In 2012, we launched the college success center at PS 200 Bennett High School to assist counselors as they worked with high school students on the college choice process. The center was designed to achieve three goals: (1) free counselors from the administrative burden of college choice, (2) serve as a conduit between the school and local community partners doing college and career readiness work, and (3) contribute to the creation of a college-going culture in the school. The center at Bennett is now in its fourth year and has served as many as 3,200 students in a given year on a range of activities from career exploration and campus visits to SAT registration, college applications and the financial aid application process. We opened the second center at PS 198 The International Preparatory School in 2014 and we are in our second year of operation at that location. For more information: “College Success Centers open the world of higher education to those who could be left behind“
Archives
FAFSA Completion Project
With this project we partner with Say Yes to Education Buffalo, Buffalo Public Schools and the public charter schools to provide Free Application for Federal Student Aid completion support in 21 high schools across the city of Buffalo. More than 50 interns, graduate assistants, service learning students and volunteers participate in this project annually. During the initial year of the project, FAFSA completion rates increased by 61 percent. Currently, approximately two-thirds of all the FAFSAs completed in Buffalo Public Schools are done with the FAFSA completion project.
Social Justice Immersion
Social Justice Immersion project is part of the course requirements for a graduate course, Cultural Diversity in Higher Education, required for students enrolled in the master’s program in Higher Education Administration and Higher Education Student Affairs Administration. To serve the purpose of better understanding others who are culturally different from oneself, students were asked to immerse themselves in other cultures, increase their social contact with others and possibly experience a new minority status by (a) attending activities or events related to a specific social identity group other than that of their own, or providing some type of service to a social justice related group or organization that addresses issues that do not pertain to their social identity groups; (b) reflecting on their own assumptions, biases and stereotypes regarding the activity or services; and (c) presenting the lessons learned from the experience with the class and in writing.
UB a Good Neighbor
UB a Good Neighbor involves UB students from various clubs, fraternities and as individuals, in the effort to help beautify the neighborhood adjacent to the South Campus.