In the spring, Jessica Snover of Lasell College admissions
spoke at a Higher Education Consultants Association meeting in NJ. Lasell College is a private college offering
professionally-oriented degrees, located on 53 acres in Newton, Massachusetts, a
suburb of Boston. Lasell has 1700 undergrads with 84% of them living on campus.
Academics – Lasell classes are small with 0% having more
than 50 students.
Lasell Works is a relatively new program, with 60 freshmen
this school year. It is a career-focused, cost-saving program; tuition is
reduced each year. Freshmen spend their first year on campus. As sophomores,
they live off-campus, take all their classes on-line and work part-time. In
their junior and senior year they can live on or off-campus and complete
internships and their course work.
NJ students seem drawn to Lasell’s fashion and sports
management majors.
Education majors will find that Lasell has a pre-K,
Kindergarten and first grade on campus. Students graduate with a Massachusetts
education license (which is recognized by NJ).
Biology and Applied Forensic Science are new majors.
All majors, with the exception of Education, can be completed
in three years. There are also 5 year Bachelors/Masters program.
In the Honors program, students take four Honors classes and
four Honors Components (projects). Students must maintain a 3.5 college GPA to
remain in the Honors Program.
Admissions – The application review is holistic. Lasell is
test optional except for Education majors who need a minimum of 1070 on the
SAT. Lasell students had an average high school GPA of 3.0. Exercise Science,
biology, and applied forensic science majors need a minimum GPA of 2.7.
Internships/Jobs – A lot of students intern for TJX, the
parent company of TJMAX and Marshalls. New England Sports Network hires some of
the Sports Communications majors. A new casino in Boston hired 30 recent graduates.
Extracurricular activities – Lasell is an NCAA Division III
school with 17 varsity sports. There are 75 student clubs. Times are blocked
out on Tuesdays and Thursdays for club meetings. There is no Greek life. Lasell
is a half mile from the T station to Boston.
Support Services – The school has services for learning
differences, as well as students on the spectrum. Professional and peer tutors
are available.
Merit Aid – Students can receive up to $32K in merit aid
based on a formula.
Crossover colleges include Endicott, Curry, and Merrimack.
