Our staff meets weekly for Early Decision II committee—and each week the Colgate Class of 2016 grows by a handful of talented students from all over the world. This week we admitted students from 11 states and one other country.

Students can change their regular application to Early Decision II up until March 1. We review ED applications as soon as they are complete, so students will hear from us much sooner than our regular notification of late March.

Check your portal account to be sure your admission and financial aid applications are complete. And as always, if you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact your regional dean.

Hannah Guy is a senior intern in the Office of Admission. She shared the following post with me:

Last weekend the Class of 2012 was invited to attend Real World, an event designed to help current seniors prepare for life after Colgate. Over 100 alumni and 500 current seniors participated in the weekend. Throughout the weekend there were speeches from distinguished graduates, panels on a variety of topics from personal finance to career options, mock interviews, and networking events. After attending the journalism and publishing panel, I met up with Elisa Benson ’06 to talk about Benson’s job as an editor at Seventeen magazine. All of the alumni emphasized how much Colgate graduates love to help each other out in the professional world. It’s a great feeling to be a part of a community so dedicated to maintaining the Colgate bond.

Happy Colgate Day from the Office of Admission! One of our tour guides, Joe Spina ’14, shared this photo with me this morning. To celebrate Friday the 13th Joe not only donned his Colgate gear but got his whole family involved as well! You can check out all the other ways the Colgate community is celebrating Colgate Day on the university facebook page.

Sunday afternoon, the Raiders men’s and women’s basketball teams hosted “Shoot with the Raiders.” This event drew about one hundred local children and their families to Cotterell Court and was a fun opportunity for the kids to play some hoops with our men’s and women’s basketball players. The players and coaches ran drills, played games, and showed off their shooting skills. My son, Sam, had a great time, too!

International students considering Colgate may have particular questions about the application and financial aid processes. Members of the international admission committee will address these specific issues in our next Inside the ’gate live webcast on Monday, January 9, 8:00 a.m. EST (local time in Hamilton, N.Y.).

Answering your questions will be Katryna Swartwout Ryan, associate dean of admission and coordinator of international admission, Heather Graber Stinson, senior assistant dean of admission, and Karen Giannino, senior associate dean of admission.

Topics will include:

• Availability of financial aid for international students, and how to apply for aid
• Required application materials, including standardized testing
• An introduction to Colgate’s liberal arts curriculum

Visit livestream.com/colgateuniversity any time between 8 and 9 a.m. Monday, January 9. Participants can pose questions through the interactive chat feature (no password or software required) or by calling 855-277-6204. You may also tweet your question to our Twitter page or post it to the Office of Admission Facebook page.

If you are not able to watch the live webcast you can view the archived program on the university’s YouTube page.