I major in Office Administration and Technology at Bronx Community College. I fund college through financial aid with TAP and Pell. The money I get for financial aid covers tuition, but there is nothing left over. I have struggled a lot with taking as many classes as I do and not being able to work because of how many classes I have to take. I then struggle to pay for all the things that TAP doesn’t cover, like textbook fees. Because of this, I have had to quit several times and take a year off to work and then come back. When I was in ASAP, I had a key class that I had to take, but they only offered it at night, which I could not do, so I went to the advisor and was basically told to drop out since I had to take that class to get into any of the others that I needed. Because of that, I did drop out. Most of my classes are now online. 

I am majoring in Paralegal Studies at Bronx Community College. I plan to move on to a four year school and then eventually law school. TAP and Pell’s financial aid cover my tuition. TAP’s eligibility and award size should be changed because it covers tuition, but not the other costs associated with coming to school, like subscription services for specific classes and textbooks, which are expensive in my major. Without these resources, it is easy to fall behind. On top of textbooks, the costs of childcare were really, really high for my two children. We had to either use a credit card or a money order, and I would have to wait for my financial refunds to pay for it. The early childhood center is great though. I don’t think I would be able to manage anything if my kids weren’t there. Being one of the first in my family to go to college, it has hit me that we have been economically at the mercy of all our employers. My parents encouraged us to go to college but they don’t really understand a lot of the challenges that face college students like the need for that work/life/school balance. In addition, I think that if the infrastructure needs and the advisement issues aren’t addressed, enrollment and retention are going to continue to be an issue. I have gotten stuck in the elevator in different buildings multiple times. The constant need for infrastructure repairs means longer routes to classes, which can make you late. There are a few buildings that are not ADA accessible. My advisors did not have enough information about my current degree program to advise me adequately, requiring me to have to do a lot more research on my own and also spend two extra semesters here because I was not put in the right classes. In terms of class options, the electives required are not offered, leading to us having to take classes at other CUNYs. The schedules there don’t always line up with the BCC schedule, so I get home really late two days a week and have to travel to those other CUNYs. Plus, adhering to the schedule the daycare sets while figuring out my class schedule has been hard. And the approval and denial process of taking classes outside of BCC is really complex. With all of the steps, it took me an entire summer to get these classes approved when they should just be offered here since they are part of our degree program.

I am majoring in Paralegal Studies at Bronx Community College. After graduating, I hope to eventually go to law school and become a lawyer. Financial aid from PELL and TAP pays for my college. Before I joined ASAP, books and transportation were my greatest challenge paying for college because some textbooks, especially law textbooks, are expensive. My Family Law textbook was over $500 and is more than 10 years old, so the professor said it’s outdated. I have also had trouble with TAP coverage. The eligibility should be changed to include prerequisite classes that you have to take in order to take classes that are part of your degree program because TAP wouldn’t pay for those. Within my program, I have also struggled with class scheduling. We have to take three elective law classes, however they always offer the same ones over and over every semester, so the students struggle to meet this requirement. On a separate note, I’ve had some really good professors that are really approachable and want to help and the LGBT Resource Center here is really helpful. However, we have no dedicated paralegal studies advisors despite it being a specialized major offered. Due to the lack of advisors, my graduation date gas been delayed (I should have graduated last semester). The classes are only offered every other semester, so if you miss it you have to wait an entire year. The school needs to be able to invest more in advising and class opportunities for my program. Our infrastructure also needs improvement. One semester, there was no heat for a few weeks, so we had no classes. Only about half of the buildings are ADA accessible.

I am a Computer Information Systems major at Bronx Community College. I am planning to further pursue higher education by transferring to a four year school after I finish here. I fund college through financial aid like FAFSA and TAP, but find that the TAP is not user-friendly. I live with my parents so they really help me a lot, but I did have to quit my part time job to study, so I rely more on my parents than I would like to. My parents did not go to college, so I don’t always know what to do because no one before me has ever done it. I have trouble with class options, some classes only have online asynchronous and those ones are really hard for me because there is no teacher and no specific class time which has caused me to fail a class. Advisors here don’t really explain anything to you. However, a lot of professors here are really good and seem like they care. ASAP is also a good program; they offer the MetroCard which really helps. Our school needs to be able to invest more in infrastructure. The projectors don’t work in a lot of classes, the computers are really old and don’t work. There are always issues with the heat/air conditioning. In my first semester, we had no classes for two weeks because there was no heat. Some classrooms don’t have air conditioning, and the windows don’t open, so in the warm months, it’s so hot you can’t even pay attention.

I qualify for this service because of my visual disability and cognitive disability. Without Access-a-Ride I would not be able to travel from home to school. Although it is a crucial service in my life, it is not an accessible service. From my experience, people that book the rides are not well-trained; I have been dropped off in the wrong address once before already. I traveled to BK (I’m from the BX) and after being stranded there for the first 45min (the time it took just to rebook the trip) I still had to wait another 2 hours for a vehicle to be dispatched to finally be picked up.

Approximately 1 year ago while in school, I had another incident. It was the day of the big snowstorm and AAR is not well equipped to handle weather changes or extremes, they do not communicate well. They do not notify when they are outside or if they’re running late. I called them and they were busy. Two hours passed and had 1% battery on my phone. My phone died and I didn’t know what to do. Public Safety on campus said I had to wait and they’d wait with me or I could take a train, but due to my cognitive disability I cannot remember things well, especially when I’m nervous or anxious, like this situation with all my adrenaline pumping I don’t know what’s going on. I didn’t want to wait any longer! Mind you they are two hours late for the pickup- it was at 6, and I was still on campus at 8. So, against my better judgement, I decided to take the train. I started walking to the train- and I’m a big person, so on top of my visual disability I have a physical disability- I am walking down and I fall and slide down the sidewalk. My knees were scraped. When I finally arrive at the train stop I try to walk up the stairs, because it does not have an elevator or escalator, and I fell down again. I call AAR when I get home, and then they say I was written up as a “no-show” because they were out there but I was not. I got written up! I was anxious I’d lose my AAR privileges.

Another instance: I book my ride for 9 am because I have class at 11am and pickup for 6pm. Sometimes they do not pick me up until 12:30 and I miss my class! Numerous times I have missed class or I am late and it just does need to change. You pick a pick-up and drop-off location and they are NOT flexible with this. I am a student, a disabled student, so I need to go to tutoring a lot and I need to stay a little longer, lectures sometimes run short, ETC., so sometimes I miss my pickup time and I call and they say there is nothing they can do. I understand their standpoint but they need to be more flexible with students. I am not at the movies or at a bar, I am literally pursuing my education and betterment and I should not be punished for that. We need a better program for disabled students!

I’m a psychology major and part of the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP)– it is critical for me to be able to attend BCC. Before I enrolled in ASAP, I worked full-time and was a full-time student as well. It was difficult to manage everything: I am a mom – I have two young boys (5 and 6), working full-time, plus taking 5 classes, helping out with the rest of my family.

I’m loving the free MetroCard. Last semester, I actually lost my card and they weren’t able to replace it. ASAP told me there wasn’t enough funding to replace lost cards! I don’t make use of the campus child care center. Back when child care was a bigger issue for me, I didn’t pursue my education. If I had known about it, I would have enrolled at BCC much earlier.

I do have a fear of not graduating on time. If I lose my financial aid, or I’m no longer able to be enrolled in ASAP for whatever reason, I won’t be able to afford to continue. But ultimately, I want to go to City College after graduating from BCC, to pursue studying law in the future.

At my local campus of BCC, we have recently experienced budget cuts across departments. This is no fault of BCC, nor is it unique to BCC. Across CUNY, institutions are experiencing cuts. This is a result of the lack of funding from our state government. When the state refuses to support our public institutions, who suffers the most, who is impacted? We, the students. It forces our colleges to recompense for their losses by increasing tuition. At an institution like BCC, and CUNY as a whole, where many of our students require financial assistance such as TAP, when tuition goes up and TAP stays the same, school’s budgets are hurt.

A great example of how students are affected by the lack of support from our state government is what has recently happened at BCC. Amongst the budget cuts, our library hours have been cut. Once again, this is not unique to BCC. Across CUNY, colleges are experiencing short library hours. It’s funny because when I was younger my mother would force my brother and I to go to the library. She would scream, and shout, and force us to go study when all we wanted to do was chill and relax. Yet, here we are today, screaming and shouting for access to the library–to be able to use the library past 5 o’clock on a Friday.

At the core of every academic institution, the library plays a significant role in student success. This wouldn’t fly at an institution such as Harvard or Columbia. How can we encourage a quality education, or 15 credits a semester/30 a year when students don’t have access to the library? This all stems from the lack of support from our state government. We’re not asking for the world, were just asking for access to the world.

I was a General Education major at Bronx Community College. I wasn’t able to graduate and needed to get a full time job. I couldn’t do both. I had participated in the workstudy program but I wasn’t making enough. I had to pay rent, food, cable, and utilities. I was awarded a partial Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) award and the Pell Grant.

I found out about ASAP too late, but if I had known about it, I would have applied to it for the tutoring to bring my grades up! I wanted it for the tutoring. Everyone should have ASAP. While I was at BCC I received SNAP assistance. The transition from high school to college was really horrible. Textbooks were the biggest cost. I couldn’t keep up with my studies because I couldn’t afford the materials, and this is when I was receiving TAP and Pell. Pell helped for some but I also had to pay for all of my living expenses it was way too much.

I am a first semester freshman at Bronx Community College from The Gambia looking to study International Relations.  I have four children, and my wife and I are both in school and have to work to support our family.  I drive a cab as a way to earn money.  I wouldn’t be able to go to school without the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), the Pell Grant and the ASAP program.

I am planning to go to a four year college and am worried because I won’t have ASAP for my bachelors.  I will continue to get Pell and TAP.  But if NY isn’t giving secure funding for more course offerings, it is unclear if I’ll have the courses available to ensure that I graduate on time.  Since I have a family to support, there is no way I will be able to afford to pay out of pocket if I run out of financial aid. This is why I we must have a Maintenance of Effort from our state government.

I have received help through the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and the Pell Grant. This federal and state assistance has helped me go to school and not have to worrying about paying for it. After taking a long break and working many jobs, I decided to go back to school. I realize that Pell and TAP don’t last forever. This semester (Spring 2017) has been a struggle because I didn’t receive full financial aid. I was able to save money and got loads of help from my parents. Because of this, I was able to meet the payments needed to pay half my tuition, books, Metrocard, and food.

I do appreciate the people that have to work full time and go to school because I know it is not easy. Paying for school made me realize how important programs are for many students such as SEEK, ASAP, and EOP because they help you get to where you need to go.  If it wasn’t for half the help from Pell, TAP and my parents, I wouldn’t be able to complete this semester.  I do wish free tuition in NY State had more support for part-time and undocumented students. Being a full time student and working full time is really stressful and leaves little to no time to actually study for the classes you are taking.