<p>So, I’ve finished my app since december and I recently found out about OTE but reading about it on the BC website and talking to admissions officers still doesn’t clarify how I would go about getting into the program. Anybody know about this program or been through it personally? Please let me know! Thanks : )</p>
<p>I am currently applying to work for the program next summer and have worked in the Admissions office so I hope I can answer your question. </p>
<p>OTE was established twenty some odd years ago by the Office of AHANA to help students from low-income and/or inadequate high schools. Its main goal is to help graduate those students, who, data have shown, have a higher chance of dropping out of college than others. Despite being founded and run by AHANA, the program accepts all students regardless of race.</p>
<p>If you are admitted to the program, then you will participate in an six-week summer program where you take two classes (math and English) and live at Boston College. The goal is to have you get acclimated to the college-level work and to have a group of friends and mentors (the spot I am applying to) who can guide your through your first year at Boston College. The two classes are fully credited, meaning you get actual grades for them and they count on your overall GPA. The two summer classes make up for two classes during freshman year so you only have to take four classes per semester your first year. All expenses–i.e. room, board, and tuition–are all paid for by BC. It’s a very good deal. </p>
<p>You take classes during the days and do homework at night. You follow a pretty strict curfew and rules. They take you to trips on weekend, like Six Flags and Martha Vineyard. Again, all paid for by BC. And again, a really good deal. </p>
<p>OTE students also get special consideration for financial aids as well. They don’t get the normal university scholarship grant, but an OTE grant that covers more of their financial need than traditional grant does. And finally, the OTE students are guarantee four years housing. </p>
<p>Getting into OTE is quite a mysterious process, not unlike the Presidential Program. The admissions officers first pick out 100+ candidates for OTE. They then meet together and discuss who will thrive under OTE. They usually invite 60~ students to participate in the program with the expectation that about 40 will accept the invitation. There is no special application and no appeal to join. It’s completely up to the officers and I frankly don’t know how they do it.</p>
<p>OTE is a very good program to do, plus all the benefits don’t hurt as well.
So how do you know you have a shot at OTE:
- You’re from a low-income family.
- You’re from a terrible high school.
- You have a pretty good essay detailing your success while living in an adverse environment.</p>
<p>Who are they looking for:
“We’re looking for students who have done the best they can with what was afforded to them in their school systems,” says Joana Maynard, assistant director of the office of AHANA student programs. “Typically, about eight or nine students are white, 12 are Latino, seven or eight are Asian, and 13 are black. We usually don’t get a lot of Native American students.”
[Black</a> History Month: Admission, OTE increases diversity - Features](<a href=“http://media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2006/02/02/Features/Black.History.Month.Admission.Ote.Increases.Diversity-1596570-page3.shtml]Black”>http://media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2006/02/02/Features/Black.History.Month.Admission.Ote.Increases.Diversity-1596570-page3.shtml)</p>
<p>oo. Thanks for clarifying! I think I am qualified, hopefully I am. Thanks again! If you’re wondering I’m an African-American young women who currently attends a private school that is predominantly Caucasian. I’ve tried my hardest in my school with the most difficult curriculum but I feel that the teacher’s never encourage me to work past my potential, being the only African-American girl in my classes is also sometimes frustrating because I am often the only student that asks questions and my peers always portrays this as because of my race. I hope that BC can see how rare minorities are in my school community. Thanks again for answering my question, and Good Luck on that position!</p>