Marian Central College Counseling

May 1st is always a mix of excitement, pride, and a little bit of “how did we get here so fast?” Watching these students grow into young men and young women, explore their options, and ultimately choose their path has been incredible. Best of luck, Class of 2026! #CanesToCollege

Thank you so much to all the college reps who came to @mariancentralcatholic for CollegeStock this week! And thanks to our military branches for coming out today for MilitaryStock! We are always proud supporters of our armed forces and those who choose to serve! #CanesToCollege

Our @MarianCentral kids are absolutely amazing! Whether it’s 2-year or 4-year, a trade program, joining the military (or an academy), or going straight into the workforce, I am here for them each and every step of the journey! Can’t wait to learn each of their final decisions!

Had an amazing week with our seniors working on college essays! Thank you to our English department and the college reps for giving their time to helping our students get started on the right foot! Hopefully they will be a little less stressed starting the school year!

Had a great morning catching up with a legend in the admission world, Peter Pitts. We talked about where life has taken us since our admission days and his continued passion for small colleges. Grateful for his generosity and gifting me three of his books for my students!

And it’s great to see Marian Central Catholic HS alum, Emily McEntee while on campus (she’s an Admission Counselor for DePauw).

Over 60% of students are in Greek life and 84% of students take advantage of at least one experiential leaning opportunity prior to graduation. Some of their top programs include Computer Science, Economics, Biochemistry, and Film Media Arts.

DePauw University in Greencastle, IN. The middle 50% gpa and test scores for admitted students are 3.7-4.2 and 25-31. They do admit 25% of their class through Early Decision.

The gen eds seem flexible as many students multi major and/or multi minor.

A couple of majors that also stood out to me are Sports Management (which has a Colts Game Day Production class), Hospitality and Tourism, Exercise Science, and Game Design (where they take a three course sequence to develop their own game).

The Hoosiers campus was pretty amazing with all the Indiana limestone. Indiana is best known for their Kelly School of Business. While already difficult to get directly admitted to, it sounds like it will be even more difficult come fall 2026 cycle.

They have strong majors in engineering, nursing, business, and health sciences. And 70% of students graduate with at least one co-op, internship, or experiential learning opportunity. This is a very accessible university. A great fit for many!

Test optional scholarships available. They also have a pretty cool program called UKInvest which gives students up to $250 per semester for attending events and sessions that deal with physical, mental, and financial health.

The University of Kentucky is an accessible SEC university with a 90% accept rate Their minimum core recalculated gpa is 3.0, but some majors have higher or additional requirements. I’m not sure if this is a pro or a con but there is no live on campus requirement.

Lots of schools have this major, but Tennessee is the only school I know of with a Body Farm on campus for digging up bodies and running forensic tests on them to identify the remains. So crazy. If you’re a sports fanatic, this would be an amazing place for you!

Those majors are: Architecture and Design, Nursing, Engineering, Music, and Pre Pharmacy. Of their incoming freshmen class, only 40% are out of state despite being 75% of the total applicant pool. One major that has a unique opportunity is Forensic Science.

If you’re looking for the quintessential SEC large school experience, Tennessee is a place for you! They equip every freshmen’s with a five person Vol Success Team to help with the transition to college.

And of course they have so many strong academic programs and a new college, the College of Connected Computing. Majors in this college will include Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Science.

They are a test optional school and tell you if you don’t have a 34 (or SAT equivalent), don’t send it! They put together strong financial aid packages especially if your household income is less than $150,000 as they meet 100% of demonstrated need and do so without loans.

Vanderbilt was as gorgeous as one would expect. You wouldn’t even know you were in Nashville if you slept on the drive in and woke up once you got to campus. If you’re applying to Vanderbilt, your best chance is going Early Decision as they admitted 90% of their class ED.