in this year’s Wall Street Journal survey of the nation’s colleges and universities, a significant increase from its 2022 ranking of 117. This is partly due to methodological changes, including a reduced focus on prestige and financial resources and a greater emphasis on graduation rates, graduate salaries, and diversity. 

“We no longer reward colleges’ wealth or reputation in and of themselves,” explained the  Journal’s Harry Carr. “Gone are the rewards for instructional spending and the assumption that  the quality of education is largely dictated by how expensive it is to produce… For students, we  believe this ranking will help them identify which colleges will do the most to help them  graduate and make more money.” 

The Journal gave Holy Cross particularly strong marks for its learning facilities and the  opportunities for learning and career preparation it affords to students. Other institutions fell in  the rankings as a result of these methodological changes: Dartmouth fell to number 21, Brown to 67, and  Johns Hopkins to 99. The survey ranks Holy Cross as the seventh  best institution in Massachusetts – ahead of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Boston University, Brandeis, Northeastern, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke, Tufts, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

Holy Cross has also been recognized as a top institution in a recent Princeton Review 165,000 student survey of 389 colleges and universities, and a Money comparison of more than 700. 

“This is made possible by the excellent work led by our faculty, students, staff, and alums,”  President Vincent Rougeau wrote in a social media post in response to the Money survey, “to  build community and support a transformative learning experience.”