I am majoring in Business Administration at QCC with the plan to become a financial advisor or investment banker. I am the first in my family to attend college, which is a unique experience. I pay for college through FAFSA, ASAP, and the Howard Memorial Fund. I think TAP should award more money. My challenges affording college have come from the fact that winter classes aren’t covered, and I have had trouble getting to campus due to the lack of MetroCards.
Posts Tagged ‘transit’
Jose Morataya
Emily Fana
I am a Theater and Acting major at QCC. When I graduate, I would like to pursue a higher degree. I will be the first in my family to graduate with a completed degree. I receive financial aid: both TAP and FAFSA. I would like them to expand the minimum award size. My biggest challenge is that I was denied from the ASAP program because I apparently had too many credits from the past, almost four years ago. Because I was denied from this program, I was unable to qualify for a free Metrocard. The costs of MetroCards and transportation are burdensome, so I think ASAP should be more inclusive in allowing people into the program. Food is also really unaffordable. In terms of the quality of what campus has to offer, my professors are great and very supportive in my academic journey. However, I’ve had a lot of trouble finding an advisor. I definitely think they can update our classrooms as well. The classrooms are either scorching hot or freezing cold, with no in between. They can certainly stand to improve the technology.
Catalina Nunoz
My major is Communication Sciences and Disorders at QCC. I would like to pursue a job in speech pathology. I am the first in my family to attend college. It is a lot of pressure to succeed but I am proud to be the first to pursue a degree. I work and pay for college out of pocket. Rent and affording housing have been the biggest financial challenges because there are a lot of overhead costs to consider when attending college. Food and transportation have been among the greatest costs. In terms of struggles on campus, I also feel like there is a huge disconnect between my advisor and me, with my advisor being hard to find. There is a severe lack of mental health resources on campus as well. We should also have more comprehensive recycling options on campus. CUNY should be free and fully funded.
Norm Miller
I am a Data Science major at City Tech. I pay for college using FAFSA and TAP. My biggest challenge with funding college has been having to pay the borrowing company back the money while also having to pay $34 a week for MetroCards/OMNY. In terms of infrastructure, our elevators do not work, and one side of our campus is under construction.
Nuriyah Richardson
I am a Junior at SUNY Purchase studying Political Science with the goal of becoming a criminal defense attorney. I am the first in my family to go to school, and I have found that there is a lack of guidance and understanding of finances. It makes it hard to follow a timeline of responsibilities needed to be done. I get financial aid, private loans, and still have to pay a portion out of pocket. I work two jobs on top of an internship and this still doesn’t make ends meet. Jobs and internships also require funds for transportation or they cut into my time needed to be at work to afford school. I have struggled with receiving scholarships or grants to help me pay and feel a lack of support in getting this aid.
Dhiya Kassim
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.
Travon Peters, College of Staten Island
I am a senior at the College of Staten Island, studying English. When I graduate, I hope to become a speech language pathologist. I pay for college with TAP and other financial aid, but that does not cover the full cost of attending college. Since my mom is the only one working in my household, I have also taken on side jobs and I try to get as much overtime as possible, but when other expenses come up, it becomes challenging to keep up with everything. It is difficult to balance work and school at the same time. Even with financial aid, there are still a lot of out-of-pocket costs that I need to manage on my own. I believe that the TAP award amount should be increased to better support students who are trying to stay in school and manage financial challenges. I am part of the ASAP program, and the MetroCard they provide really helps, but it still doesn’t cover everything. Since CSI removed the direct bus to campus, commuting has become even more difficult. It takes me about three hours to get to school and back. Those long rides add extra stress and costs. During the semester, I often have to make tough decisions between buying a textbook or covering my daily expenses. Being in a single-income household makes it hard to keep up with everything, and even though programs like ASAP make a difference, there’s still a big gap between what students actually need and what we can afford. I think more needs to be done to help commuter students. Traveling across boroughs every day can be exhausting and expensive, and not everyone has easy access to resources on campus. Providing more transportation support or commuter assistance would take a lot of stress off students who are trying to balance everything at once. Additionally, class offerings have been a challenge for me at CSI. One of the biggest problems is that classes fill up really quickly, especially during the off-semester or when you’re trying to fit your schedule around work. Sometimes the times that are left don’t match with my availability, so I end up taking classes that are harder to manage just to stay on track. Campus infrastructure at CSI could also be improved, overall the campus is decent, but there are areas that could be better. Some classrooms and buildings feel outdated, and the elevators or computers don’t always work properly. When things like that happen, it slows down learning and makes the environment less motivating. The computers in the labs can be slow or outdated, which makes it hard to complete assignments on time, especially when you’re trying to balance class, work, and a long commute. Sometimes, small things, like technical problems or limited resources, make the learning experience more stressful than it needs to be. Keeping the facilities well-maintained would really help students feel more supported and comfortable on campus.
Genesis Ramos, City College of NY
I am a sophomore studying digital design, I hope to get a job in animation. I pay for my tuition through financial aid. I am the first in my family to go to college and it’s a little stressful as I feel there’s a lot of pressure to be better than the people in my family as I’m a first generation. Some of my biggest financial costs have been paying for transportation, food and textbooks which is where I have to spend a lot of the money I earn working. I also have issues with our escalators and elevators often not working.
Isaac Johnson, SUNY Purchase
I am a senior studying liberal studies looking to get into business. I pay for my tuition with financial aid, loans and paying out of pocket. I would like to extend the years and money that is allowed to to be received from TAP. For example students who are in college a little longer than the regular 4-5 years aren’t allowed to receive some financial aid. Everything has been a big challenge for me due to the fact that I don’t receive certain financial aid programs and is paying out of pocket while being a full time student athlete. Transportation, food, textbooks all cost a lot of money while I am still paying for my tuition on my own.
Marina Misic, SUNY Purchase
I am a political science major, and after graduation, I look to pursue higher education whether that be a graduate degree or a degree in law. Within my career, I would like to do something revolving around human rights advocacy. I am lucky enough that the Excelsior scholarship as well as a few others helped me receive an education tuition free. I have worked in the retail sector for over 2 years now and I work from 20-40+ hours a week depending on the time of the year and my availability. I have received funds from TAP, I would just like to make it accessible for more students and to cover more of the expenses. My biggest challenge when paying for college was paying the full cost of the tuition outright for my first semester, with the scholarships I was supposed to receive only giving me a refund at the end of the semester. As a commuter, I live at home with my single mother and we both work to pay our rent and afford all of our necessities. Recently the used car I had paid in full, broke down in the middle of the road and it was not salvageable. To make sure I had a reliable means of transportation to school and work, I had to get another used car from a dealership and I now have an additional 230 dollar monthly expense for 6 years. I have dealt with the problem of not having enough class options. Attending a school where the conservatories are the most funded, as a political science major, our program only has 2 full-time faculty, one of whom had taken the spring semester off for a sabbatical. As a result of this, the professors are very limited in what they can teach and none of the classes that were listed in my requirements for U.S. Politics and Law Courses were offered and my professor even brought up her concerns regarding this.The overall lack of accessibility for disabled people regarding the issues with the elevator in the humanities building and various other dormitories are big issues on campus. Another issue I had was that I was walking to class on a cold day and I did not realize that there was ice because my path was not closed off and was covered in snow. The ice caused me to trip and hurt my ankle pretty badly, and after 3 weeks I still have pain in my joint because of it. I really would want a more accessible and better-maintained campus to avoid any other injuries.