We here at APAN and the Office of Admissions wish you a Happy Holiday Season and a Wonderful New Year!

In this Issue:

As the semester draws to a close I have two main subjects on my mind: Finals and the holidays, in that order. I had trouble thinking of much else the past week, so why not focus on them a bit more and share my feelings with you?

Let me begin with Finals. (You'll notice I am capitalizing the "F" in "Finals," a practice some students believe in with the hope of avoiding the sight of any other capital "F's" on important school documents over the next month!) Do you remember those commercials from the early '90s, when a serious actor, with egg in hand, would deadpan, "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs," as he cracked and fried the egg in a skillet? Well right now, after a week of finals, your average student's brain isn't feeling much better than that egg. I am sure you remember the pleasures of finals--the late night cramming, the comatose state in which you wander about, the horrific discovery that your course wasn't 7, but 14 weeks long--it's a bundle of fun.

If there is one thing that I can take away from Finals though--(don't worry mom, it's a figure of speech, I will remember everything I studied this week!)--is that, after surviving the week, I can do anything. The week itself is a huge and daunting challenge that everyone dreads, but when you are finished and in one piece there is a real sense of pride and self-respect earned for your achievement. It might be the exhaustion speaking, but after I'm all done and I get my grades, I feel good about what I've done.

Now, as far as the holidays go, I don't think there is a need to saturate you with any more commercials, thoughts, or opinions on the upcoming celebrations. However, as the year comes to a close, I do want to say a sincere thank you to everyone who has participated in APAN in one form or another over the past year. APAN cannot amount to much unless there is a dedicated and active group of volunteers involved, and you are certainly all that and more! Again, I thank you and, of course, continue to look forward to what promises to be another exciting year!

Have a happy, healthy holiday season and New Year!

-Sean

The APAN Member of the Month section highlights individual APAN members who have contributed significantly to the expansion and success of APAN over the past year.

The December 2003 APAN Members of the Month are Sharon and Lauren Urquhart, one of our dynamic mother-daughter teams. When Lauren, Class of ’99, began looking for a college, the two sat down with a map and drew a circle of schools within a 4 hour radius from home. Lauren had a number of requirements in mind for the school she chose; she didn't want a large school; she wanted a good business program; and an opportunity to play the saxophone. Sharon wanted a school that was safe and, of course, that academically would provide a good education. Susquehanna was one of the schools that made the "list".

Sharon says, “While on a visit to and interview at Bucknell University, we decided to take a little side trip down
to check out the Susquehanna campus. On the outside, we found it to be quite attractive, so we set up an interview and campus tour a short time later. The entire family was very impressed at how friendly everyone was. As we walked along the campus, everyone that we passed (both students and faculty) smiled and said, 'Hello.' It was something that we found pleasing, and we considered a big plus. After visiting the school and being wooed by the Dean of the Business School (Dean Bellis) to apply to Susquehanna, we all just felt comfortable with the decision that Susquehanna was right for us!"

Sharon continues, "We met Dean Bellis on one of our trips to Susquehanna. A short time later he personnally called Lauren and urged her to come to Susquehanna. The next time we were on campus, Lauren was auditioning for a music scholarship (as a non-music major). We were walking across the campus when Dean Bellis and another faculty member approached us from the other direction. Dean Bellis had only met us once, and yet he looked up and saw us and said, 'Well, if it isn't the Urquharts from Fishkill' and our mouths all dropped!!!!! We couldn't believe that he would not only recognize us, but would know our names and where we lived. It was at the moment that we realized that at Susquehanna, you really are NOT just a number.”

Sharon enjoyed talking about SU with her friends, so when she heard about APAN she found the perfect outlet for telling others about the school. Sharon and Lauren's favorite APAN activity is the College Fair program. Sharon enjoys doing the fairs with Lauren; while Lauren speaks to potential students/parents from the student's perspective, Sharon is able to give feedback from a parent's point of view.

From Sharon’s stand point, the most exciting part of the program is the name recognition SU is receiving. As she says, “When Lauren first started at SU and was asked where she attended college, we always ran into people who would say ‘Susque who????...Where's that??? Now that we're doing the fairs, it's so exciting when someone specifically searches out the Susquehanna table because they've heard about the school, or they know someone else who attends/attended Susquehanna.”

This month’s SU Outstanding performer is not one individual, but rather the entire SU Women’s Rugby team! The team, coached by Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences Jim Handlan, went undefeated and unscored upon for the entire fall season. The team reached the EPRU (East Penn Rugby Union) Playoffs, held November 1st and 2nd, at Princeton University. With over 100 SU parents, students, and faculty in attendance, the lady ruggers battled in the championship before losing to Drexel University in a heartbreaking 13-12 loss; however, the second place finish automatically advances the women to the Division III East Coast Nationals in Connecticut in April 2004. We congratulate the SU lady ruggers and wish them the best of luck in the spring!

Calendars, Schedules and Events (Click the link to see all of the latest happenings on campus!)

SU is Squirrel Central

Anyone who has ever visited SU and spent just five minutes on campus knows that, besides having a gorgeous setting with beautiful facilities, we have lots of squirrels. Lots of them. Students here don’t see them as pests; students enjoy sharing the campus with them and many students hold a special place in their hearts for our fuzzy friends. With these factors in mind, SU has been ranked at the top of The Campus Squirrel Listings, a Web site that rates schools based upon their squirrel populations. The Web site was created in 1995 by California resident Jonathan Gottshall, who began ranking squirrel-friendly campuses while doing research at different colleges for his master’s thesis in history.

The Web site reports that, “…the quality of an institution of higher learning can often be determined by the size, health and behavior of the squirrel population on campus.” SU originally received a 3-squirrel rating, but after an in-flux of e-mails from SU students, the rating was changed to a 5, the highest rating possible.

A message posted on Gottshall’s Web site read: “No institution has ever supplied this many campus squirrel reports. Therefore, in recognition of the profound squirrelly awareness demonstrated by the students here, the rating is hereby increased to 5 squirrels, a rating reserved only for campuses where the squirrel gods play. Congratulations to Susquehanna University!”

It’s finals time again and let’s face it, students can only do so much cramming before brain activity ceases to exist at any recognizable level. To help delay the onset of exhaustion, the cafeteria swings open its doors every night from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. to feed, re-energize, and focus the SU student body. Nearly all students take advantage of the burgers, fries, cereal, coffee, hot chocolate, and other munchies that the cafeteria provides free of cost. It is a great break from (or a really bad time to start studying for) finals!

Hot Off the Presses!

-Susquehanna University has been profiled as one of the 351 best colleges in the nation by The Princeton Review, which released the ratings in mid-August. The Princeton Review ranks Susquehanna as #10 in a top-20 list for the "Best Quality of Life," joining such other institutions as the University of Richmond, Dartmouth College, Williams College and Amherst College. In addition to the "Quality of Life" category, SU was ranked #8 for "Students Happy with their Financial Aid."

-Susquehanna University's School of Arts, Humanities and Communications has added graphic design to the list of majors available to students.

-The Arlin M. Adams Center for Law and Society brought National Public Radio's award-winning program, "Justice Talking" to campus this month. The program explored the issue of academic freedom during a fast-paced hour of debate, interspersed with questions from the live studio audience.

SU Fall Athletics All-Americans

Seniors Mark Bartosic and Ryan Gleason have both earned All-American honors in their respective sports. Bartosic, a Split End on the Football team, was named to the American Football Coaches Association Division III All-America Team, the Football Gazette second-team Division III All-American, and the College Sports Information Directors second-team Division III All-American. An information systems manager, Bartosic is also a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, which is presented to the outstanding Division III football player.

Gleason, captain of the cross country team, earned All-American honors after finishing 19th overall at the NCAA Division III Championships with a time of 25 minutes 36.9 seconds. The top 35 finishers are selected as All-Americans, and Gleason, a Political Science major, became only the second Cross Country All-American in the history of SU.

ADOPT-A-STUDENT REMINDER

To all who participated in the very successful Adopt-A-Student program last Spring, and to those who would like to participate this year, we will be sending out e-mails confirming participation starting in January. Please look out for these e-mails and reply promptly; the more volunteers we have, the better!

APAN WEB SITE UPDATE

We would like to inform you that starting this month, all of the materials you receive via mail will also be available through links on our Web site, http://www.susqu.edu/apan/. We will be mailing the 2003-2005 edition of the APAN Handbook very soon! A PDF version is available to view and print on the APAN Web site.

Please continue to check the APAN Web site as we are continually making updates and improvements. Many key aspects of the program are now run on the Web site. Members can update their personal information, refer a prospective student, submit their College Night Evaluation form, order an APAN Polo Shirt, and read their favorite monthly newsletter, The Pipeline!

SPRING COLLEGE FAIR SEASON

Please keep your eyes posted for the first listing of Spring 2004 college fairs! The list will be made available after January 1, 2004.

We have began our test run of the APAN Interview Initiative. The early results are looking very positive and we look forward to continuing the development of this exciting initiative. Please keep a look out for more information.

November 15th was the deadline for Early Decision I applications. In meeting with students, please remind them that the Early Decision II deadline, January 1st, is fast approaching and encourage them to take advantage of the program if Susquehanna is definitely their first choice.

REPLYING TO E-MAILS

We here at APAN are continually sending out mass e-mails as it is the fastest and most efficient way to contact all members. If you are going to contact us in response to a specific e-mail, it is fine to leave the same subject line. However, if you are responding to us with an urgent or important request, PLEASE CHANGE THE SUBJECT LINE to reflect your request. E-mails with the changed subject line will be read and replied to as soon as possible. If you need to reach us right away, please contact Pam at 1-800-326-9672. Thank you!

NEW VIRTUAL CAMPUS TOUR

The Office of Admissions is always working to improve different aspects of attracting students, and one new feature on the Admissions Web site is the virtual tour of campus. To check out the new tour, visit http://www.susqu.edu/tour. Please let us know what you think of the tour, and encourage any prospective students to check it out!

APAN POLO SHIRTS

If you have not already ordered an APAN polo shirt, we still have a limited number available. The shirts cost $20 and are available in M, L, XL and XXL (add $2 for XXL). To order your APAN polo shirt, please click here.

HOLIDAY HOURS

Please note the University offices will be closed beginning Wednesday, December 24th and will reopen on Monday, January 5th. Best wishes to you and your family for a great holiday season and a Happy New Year!