If  you didn't already know, this year we made the essay on our application optional. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should absolutely skip it over. Our admissions team has a few suggestions for why you may or may not want to consider writing it.

Wherever you're spending this Thanksgiving, we wish you a happy holiday surrounded by family and friends. And we'll leave you with one of our favorite quotes from St. Francis of Assisi to think about around the table this year: "For it is in giving that we receive." 

We hear from students often that contacting an admissions counselor feels like a risky move. But at others, like Siena, not only is it totally okay to contact us, we wish you would! Not sure if you should reach out? Here are 10 instances that are worthy of a call or email (at least at Siena).

One quick look at this long list of blog post titles and it's easy to see that we love dispensing college advice, straight from our admissions team. But every now and then, we like to branch out of Siena and tap other admissions consultants, college counselors and others for their best admissions tips to share with you. Here's our latest roundup (including advice from a Shark Tank contestant!).

For many schools, you don’t have to wait as long as you think to find out if you’d get in. As long as they offer an Early Action option, like Siena does, you can speed up the process by submitting your application (usually in November) to receive a priority review. Not sure if you should strive for that early deadline? Here are five reasons why we think Early Action is a smart move.

Didn't make it to Siena's Open House in October? No problem. We're holding another one on Sunday, November 6, which you can register for now. To give you an idea of what you can expect while you're here, we're doing something we don't normally do—revealing a few responses from the surveys parents and students took after our October event. Take a look!

The Close Knit Community at Siena College is a tight bunch for sure, but the group's name means more than that: think backstitching, casting on and binding off. When the crafty members comes together—they try to meet once a week on Tuesdays—there's plenty of yarn to go around. 

It's no secret that sticker prices for tuition at nearly any college can make students feel anxious. But rest assured. At Siena, many of our students aren't paying full price. The best way to get an estimate of your actual cost to attend Siena is to use the Net Price Calculator. 

Fall is prime time for college campus visits, which as you probably already know, we're a huge believer in when it comes to deciding where you'll be the happiest. Got your list of tour dates all set? Here's a list of our 15 best tips for getting the most out of each stop. 

The next time you find yourself on Siena's gorgeous, suburban campus in upstate NY (perhaps for Open House on November 6?), scope out these spots below: a few of our students' favorite places to study, unwind and work out.