By Susan Armitage

Photo By Emily Johnson

A rigorous, honors-level academic program and opportunities to take college courses at its partner, Baruch College, set this school apart. But Baruch College Campus High School (BCCH), located in Manhattan’s District 2, is about more than just book learning. Through community service and a four-year advisory program, the school strives to foster social responsibility and support its students emotionally as well as intellectually.

“Students feel very connected to the school,” said Principal Alicia Perez-Katz. “It’s a safe place where kids can learn and there’s a depth in discussion.”

“It’s like a hidden jewel,” said PTA President Sybao Cheng-Wilson. But with good word-of-mouth reviews and 100 percent graduation and college enrollment rates, the school hasn’t been able to keep its success a secret. A screened school, BCCHS saw a 63 percent increase in applications between 2010 and 2011. In the 2012 admissions cycle, for the second year in a row it was the city’s most sought-after public high school, with 6,465 students vying for 111 freshman seats. The school’s total enrollment is 441.

Despite the highly competitive admissions process, Perez-Katz said BCCHS takes students with a wide range of abilities, including non-native speakers of English. Approximately 60 percent of currently enrolled students are Asian and 13 percent are Hispanic. Almost 55 percent of students in the 2011-2012 academic year were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Writing and literacy are strong focuses across the curriculum. The school identifies students with potential and elevates their performance to “not just passing, but doing very well at the honors level,” Cheng-Wilson said. The College Board Advocacy and Policy Center included BCCHS in its 2012 catalog of effective practices to expand education options for students from low-income backgrounds.

Freshmen are placed in an advisory class that stays together for all four years of high school and meets four times a week. To foster bonding, freshmen also attend an overnight retreat. The advisory program, which has been studied by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and New Visions for Public Schools, provides a structured environment where students set academic goals, complete service learning activities and hone skills like time management. BCCHS received a 2012 Service in Schools “Excellence in Service” Award for its community service programming.

The school’s math department has also garnered national recognition. BCCHS’s Elisabeth Jaffe was one of two New York state teachers to receive the 2011 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. BCCHS was also named an Intel Schools of Distinction finalist in 2012 for excellence and innovation in math education.

“Teachers have a lot of room for creativity in their planning,” Perez-Katz said.

One example is the math department’s annual student conference, organized by the math teachers and modeled after a professional conference. Students investigate the mathematical aspects of everything from sports to the electronic game Angry Birds and teach their peers what they’ve learned.

Despite its small size and numerous accolades, BCCHS still suffers from a common problem in city schools: crowded classrooms. The average class size at BCCHS in 2011-2012 was 32.3, according to city data. But dedicated, caring faculty who “eat, sleep and breathe teaching” keep students motivated to work hard, Cheng-Wilson said. “They’re available to the kids. You can email them during the evening; they will email you back.”

High-achieving students are continuing to enroll in record levels at the City University of New York, while more students are also on track to complete their degrees, according to a preliminary Fall 2012 enrollment report.

The university continues to see record enrollment of students with high school averages over 85 this fall, with a 5 percent increase in that number over last year. CUNY’s highly competitive Macaulay Honors College experienced more than a 35 percent increase in the number of applicants for this year, to a record 5,537 for 400 places.

SAT scores of students entering Macaulay are above 1400, with a mean average grade-point average in excess of 93 percent—a student academic profile typical of Ivy League and other highly competitive institutions. In addition, at CUNY’s five most competitive senior colleges—Baruch, Brooklyn, City, Hunter and Queens—almost 27 percent of freshmen entering this fall had SAT scores above 1200.

Strengthened academic standards, stabilized University finances and CUNY’s renewed reputation for both academic quality and great value in a challenging economy fuel the strong demand for a CUNY education.

Overall, the number of students at CUNY colleges increased by close to 2,000. Chancellor Matthew Goldstein told the Board of Trustees on Sept. 24 that higher retention rates were “very much attributable to the focus and quality of the students” now applying to and entering CUNY’s most competitive colleges.

A total of 269,186 students are filling CUNY classrooms in Fall 2012, continuing 12 years of enrollment increases, according to preliminary university figures. Another 2,800 students were directed to pre-degree immersion programs to bring their skills up to college level. They included more than 740 in CUNY Start, an academic skills immersion program, and another 2,100 in the CUNY Language Immersion Program.

Enrollment at CUNY’s four-year baccalaureate colleges is slightly up this fall, as is undergraduate enrollment overall. A small dip in graduate-student enrollment is occurring in teacher-education programs amid a drop-off in teacher hiring.

The City University of New York is the nation’s leading urban public university. Founded in New York City in 1847 as the Free Academy, the University has 24 institutions: 11 senior colleges, seven community colleges, the William E. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, the Graduate School and University Center, the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, the CUNY School of Law, the CUNY School of Professional Studies and the CUNY School of Public Health. The University serves over 269,000 degree credit students and 269,808 adult, continuing and professional education students. College Now, the University’s academic enrichment program, is offered at CUNY campuses and more than 300 high schools throughout the five boroughs of New York City. The university offers online baccalaureate degrees through the School of Professional Studies and an individualized baccalaureate through the CUNY baccalaureate degree. More than 1 million visitors and 2 million page views are served each month by www.cuny.edu, the university’s website.

Fordham University may not offer quirky classes in its continuing education program, but what it does offer has been attracting students for over 60 years.

“We’ve been doing continuing education since 1947, offering bachelor degrees to adults coming back to school in the evening,” said Isabella Frank, Fordham’s dean of continuing education and professional studies. “Currently we have about 900 credit-seeking students, of whom about 800 are going for their bachelor degrees, and the other 100 are taking classes either for credits to apply to medical school or switch careers.”

The program offers two major degrees: a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science. But most of the majors offered in an undergraduate program can be sought out by those interested in continuing education and professional studies.

“You can take most of the majors that exist in a traditional undergraduate program, but it depends on which campus you are in,” Frank said. “We have three campuses, so we have 900 students spread out throughout the three campuses, one in Lincoln Center, one in the Bronx—the main Fordham campus—and one in Westchester. So [for example] Lincoln center students, if they can take day classes, they can take some of the day majors.”

The most popular majors include economics, organizational leadership, psychology and communications, according to Frank. The University also boasts a new three-year-old business program at Fordham’s Westchester campus. There is also an option to create an individualized major, which allows students to draw classes from different areas within the professional studies program.

But while this may sound like a regular line-up most colleges offer, Fordham offers its own set of special classes.

“Because this is a Jesuit university, we do have classes that you’re not going to find in other schools,” Frank said. “There is an emphasis on philosophy and theology. For example, we have a senior values seminar called ‘Death and Dying,’ and we have a philosophy course called ‘Classical Values: The Art of Living.’”

Besides the unique philosophical courses, there are also courses in more modern fields of study.

“[For example] we have cyber-security, which is a growing field that we will be going into more,” Frank said. “We don’t have sexy-sounding titles the way other schools might, but we have a very strong core curriculum that our students take, [along with] online classes and intensive weekend classes.”

While it is common to see continuing education programs geared toward middle-aged adults, Fordham’s age range is from 18 all the way to 66.
“We have 18-year-olds who are full-time dancers in the NYC ballet of ABT and so they sort of take classes Monday evenings given their rehearsal schedule,” Frank said. “I think our age range, though it shifts every year, is in the low thirties, but it does range from 18 to 66 or 67.”

The application process for continuing education is different from that of a typical four-year degree program. The admissions process doesn’t review SAT scores but judges the applicant based on his or her readiness to attend school and understanding of what the program is like, according to Frank.

Fordham accepts up to 75 transfer credits and takes into account any prior courses that the applicant might have taken, even if they were completed 30 years ago.
For more information, visit Fordham.edu.

By David Stoll

The story this month seems to be that it is harder than ever to gain admission to a selective college. Harvard, for example, admitted just 5.9 percent of its 34,302 applicants this spring, down from 6.2 percent last year. However, this trend should be viewed in a larger perspective—one that suggests that applying early remains an important part of the admissions process.

The Harvard story is instructive. Harvard reinstated early admissions, in the form of nonbinding early action, this year. A full 772 students—18 percent of early applicants—were offered early admission, a number representing nearly half the size of the entering class. Harvard naturally assumed that the yield (the percent who will eventually accept) would be high. Thus, fewer students were offered regular admission this year, making that larger pool even more competitive.

Harvard is not alone. Princeton offered admission to 21 percent of its early applicants, who would fill more than half the class if they all accepted. The 15 percent accepted early by Yale would also fill more than half the class. The University of Chicago admitted over 18 percent of its early applicants; because Chicago’s yield is lower than those of the Ivy Leagues (despite its stellar reputation), the school admitted more people early than it has freshman slots. Locally, Fordham admitted more than 45 percent of its applicants early, also admitting more students than there are slots.

The early decision story is even more interesting. Applying early decision involves a binding promise to attend the school if accepted. Columbia University admitted more than 20 percent of its early applicants, filling 45 percent of its freshman class before most people had even submitted their applications. University of Pennsylvania admitted more than 25 percent of its early applicants, filling 47 percent of its freshman class.

Duke, as competitive as the Ivy Leagues, admitted nearly 25 percent of early applicants, filling 38 percent of its class. Williams College admitted over 42 percent of applicants, representing 43 percent of its class. Locally, NYU admitted nearly 46 percent of early applicants, representing 29 percent of the class.

What do these numbers mean? Applying early decision is wise for a competitive student who has a clear first choice and for whom financial aid is not an issue. For such a student, the odds of acceptance are higher, because the student is showing an interest, the school will accept a higher percentage of applicants and there will be fewer slots available for those applying regular decision.

On the other hand, someone uncertain about attending a school should not apply early decision as a means of gaming the system; attending a good-fit school is well worth the wait.

Applying early action is also wise, and financial aid need not be a consideration yet. While chances of admission are not quite as high at an early action school as at an equivalently selective early decision school, the odds for a competitive student are still are better than they would be in April. Do note that some early action schools, including Harvard, Princeton and Yale, will not permit early applicants to apply early to other schools. Thus, it may be better to apply to other schools early to allow for more possible options.

David Stoll is a premier tutor and college admissions counselor at The Princeton Review.

Arlene Newman will be sharing her job search tips May 4 at Baruch College.

When Arlene Newman, founder of Career Bound Success, was hiring director at The Leading Hotels of the World, a Baruch College student sent her a résumé for a summer internship.

While the student had a stellar background, Newman dismissed her after catching a few spelling and grammatical errors on her CV. But the girl’s professor called Newman, told her the applicant spoke English as a second language and convinced her to give the college junior another chance.

Newman later hired the hard-working student for a full-time position and now uses the story as an example of how presentation is vital to snagging one’s dream job—and not getting glossed over by hiring managers swamped by other candidates.

“The cover letter and résumé should be error-free,” said Newman, who will be imparting more of her seasoned knowledge to job seekers in her “Fundamentals of a Successful Job Search” course on Friday, May 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Held at Baruch College, the course is open to the public and costs $99 to enroll.

Through personal anecdotes and hands-on exercises, Newman will cover everything from online networking skills to the importance of attitude in the job search.

“The job search is all about networking, whether online or personally,” said Newman, pointing out that employers will trust the recommendations of other employers far more than job search engines such as Monster.com.

Yet, having an up-to-date LinkedIn profile—especially one outfitted with keywords about skills and descriptive job information—can also catch the eye of recruiters.

“It’s all about distinguishing yourself—determining your strengths and what sets you apart,” she said.

Newman said presentation during the interview itself—whether over the phone or in person—is also important. For example, applicants should have a firm handshake with eye contact, sit up straight and smile when talking, she said.

Newman will also talk about honing personal image and projecting a positive attitude—which some applicants inadvertently lose as they become frustrated by the job search, she said.

One of Newman’s clients was stuck in a job search limbo for nine months, she said, before landing a job.

“I helped her hone her ‘elevator pitch’ to be more succinct and to the point,” said Newman, who will be helping every student in her class craft their own spiel to present to employers.

She will also include advice about the post-interview process, such as sending a hand-written thank-you note rather than just an email.

“It differentiates you from every job seeker,” said Newman, who has hired applicants who took the extra effort to give a personal touch.

Newman worked as director of human resources at places such as the Food Network, Leading Hotels of the World and Jaeger Sportswear before founding Career Bound Success in 2010. Located on the Upper East Side, the company specializes in equipping college students, alumni and professionals with the skills they need to land their dream job—advice she carries to her career seminar at Baruch.

“A lot of people will get out of the seminar a sense of confidence,” said Newman.

By Jordan Mazza

You and your best friend are the perfect match. You share countless qualities: you both like to go to bed early, stay organized, listen to Lady Gaga—even eat cold pizza. But one of the few qualities you do not share is gender, and according to your school’s housing policy, this means you cannot share a room either.

A movement to allow college students to choose roommates of either gender is spreading.

This year, though, more than 30 colleges nationwide are launching unprecedented gender-neutral, or gender-blind, housing policies. Such a policy permits upperclassmen to select their own roommates, with no restrictions on gender. Participating schools include Cornell, Stanford, Sarah Lawrence, the University of Michigan and Dartmouth.

Columbia University is one school currently debating gender-neutral housing. Sean Udell is the president of the Columbia College Class of 2011 and leader of the Columbia Genderblind Housing Initiative.

“Our policy is first and foremost for transgender and gender-nonconforming students who don’t feel comfortable with the current housing options,” Udell said.

The Columbia proposal passed almost unanimously in the university’s student senate. But just days before housing selection began in February, Dean of Students Kevin Shollenberger announced the policy would not be considered, due to insufficient student support. In response, the Columbia Genderblind Housing Initiative collected more than 1,000 student signatures for a petition, and hopes to draft a new proposal by September.

“They just don’t want to bother explaining this to incoming freshmen and parents,” Udell said of his university’s decision to reject the policy.

Though gender-blind housing is generally not available to freshmen, who are assigned roommates, some parents of incoming students are wary of the option.

“As a dad, I’d feel a little awkward about it,” said Bill Clarke of Bedford, N.Y., whose daughter is a prospective New York University student. The university currently allows mixed-sex suitemates, and is considering offering gender-blind rooms.

Columbia and NYU may look to the almost 50 colleges nationwide that have implemented some form of genderblind housing, including many in the last year.

Ross Maxwell is the housing services coordinator at Occidental College in Los Angeles, which introduced three gender-neutral rooms in 2009.

“We’ve expanded it quite a bit this year and added a lot more rooms,” Maxwell said. “So far, we haven’t had a whole lot of complaints, but I think it helps that our institution is small and our student body is more liberal.”

Yet the idea of co-ed roommates irks some students and officials at other colleges.

“I would be afraid as a male that if I had conflicts, the female would always win, and say I tried to sexually harass them,” said Mark Cubbage, a junior at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Va. “

According to a recent study by Dr. Brian Willoughby, professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University, “co-ed dorms seem to be associated with higher levels of risk-taking” activities like binge drinking.

Dr. Gayatri Gopinath, director of Gender and Sexuality Studies at NYU, said she believes gender-blind housing embodies a logical evolution from earlier movements.

“Gender-blind housing should absolutely be an option,” Gopinath said. “Early feminism was about women’s empowerment, and this is a great progression to transgender empowerment. But we should remember that some people prefer the dynamic of single-sex housing.”

“I’m sure there’s some social value to the traditional policy,” Udell said. “But really it’s about choice. Everyone at this school is an adult, and should be able to make decisions for themselves.”
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Jordan Mazza studies journalism at New York University.

In the article “D-Day: How to weigh college acceptances and make the big decision” (April 16), my remarks were inadvertently mischaracterized in a way that made it seem as if I were recommending that admitted students put down enrollment deposits at more than one college. No responsible admissions professional would suggest that a student consider making an enrollment deposit at any school other than the one in which the student intends to enroll. “Double depositing” takes away valuable spots from students on the waiting list who genuinely want to attend the school. As tough as it may be, students and their families must make a final decision by May 1. There is no room for indecisive space holding. It is wrong, unethical and just plain unfair.

Tova Tolman
Associate director of undergraduate admission, Fordham University

Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.

“When you are faced with multiple college admissions letters, first you have to honestly examine yourself as a prospective college student and decide what your priorities are to determine the best fit,” said Eric Greenberg, founder and director of the Greenberg Educational Group, Inc., an educational service center.

By evaluating different personal criteria, which can emphasize everything from academics and class size to social factors, tuition and distance from home, students can narrow down a more targeted group of potential colleges.

These remaining schools merit more scrutiny—and some mileage, whether real or virtual. Most experts agree that visiting, or revisiting, these schools will be hugely helpful in the decision process.

“Being in the school environment is the best way to determine where you will thrive over the next four years,” said Melissa Present, director of admissions at the Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies at The Jewish Theological Seminary. “Another bonus to visiting campus is that you can talk with current students and other accepted students. By meeting the people you will be sitting next to in classes, campus meetings and eventually networking with as alumni, you will get
a clear picture of what you will gain
from attending each university being
evaluated.”

During a second visit, accepted students usually see the school in a different light. Greenberg explains that factors like weather or even the enthusiasm level of the campus tour guide can color a student’s perception of a school. Tova Tolman, associate director of undergraduate admissions at Fordham University, echoed this.

“Every school is great when it is 70 degrees and sunny, but if you like a school when it is raining as well then you know it is right for you,” Tolman said.

If an in-person visit is not an option, Present suggested checking out online tours of campuses, or viewing student videos that provide a glimpse of student life. List College, for example, has a series of videos that highlight important student experiences.

In between visits, Tolman advises that the most important thing to do is make a deposit at a school that is one of a student’s top choices. These deposits are often only a few hundred dollars and will guarantee a spot in the freshman class.

Though acceptance letters are the goal, many students will find themselves on at least one waitlist. Greenberg says that a waitlist should be seen as an opportunity for the student to demonstrate their viability.

“A lot of the same ways that a student can show interest during the admissions process can be used during the waitlist process—the grades, awards, additional letters of recommendations, community service projects and other achievements since submitting the initial application should be outlined to the school,” he said. “If a student has been detailed and passionate in the application process, but remains passive during the waitlist process, that can be seen as incongruous and could be the difference between acceptance and rejection.”

Even as a waitlisted student, visiting the school is also a good idea.

“By visiting and then following up with a written letter, students demonstrate their interest and can find additional components of the school that they love,” Greenberg said.

If a waitlisted school is not ultimately selected, it is common courtesy to decline the waitlist as soon as possible.