UAlbany attracted more applications for this fall�s freshman class than any other campus in the State University of New York system. The University received 16,550 applications, compared to 15,100 last year. Among SUNY campuses, the University also drew the largest number of applications from students outside of New York State. Not only was there growth in the number of freshman applicants, but the academic profile of the freshman class has also risen. The average grade point average of accepted students is 89.8 and Scholastic Aptitude Test scores are expected to be approximately 20 points higher, ranging from 1100 to 1250. "Students are finding that Albany fills their expectations and responds to their requirements in very qualitative terms. At Albany, they can get a great education and they can do it without saddling themselves with enormous amounts of debt," said Harry Wood, director of Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment. Students are invited to become Presidential Scholars when they are admitted to the University. They must have a high school average of 90 or better, highly competitive SAT scores in the upper 1200s and higher, and a competitive class rank. In addition, they are expected to have made a contribution to their school and community. Presidential scholars are eligible for merit scholarships, housing in special Honors Halls, priority registration for classes, special courses, and a variety of other benefits. The Presidential Scholars program enters its eighth year this fall. The 254 freshmen entering this year, a 59 percent increase in numbers over last year, bring the total number of Presidential Scholars on campus to 762. ************ |
By Greta Petry Maxine Oland, B.A.�99, credits the University at Albany�s Presidential Scholars Program with opening doors for her. Now a graduate student at Northwestern University and the recent winner of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, she has fond memories of her time at Albany."The Presidential Scholars program, more than anything, pushed me in all the right directions to be competitive for graduate schools and fellowships. The guidance from a faculty mentor and special meetings about Marshall, Rhodes and Mellon fellowships informed me about so many opportunities that I wouldn�t have known about otherwise," Oland wrote in an e-mail message last summer from Mexico, where she was conducting a survey of new archaeological sites for Professor Arthur Joyce of the University of Colorado at Boulder. At Northwestern, Oland�s goal is to earn a Ph.D. in anthropology. When a student like Maxine Oland has such a positive experience, word travels. The scholars program, run by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, was initiated in the fall of 1993 and has been growing in stature and numbers ever since.
"Students like it. They tell their brothers, sisters and friends about it," said Dan Smith, assistant dean of Undergraduate Studies and associate director of the Presidential Scholars Program. "In turn, more and more of the best students apply to Albany. As a result, this year we have a problem we�ve always wanted to have. The number of Presidential Scholars enrolling this fall has hit 254 � a new record." Adds Lee Bickmore, associate dean of Undergraduate Studies for honors, and associate professor of anthropology, "The good reputation of the program has given us a bumper crop of Presidential Scholars." There has been a 59 percent increase in scholars over last year, according to Harry Wood, director of Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment. And with a 92 percent retention rate from freshman to sophomore year, once scholars arrive on the UAlbany campus, they stay. Wood said college-bound seniors are finding that "Albany fills their expectations and responds to their requirements in very qualitative terms. At Albany, not only can you get a great education, but you can also save some money and use it for your graduate degree without saddling yourself with enormous amounts of debt." Randy Calabrese of Penfield, N.Y., who graduated last May, chose UAlbany because of the Presidential Scholars program. Last summer Calabrese was in Taiwan studying in an eight-week intensive language program. His father Len said Randy has won a fellowship that will pay for tuition and fees for a five-year Ph.D. program at Columbia University, where he will study East Asian Studies or political science. Randy graduated from UAlbany with a 4.0 Grade Point Average, won a Chancellor�s Award for Student Excellence and was one of 85 students nationwide to win a Mellon Fellowship. He was also accepted at Harvard. His father said the competition to get into those graduate schools was stiff. "There is no question in our minds that the tie-breaker was the opportunities Randy had in the Presidential Scholars Program." In the past two years, Presidential Scholars graduating from Albany have gained admission to many of the nation�s most prestigious graduate and professional schools, including MIT, Yale, Northeastern, Michigan, Columbia, N.Y.U., Duke, Stanford, Georgetown and the University of Virginia. Several of these young men and women were nominated for national awards that included the Rhodes Scholarship, Marshall Scholarship, Fulbright Fellowship, Mellon Foundation Award, National Science Foundation Scholarship and others. Students, who are invited to become Presidential Scholars when they are admitted to the University, must have a high school average of 90 or better, along with highly competitive SAT scores and class rank. In addition, they are expected to have made a contribution to their school and community. Productive use of their out-of-class time is an important consideration when evaluating candidates for the Presidential Scholars Program. The benefits are outstanding. "Individual contact with a great group of faculty and getting to know the dean was a wonderful help," Oland said. "It was also really helpful to be able to get into my 100- and 200- level classes when they were closed out."
Three of the four Quads now have halls that are devoted to housing honor students. Each suite in the Honors Halls includes a University computer and on-line services. "The Presidential Scholars program gives students that small-college experience. They enjoy honors classes taught in small sections. Their borrowing privileges at the University Libraries are the same as the faculty. They are treated like graduate students in many respects," noted Bickmore. There are financial benefits, too. Most Presidential Scholars will receive a University Honors Scholarship in addition to need-based aid. New York State residents can receive up to full tuition, and out-of-state students can qualify for up to $5,500 a year in renewable scholarship funding. |
