by Alessandra Simeone
The New York City Department of Education is sponsoring College Application Week (CAW)–a countrywide initiative focused on helping high-needs students and those first in their families to attend college. CAW spans all five boroughs, and offers opportunities to learn about college and the college application process to juniors and seniors in NYC public schools. For Row New Yorkers in NYC public schools, the message is familiar, as college readiness initiatives are a way of life at Row New York. Every student – from our youngest 7th grader to our most veteran 12th grader – is taught that college matriculation and completion are the main goals of our programming. This year, many of Row New York’s Class of 2015 began their college application process in August, but their journey to picking their schools, writing the college essay, and eagerly awaiting their acceptance letters began long before these steps. “Every student learns about college from the moment they enter our program… whether from being exposed to every staff member, tutor, and volunteer with [or working toward] a bachelor’s or masters degree, or attending workshops about choosing “right fit” colleges, they know this is our goal,” says RNY Director of Academics and College Readiness Darise JeanBaptiste.
For Queens senior Emma Parsons, picking schools has certainly been the most difficult part. “It was really hard to choose where I want to go. I’ve been deciding what defines a reach school for me, which schools can be my targets [a school she feels confident getting into] and where my safety schools are. This whole part has been nerve-wracking.” Emma has zeroed in on small liberal arts colleges and has a list of twelve schools finalized. In addition, Emma (wisely) decided that the whole college process is “rather ridiculous–with so many students applying to schools, varying GPAs at each high school, and finalizing college lists.” Despite the frenzy, there have been some perks to the college madness, “The college essay was actually my favorite part – I wrote about being with teammates at Row New York. The words flowed naturally.” Thankfully, Emma has remained confident with the schools she has chosen and her solid essay in hand.
“The whole college application process is really different for each student; the outcome of their searching and applying is quite a unique product,” says Darise. “At Row New York, we don’t tell students what to do and how to do it, it’s about guiding students to achieve their (and their families’) goals and how to find a college that will allow for that.”
Queens Varsity Senior Naomi Campbell started applying to schools in September. Initially, she wasn’t quite sure where she wanted to go, but she quickly found schools that piqued her interest. For Naomi, choosing schools wasn’t the hardest part. “More than anything else, I’ve found this college essay to be the most difficult part. The whole Common App is information about you, and plugging numbers into boxes, but the college essay is the one opportunity colleges have to see you.” Naomi is working to find her voice in her essay. The essay topic is about a failure in life; she chose a poor performance at a regatta to write about, but is struggling (like a good teammate) to single herself out from the experience and write solely about her own feelings. She has been carefully perfecting her essay over time, and now sees an end in sight. “This feels like a hard 6k race -the start goes well, but I’m in the middle right now… I need to keep motivated and push through to the last 1000 meters and then finally finish!” With Darise’s help, Naomi will indeed finish this race with her voice and talents shining through.
Though Row New Yorkers are immersed in a college culture, the process can still be daunting. “The process has been going okay. It’s a little stressful balancing applying to college with a full course load but I’m handling it. The worst part has been filling out supplements and waiting to hear back from colleges,” says Manhattan Varsity Senior Tyler Bryant. Though managing high school course work on top of applications, being an athlete, and biding your time as colleges decide acceptances can certainly be stressful, Tyler still sees this as an exciting experience, “The best part has been choosing and visiting colleges. It’s exciting to immerse yourself in many different environments.”
Queens Varsity senior Kelly Arango remembers how often college was spoken of at Row New York, even as a middle schooler, “Every day, we were reminded of the importance of college. All of our coaches talked about it and even when I was younger, I knew I would be applying.” Kelly, who finished many of her college applications this summer and applied Early Action to her top schools, feels relieved that much of her work is done. Having no computer at home (often relying on Row New York’s and family friends for access), Kelly knew that she would have to plan accordingly. “I’m proud to say I only scrambled once, when I had a midnight application and consequently ran to a family friend’s house at 8pm. But I finished it by 10pm and I thankfully got into that program!” Kelly found her participation in Row New York to be particularly useful in this process, “I’ve known about how to apply, how to find right fit schools, and over time in RNY’s program, I’ve most importantly learned how to prepare and prioritize for these tasks.”
Though familiar with the process, Darise is consistently impressed with Row New Yorkers’ tenacity for college success, “They inspire me and remind of how important this decision is. Much has changed in the college application process, but what remains the same is our goal to watch these students thrive after Row New York.” Thank you to Darise, and good luck to our high school seniors through all of your college applications! Additionally, we applaud the CAW Initiative for inspiring college access for all NYC youth. Stay tuned to hear more about the progress of our seniors in the coming months!
