University of San Francisco

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Jul 272009

USFForgotRenny

Darn It! I forgot Renny…

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University of San Francisco is a small, liberal arts school that has its core values rooted in the Jesuit Catholic tradition. The school is located in the heart of San Francisco, atop one of the many steep hills in San Francisco and has two campuses – Lone Mountain and the Main Campus. There are just under 5,000 undergraduates at the school and has 3,700 or so graduate and professional studies students. In total, there are around 8,700 students at USF. The student:faculty ratio is 14:1 and the average number of students in a core class is 28 (20 in majors).  Students must take courses within a required Core Curriculum – 11 classes in 6 designated areas, a service learning course, cultural diversity and foreign language. Students meets these requirements in addition to satisfying requirements for their major and/or minor. The school has a renowned community service learning program, where students study issues and then work in the community to earn credit (i.e. Perhaps study health care as it homeless population and work in a shelter health clinic)– all USF students must take own of these class to graduate. A typical array of majors is available to students, as well as the opportunity to study abroad. The programs available to undergraduate students are College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Nursing, and the School of Business and Management. There is also 4+3 Law Program and 5 year program in Computer Science and Teacher Preparation. Jesuits are known for their work around the globe and students are encouraged to go off campus and to travel around the world.

The school is explicit about student diversity and has a Diversity and Multicultural Recruitment and Retention Office that works with admissions and the student population. The ethnic makeup of the school is ranked in the top 20 of U.S. News and World Report and the Princeton Review. Fall 2008 Breakdown – White 39%, Asian-American 20%, Latino/Hispanic 15%, International 7%, African American 4%, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 2%, Native American 1%, and Unidentified 11%. The school went so far as to publish its graduation rates for different students groups on the website, something I appreciated!

Admissions requirements are the Common Application. A selective college, the average GPA is 3.5 and the average combined SAT for admitted students is 1120 (ACT 25). Tuition-wise, costs are just under $45,000 and 67% of the student population receives financial aid.

Posted by renaissanceroadtripadmin at 9:42 am Renaissance College Road Trip Summer 09, video, West Coast Road Trip Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Pomona College

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Jul 222009

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Pomona College is located in the desert of the Inland Valley of Southern California. The school is modeled on the New England Ivies, but the architecture is all California (an hour away from the Mojave Desert, LA, Pacific Ocean and the San Gabriel Mountains!). It is in a college town that might remind someone of Nothampton, MA (minus the winter!). This a small (1,500 students) private, liberal arts college which is considered a part of the Claremont College system (including Claremont-McKenna, Pitzer, Harvey Mudd, and Scripps). The school prides itself in personal touch with a student:faculty ratio of 8:1 and the average class size is 14. Our tour guide said it is the norm to get an email from a professor when you miss class. Additionally, all freshmen are assigned a Sponsor Group – a sophomore who essentially “looks out” for a group of new students this helps students settle in quickly and gain needed support right away. Students also can sign up to live in living and learning communities where dorm mates have common interests.

In addition to Sponsor Groups, Pomona takes pride in its extremely low freshman attrition rates – very students who enroll leave the school (95-100%). There are also offices focused on the retention of African-American, Latino/Chicano and 1st Generation College students. This must contribute to Pomona having such a low graduation rate gap between White and African-American students. The class entering in 2008 is reported 8.7% African-American, 11.5% as Latino. The school is 50/50 male to female ratio.

Pomona is purely an undergraduate institution and professors teach all the classes, this includes freshman seminars. Freshmen must sign up for 1 of 24 “Critical Inquiry” seminars with 15 classmates. The school has General Education requirements and students are expected to be able to high level and original research upon graduation – Senior Thesis is a culminating piece of work. Students have take a “Breadth of Study Course” in each of 5 areas and demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language – beyond meeting requirements in their major. The school prides itself in students doing community service learning and field work. High percentages of Pomona students go on to graduate study and over 90% are admitted to graduate school on their first attempt.

Pomona is a highly selective college median SAT scores for admitted students are: CR 680-770, Math 680-760 and Writing 690-770. 53% of applicants receive scholarships and 19% are 1st generation college students (23% of enrolled students are from the Northeast portion of the U.S.). Applications are evaluated based on 10th, 11th and 12th grade courses. Students need to take the SAT I or ACT with writing, and two SAT IIs. Basically, admissions officers at Pomona are looking to see that a student has taken full advantage of the academic program available to him or her at their school (AP, Honors, Dual Enrollment, etc.). Minimally, 4 years of English and Math (to calculus), 3 years of language, 2 years each in laboratory and social science are expected. recommended. Additionally, a student’s character and community involvement are discerned through teacher/counselor recommendations and personal statements. Regular admissions has a deadline of the first week in January (www.pomona.edu/admissions). Students submit Common Application and Pomona supplement.

Pomona was ranked 5th Best College Value by Kiplinger Magazine, 5th by Hispanic Magazine and 7th by The Blacks in Higher Education Journal. It is also ranked 1st as per capita college endowment (which is great for overall financial resources and aid).

Tuition is over $46,000. Nearly $33,000 per student is the average financial aid award and the school just adopted a “no loan” program (www.pomona.edu/financialaid).

Posted by renaissanceroadtripadmin at 1:21 pm College Search, Paying the Bill. Financial Aid., Renaissance College Road Trip Summer 09, video, West Coast Road Trip Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice

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Jul 212009

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CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a college associated with the City University of New York and located in midtown Manhattan. The school is a liberal arts college that focuses on criminal justice. Students who attend are expected to gain a well-rounded liberal arts education as they study criminal justice. Students satisfy general education requirements and can gain an Associates Degree, a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree.

I had a difficult time contacting the school and was not able to go on a tour, sit for an information session or meet with an admissions officer. Unfortunately I ended up on hold for more than 30 minutes and was given a number that was not in service. This was disappointing as we have a number of students interested in criminal justice. Luckily, my brother is an English professor at John Jay. I did interview him on video and he’s working to put me in touch with the admissions director at the school. Sometimes it is not easy to contact a school. In your search you have to decide whether or not these organizational issues are a reflection of the college or just a fluke…If you want to learn about the school you may have to try harder or change your approach! I do know that there is an Open House in November. I’m going to work to be in touch with John Jay College of Criminal Justice’s Admissions Office.

Posted by renaissanceroadtripadmin at 4:50 pm Renaissance College Road Trip Summer 09, video Tagged with: , , , , ,

Rutgers State University of New Jersey

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Jul 202009

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Rutgers is the flagship campus for the New Jersey state university system. It has a huge campus and is an interesting blend of old (as in colonial) and new. Initially, the college was Queens College, as in Queen of England, and some of the oldest buildings in the country are housed on the campus – one section of campus is modeled after Cambridge in England and is very beautiful. Now Rutgers has five campuses and takes up a large expanse of landscape in New Brunswick, New Jersey: Douglass (all women’s), Cook, Livingston, Mason Gross (Fine Arts and Music), and Busch. A shuttle system gets students around campus and students are encouraged to choose housing based on the environment they prefer versus the majors/programs that are on a particular campus. Freshmen tend to live in freshman housing and there is a pretty extensive freshman orientation program that happens over the weekend the summer before school starts to orient new students. There is an honors program at Rutgers and those students live together and have special programming as a result of their status. We had to tour by luxury bus because the campus was so large.

Our tour guide Alyssa (see video) was very comfortable on the microphone! One thing I won’t forget is the “Grease Trucks” where students can purchase a sub that contains chicken fingers, mozerella sticks, French fries and marinara sauce – fine college dining at its very best! Eeeewww.

The school is located 45 minutes away from New York City and 10 minutes from Princeton, NJ. Some students take advantage of such close proximity to NYC to get internships, but there are a number of corporate headquarters in New Brunswick like Johnson & Johnson (the baby powder and Q-tips). There is the host of majors and concentrations that you would find at a large state school. Rutgers is a Division I school for athletics, you may remember the Scarlet Knights’ women’s bball team and Imus In the Morning’s racist comments of a couple of years ago. These women tend to make it at least the Sweet Sixteen in March Madness (men’s – not so much). But if you want some crazy school spirit, Rutgers is a place to consider (the basketball arena is the LOUDEST in the nation!). Something to note is that NCAA championships provide schools with lots of $$$ – the science campus was pretty spiffy as a result. As the flagship university, graduate-level research is a big focus of academics.

Admissions is competitive. Rutgers uses its own application, it is online and asks that students submit their own transcript (Self Reported Academic Record SRAR) – they do check the grades you submit…Rutgers does have a number of out of state and international students. Prospective Students choose their top three programs when they apply (Liberal Arts, Nursing, Business, Marine Biology, etc.) Financial Aid is submitted using the FAFSA. An independent student, ready to be a little further from home might consider taking a look at Rutgers.

Posted by renaissanceroadtripadmin at 10:22 am Renaissance College Road Trip Summer 09, video Tagged with: , , , ,

The Eugene Lang College: The New School College for Liberal Arts

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Jul 202009
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The New School Welcome Center is just below Union Square and located in a funky, airy building. Multi-media abounded. I met with Eric Sherman (see the video), the admissions officer responsible for MA at the New School’s Eugene Lang College: The New School for Liberal Arts prior to the information session and tour. Eric was great – friendly, informative and just not rote at all (I loved his fun plaid shirt). He emphasized that Eugene Lang College is a small (300 freshmen), liberal arts college that students tend to self-select because they consciously choose a non-traditional, urban education. The student:faculty ratio is 8:1 and courses are all taught in seminar style. 40% of the students are international students. Eric was excited to hear about The Springfield Renaissance School and undaunted by our standards based grading. He mentioned that he has seen lots of different transcripts and would rely on school counselors to help decipher anything on a student’s application. The school is fairly new (1980’s) and has a fair amount of flexibility within its liberal arts curriculum. I hope some The Springfield Renaissance students take a look.

Eugene Lang is one of eight schools housed in the New School and was founded in 1985. Parsons School of Design (of Project Runway fame) is one of those schools, and students have some access to classes within those program. There are 5 year dual degree programs with Parsons and the Jazz and Contemporary Music Programs. The information session was across the street in a small auditorium, I’m not sure how we didn’t lose anyone in the traffic…The host outlined the eight schools within the New School and let the film roll. The presentation was pretty spectacular, I guess that is a perk of having a premier film school under your umbrella. The New School was founded in 1919 and points to progressive educator John Dewey (who said, “children learn best by doing”) as a linchpin in its philosophy.  A couple of Columbia University professors frustrated by the “old thinking” of Columbia went downtown and founded the New School. It was home to many persecuted intellectuals from Europe after World War I. These “Exiled Thinkers” founded a school that emphasizes:

  • Critical thinking
  • Debate
  • Public engagement
  • Social Justice
  • Contributing to society (positively)
  • Theory AND Practice
  • Creating change
  • Being good citizens

One thing consistently emphasized is the experimental nature of the school. Students can sign up for class that allows them to design and build a boat  and put it in the Hudson to see if it will float (I wonder if they have to get shots)! (see comment thread…)

Financial Aid is both need and merit based. As with all these Big City schools, the cost of studying in NYC makes the REAL cost pricier for sure.

Posted by renaissanceroadtripadmin at 12:05 am College Search, East Coast Road Trip, Renaissance College Road Trip Summer 09, video Tagged with: , , , , , ,

The Richard Stockton College of The State of New Jersey

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Jul 192009

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The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey is located on the New Jersey Shore in the middle of acres and acres of pinelands. Atlantic City and miles of beaches are the closer landmarks. The buildings have a space aged 70s feel and are interconnected and the school is in the middle of a huge building project on a student center. A small, liberal arts state college with just under 7,000 students attending. Admissions are competitive (SAT CR/M1130) and admitted students are in the top 25% of their high school class. An interesting feature of the school is Instant Decision Days – show up with your admissions materials, meet the criteria and you are in! Otherwise, when your file is complete, you receive a decision (latest application submissions for this fall was May 1st). It is a Div III school and seems to have a bunch of “Osprey” spirit – Men’s soccer has done very well.

Academically, Stockton describes itself as hands on. There is an Honors Program that allows students to work directly with a professor on a research project and present at a conference prior to graduation. There is a General Studies requirement that makes up 25% percent of the courses a student will take in order to graduate. Criminal Justice, Nursing, Dance, Literary Studies, Business, Computer Science, Biology and Marine Biology are some of the majors that students can choose.

Tuition with room and board for out of state students in 2008-2009 was $26,153. There are both need based and merit based scholarships.

There are colleges similar to Stockton closer to Springfield, so a student interested in Stockton would have to want to attend for a specific major or to be in this location (i.e. Marine Biology).

Posted by renaissanceroadtripadmin at 11:43 pm College Search, East Coast Road Trip, Renaissance College Road Trip Summer 09, video Tagged with: , , , , ,

Saint Francis College

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Jul 192009

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St. Francis schedules admissions tours and appointments on a case by case basis. I sat with the admissions officer Sylvia Carrion (see video), who is also Class of 2009 from the school. St. Francis is a small liberal arts college, which is associated with the Franciscan order of monks. Located in Brooklyn Heights, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, the college occupies two buildings. The school prides itself in individualized attention and Sylvia said that professors know students by name and are very approachable. Interestingly enough, this small school is Div I athletics for men and women (a VERY tall student passed us by in the hallway)!

The curriculum is composed of core requirements (42) – some of the courses include religion, 3 Philosophy, and 2 credits of health among other traditional core requirements. Generally, students need 128/9 credits to graduate in their major. Classes are small and in many cases and in many cases are seminar style (15 or so). Students have an advisor through Freshman Advising and their schedule is designed by their advisor for their first year. As the other NYC colleges and university, internships are available in industries all around the city.

Housing is provided for out of state students in an apartment building shared with a number of area colleges. Many students do commute though. Financial Aid is need based, but there are also merit based scholarships available.

St. Francis schedules admissions tours and appointments on a case by case basis. I sat with the admissions officer Sylvia Carrion (see video), who is also Class of 2009 from the school. St. Francis is a small liberal arts college, which is associated with the Franciscan order of monks. Located in Brooklyn Heights, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, the college occupies two buildings. The school prides itself in individualized attention and Sylvia said that professors know students by name and are very approachable. Interestingly enough, this small school is Div I athletics for men and women (a VERY tall student passed us by in the hallway)!

The curriculum is composed of core requirements (42) – some of the courses include religion, 3 Philosophy, and 2 credits of health among other traditional core requirements. Generally, students need 128/9 credits to graduate in their major. Classes are small and in many cases and in many cases are seminar style (15 or so). Students have an advisor through Freshman Advising and their schedule is designed by their advisor for their first year. As the other NYC colleges and university, internships are available in industries all around the city.

Housing is provided for out of state students in an apartment building shared with a number of area colleges. Many students do commute though. Financial Aid is need based, but there are also merit based scholarships available.

Posted by renaissanceroadtripadmin at 11:37 pm Renaissance College Road Trip Summer 09, video Tagged with: , , , ,

Marymount Manhattan

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Jul 152009

Marymount Manhattan College is located in the posh Upper East Side of Manhattan. It is a small (2,000), liberal arts college. The student:faculty ratio is 12/1 and classes generally have 16 students in them. The college is housed in two buildings on East 71st Street. Security was tight and I had to provide my license to gain entry. I received a nametag with my photo on it – serious stuff! I was greeted by the admissions office’s administrative assistant, Nicole who was incredibly helpful and knew everyone that entered the office by name. She made sure that I was able to meet with admissions office from our region, David Thomas (see video), after the tour and information session.

The information session highlighted the curriculum, which has a core requirement. Students need 120 credits to graduate. The cool thing is that Manhattan is very much the school’s campus and many students have access to an incredible list of possible internships (only school with an internship at the United Nations), something the college considers a particular strength. Marymount Manhattan has your typical Majors (Accounting, English, Psychology, etc.) and has dual programs that allow students to gain Masters degrees in several areas. Marymount also has pre-professional programs in Dentistry, Law, Medicine and Veterinary Sciences.

The college was in the midst of a 25 million renovation that made the tour a little bit difficult, but our tour guide, Freddie’s enthusiasm made the tour enjoyable. Freddie was a drama major (musical theater) and he said theater, and dance was a strength of Maymount. At one point on the tour we were able to hear a student belt out a show tune and it was pretty impressive!

Housing guaranteed at Marymount and students live in traditional dorm, apartments and suites (one is the tallest dorm in the country). It is truly city living. By the same token, there are no official school sports (although the club soccer team won the trophy this year). Students seem to know each other and Freddie said that professors know their students well. There is a Writing Center to support students, all courses are taught by professors who have office hours, and free tutoring is available as well. Additionally there is a substantial ACCESS program for students with learning disabilities. Another program called Jump Start gets Freshmen on campus during the summer so that they can take a class, and learn “how to do Marymount”.

Admissions is rolling. Tuition is around $35,000. Financial Aid is provided to 85% of students. There are merit (3.0+ GPA and 1150 combined SAT gets students $6,000) and leadership scholarships. Tuition is around $35,000.

David Thomas will be in town for the National Hispanic College Fair at HCC on November 3rd and he’ll visit Renaissance at 2:30pm on that date. Check MMC out.

Posted by renaissanceroadtripadmin at 10:59 pm East Coast Road Trip, Paying the Bill. Financial Aid., Renaissance College Road Trip Summer 09, video Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Barnard College

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Jul 142009
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Barnard College is literally across the street from Columbia University. A small women’s liberal arts college, Barnard is highly selective (combined SAT 2050/2400 and GPA 3.84). The admissions office was incredibly approachable and I immediately received an email reply and had a meeting set up with Jessica Lee (MA region) and Chloe Woodward-Magrane for the day of my visit. Ms. Lee took nearly 30 minutes to sit with me, talk about Barnard and the admissions process and learn about students at The Springfield Renaissance School. She’s is excited to get to know our students! Addition Chloe spent 30 minutes taking about  Barnard Opportunity Program (see below) after the tour. What an amiable and helpful bunch! They are following the Renaissance College Road Trip on Twitter!!! Wow.

I went on a tour with a sophomore who is a native New Yorker who chose to stay in the City for college. Barnard has general education requirements which must be satisfied in 9 areas and four semesters of a language – students take two first year foundation courses (First Year Seminar and First Year English) which are intended to provide students with critical thinking and analysis skills – something Barnard describes as “ways of knowing”. Students also have to take two years of P.E. Women at Barnard enjoy small classes and many are seminar style with 12 or so students and professor. No hiding there! One notable strength is the internship agreements that the school has in fashion, on Broadway, and the United Nations among others. The tour was a little hard because major construction is going on to build a student activity center. We were able to move around through tunnels that are throughout the campus. Housing is both on the campus and in typical New York City apartment buildings and over 90% of students live on campus.

Barnard accepts the Common Application with a supplement portion (four questions). Chloe Woodward-Magrane described the process as being “wholistic”, meaning getting to know the student versus being simply numbers driven (“not really huge on SATs”) – taking the SAT in December is too late. Even so, the expectation is that students will take the SAT and two SAT II or the ACT with the writing portion. Ms. Woodward-Magrane said they want to know who you are as a student and a person. Recommendations should be teachers from your junior or senior year – school counselor and two academic teachers. The essay needs to be a topic that explains, “What gets you out of bed in the morning?” She emphasized that proof reading and checking for grammar mistakes are a must before you send. Interviews are available for rising seniors on or off campus, but are not required.

Tuition at Barnard is $50,000. Financial Aid is Need Blind. Barnard wants to know what families can afford and this is based on the FAFSA and the CSS Profile. The school meets 100% of a family’s demonstrated need and is a combination of loans, grants and work study. Barnard has a program called BOP (Barnard Opportunity Program which provides low-income students of promise with 5 years of financial, academic support and an opportunity to start in the summer in order to get acclimated to college life, NYC and the rigors of Barnard academics. Seems like a nice opportunity for the right student.

Posted by renaissanceroadtripadmin at 10:59 pm Renaissance College Road Trip Summer 09, video Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Wesleyan University

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Jul 022009

Flickr Video Advice on how to choose your college from the Wesleyan tour guide Jayvan.

Wesleyan University is a highly selective liberal arts college (SAT 750+ in CR, Math and Writing) located in Middletown, CT. Over 10,000 students applied last year and only 2,200 or so were admitted. Just over 700 students enrolled. Majors range from African Studies to a 3+2 Engineering Program that sends students to MIT or Columbia for their final 2 years of college. They are really proud of their Film Studies program, but really all of the programs prepare students well for graduate study – most students go on to graduate study within 3 years of graduating.  At a Glance, Wesleyan has 2,700 students provides both undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is a coed school, public school students make up 50% of the school population (90% of the nation!) and 1/3 of the students are students of color. Takes a lot of pride in its diversity compared to similar high selective colleges like it.

Financial aid is all need based and the school commits to meeting 100% of an admitted student’s demonstrated family need. Wesleyan has a “need blind” admissions policy, which means you are admitted based on your ability versus your family’s ability to pay the bill.

The admissions officer at the school emphasized that regardless of a student’s school what admissions offiers at Wesleyan look for is evidence that a student has taken full advantage of the course offerings at his or her school (Honors, AP, dual enrollment ,etc) and is a fully active member of the school and greater community.

No core requirements, but students must take 9 courses (3 each) in Natural Sciences and mathematics, social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities and arts. The idea is that students who graduate from Wesleyan have what are referred to as Essential Capabilities. This reminds me of Expeditionary Learning’s Design Principles and the expected outcomes for students.

Wesleyan is definitely worth a look for a high achieving student at  The Springfield Renaissance School.

Posted by renaissanceroadtripadmin at 7:35 pm College Search, Renaissance College Road Trip Summer 09, video Tagged with: , , , , , , ,
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