How to strengthen your Holy Cross application

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What Holy Cross weights most

Holy Cross favors intellectually curious students drawn to a classic liberal arts curriculum who can show both academic intensity and commitment to community service or civic engagement, especially with leadership in clubs, debate, mock trial, research, or volunteer projects. They value applicants who fit Jesuit values of reflection, ethical reasoning, and engagement with social justice; applicants with concrete pre-law or pre-med planning, sustained humanities or science work, and evidence of thriving in discussion-based classes stand out. Compared with STEM-heavy peers, Holy Cross is stricter on demonstrated fit for a liberal arts environment and less interested in applicants pursuing business or engineering paths.

Supplemental essay strategy

For the "Why Holy Cross" and short essays, cite specific faculty, seminars, writing-intensive programs, the Moot Court or pre-law advising, the Phillips Brooks House-style service opportunities, or the Integrated Sciences program as evidence you researched the school; tie one concrete campus resource to a clear academic or co-curricular plan you will pursue. Use one brief anecdote showing how Jesuit pedagogy or the close discussion format matches how you learn, and avoid generic praise of "community" without linking it to a particular professor, course, lab, or student program at Holy Cross.

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Where to focus next

If you only have time for one thing this month, do this:

1. Read 2 admitted-student essays from Holy Cross (search official admissions site or Reddit r/holycross). Notice the level of specificity — that's the bar.
2. Write the ‘why this school’ supplement first, before anything else. If you can't fill 250 words with school-specific reasons, pick a different school.
3. Find one current student to ask about their experience — admissions offices often connect prospective applicants with current students. The follow-up email becomes specific essay material.