Yesterday I attended the SUNY OpInform Counselor Workshop at SUNY Maritime, located in Throggs Neck. What a total hidden gem of a campus! Despite being on the tip of the Bronx, I felt like I was a world away. The small campus is home to about 1,800 students who are mainly interested in working on ships. As a result, about 90% are part of the regimen that are hoping to earn their license to work on board a boat. This means that those 90% dress in uniform (contrary to popular believe, these are NOT military uniforms) and the vibe on campus is really unique. I should add, there are ROTC options on campus and about 10% of the students plan to join the military (typically as part of the Coast Guard, Navy, or Marines), but it is a much smaller population than one might assume. SUNY Maritime is an amazing example of a true niche college located right here in the 5 boroughs. For students with a passion for the water, this is an amazing school for science, technology, and engineering. There is also a job placement rate of over 90% (very few maritime colleges exist, so they do a great job of filling need in the job market) and it seems like a place that is great for students that are hands on learners. They have their own ship docked right on campus and students were buzzing about all day. The campus is also home to Fort Schulyer, a US fort that predates the Civil War. The picture above is from the campus library that is inside the fort. It was stunning.Word of warning, about 86% of the students here are male. That is also probably a pretty accurate mirror of the percent of people in the maritime industry that are male, but it is certainly something to keep in mind for both the pros and cons that come along with it.
In terms of the meeting, I went to two sessions - one about college readiness and one about honors programs at the SUNY schools. The college readiness session mentioned something that I think ElRo does a good job, which is making the senior year the most challenging year. This helps to keep momentum and give students the bridge they need to be successful in college. For the second session, I think I probably could do a better job of reminding students and families about the honors opportunities at SUNY schools. I'm going be more conscious of this going forward. The SUNY honors programs have published stats that can be found here. They also made the great point that the bulk of SUNY honors programs exist at 2-year colleges. I know most ElRo students are looking at 4 year degrees, but starting at an honors program at a 2 year school isn't a bad option for students that would be more successful starting somewhere first and then applying to transfer to their dream school later.
Two more things of note: SUNY is ranked 4th in the nation for public school system 4 year completion rate - meaning students at SUNY are more likely to graduate and graduate in 4 years than schools in 45 other states. Not too shabby. Also, younger students, keep your eye on www.suny.edu - it is getting a face lift in the spring.
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