<p>Oh I didn’t know that you get a degree from Macaulay, that’s new to me so I am glad you mentioned it.</p>
<p>Thanks, Dramamine, for offering to answer questions. That’s very nice of you! </p>
<p>How do you usually get back and forth between Brookdale and Hunter. How long does it take? How about between Hunter and the Macaulay building? How often are you at the Macaulay building vs. Hunter? It seems like riding a bike might be another option besides public transportation, but are there places at the dorm and at the campus for bikes?</p>
<p>Are most of your classes with honors students? If not, how are they?</p>
<p>I’m also wondering what life is like, in general, at Brookdale. Does it feel like a community? What do students do there in their spare time? Rec rooms? Kitchen facilities? Lounge areas? Is there a music practice room, by any chance? How are the dorm rooms themselves? </p>
<p>My son really likes the idea of the NYC seminars. How do you like them so far?</p>
<p>He had an interview a couple of weeks ago, and it sounds like it went as well as it could have, so I hope he gets in. Another month seems like such a long time to wait!</p>
<p>ivyvision: yup, I think it’s something they started doing relatively recently. Plus, the name of it isn’t Macaulay Honors Program, it’s actually Macaulay Honors College, so yeah.</p>
<p>fosterte: no problem!! There are two ways to get back and forth from Brookdale and Hunter. First, you can take the 6 train from 23rd and Park and it’ll take you right to 68th and Lex, where you can actually enter the college without even going outside, through the basement (this is how I, and from what I can gather, the majority of Brookdale residents get to school). If you’re a quick walker like myself this trip shouldn’t take more than 25-30 minutes, but I guess 35 minutes would be the maximum. Besides the 6, a few people opt to take the M15 Select Service Bus, which goes up 1st ave and has a stop at 67th, from which it’s easy to walk across to Lexington Ave to get to Hunter. This takes a tiny bit longer than the train, and when you factor in traffic it’s a little less reliable, but when it’s freezing out or you’re tired or you just prefer buses, it’s definitely a fine option. Transportation to the Macaulay building is pretty easy too (Hunter is one of the closest campuses to the building) and is usually accomplished by the crosstown bus (i think it’s the M67) in like 10 minutes. When it’s nice outside, though, lots of kids choose to just walk through central park, as it’s not a treacherous or long walk at all. And how much time one spends there is pretty relative. I personally don’t visit often, but your kid might have his seminar there, might be involved in a Macaulay club that meets there, or might prefer going there to study rather than utilizing Hunter’s library or just doing work in the dorm. Because of events (such as Arts Night) and just a general desire to visit, I’d say I’m in the building once every two months, but one of my best friends at the college is there nearly every day, so yeah it’s pretty varied from person to person. Finally, there are definitely people who ride their bikes and longboards to class, but not so much at this time of the year. There are bike racks on the Brookdale campus, but I’m actually not sure about the situation at Hunter. I have friends who bike up there when the weather is nice, though, so I think it’s safe to assume that there’s somewhere to put a bike.</p>
<p>Yeah, about half of my classes are with Macaulay students, but that number is different for everyone – I have friends who have taken exclusively honors classes for both semesters this year. And to be honest, the ones with fellow honors kids are definitely DEFINITELY better than the regular Hunter classes. Hunter students tend to be a little cold and unfriendly the majority of the time, though my non-honors Intensive Latin course this semester is filled with really nice and friendly and interesting people. From what I’ve gathered from my friends and upperclassmen, however, this is pretty rare, and your son will more likely find the honors classes more friendly and engaging and higher-quality than the non-honors ones.</p>
<p>For the most part, Brookdale does totally feel like a community, but it’s a SMALL one that’s going to become even smaller. The usual trajectory for kids is 1)initially, make lots of acquaintances (2) gravitate towards the people in this big group with whom you get along best (3) do EVERYTHING with this little group (anywhere from 5-10 kids), including cooking in the kitchen, hanging in the lounge (there’s one on every floor), going out on weekends, etc. It’s a small community and I still totally interact with everyone, and I wouldn’t necessarily consider the nature of Brookdale “cliquey,” but I find myself most comfortable around my a specific group of 7-8 kids and we’re together nearly every day. The dorm rooms themselves are pretty nice – they’re all relatively roomy singles that can fit lots of people. You can actually set up to have a tour of Brookdale before you accept your decision, and it’s definitely something I’d recommend because life here is pretty different than it is at most bigger colleges. Overall, it’s not the best place in the world, but it’s not too terrible either.</p>
<p>The seminars have been great so far!! I preferred last semesters – Arts in NYC – but the one I’m currently in – Peopling of NYC (it’s basically a sociology seminar) – is really interesting too. The classes tend to be demanding, but for the most part are pretty fulfilling, and the majority of kids here definitely like them. Some classes are more demanding than others though; it all depends on the professor. Overall though, I think the seminars are pretty great.</p>
<p>Good luck!! The waiting is the WORST, but it’ll totally be worth it if he gets in! And a positive interview is really great news, especially considering the fact that mine didn’t go too well and I was still accepted.</p>
<p>I agree with Dramamine. Just because you didn’t get an interview does not mean that you won’t be accepted, but to be honest, the chances are slim. I called the Macaulay office ( I forgot if I called Macaulay hunter or the general Macaulay office) and the man said if you are offered an interview, it is a good sign. If you are not offered one then it is not a good sign.
I’m a bit confused- I listed Macaulay hunter as my first choice and interviewed there a few weeks ago, and listed Lehman as my third choice, and was offered an interview from them as well. I know only one Macaulay decision is to be received, but if j get rejected from Macaulay hunter, could I possibly be accepted into Macaulay Lehman? Ugh, I just want the wait to be over. :-p good luck to everyone!</p>
<p>Conversely to what jazmine said, if you’re only contacted by macaulay at your first choice campus, would that be a good sign that they had not passed over your app.</p>
<p>About the classes that you have to take at the Macaulay Building… How many semesters would you have to complete for the minimum requirement? And also does anyone know if honors classes boost your GPA up for CUNYs?</p>
<p>Okay so I called and asked and they said that the schools do not contact each other to see if the first choice wants the student or not. You only receive one Macaulay decision from your first choice and the guy told me that I am in a fortunate situation, and if I happen to be rejected at my first choice, then the other school that interviewed me can contact me and offer me a space in their program.</p>
<p>My S has not received interview as of yet. GPA 101, top 2% lives in NY and 2200 SAT. (1430 CR/M) Does anyone know if interviews end by Feruary end?</p>
<p>Yolie, which school did your son put as his first choice? This is all new to me, but I’ve gathered that not all of the schools do interviews. Maybe someone with more experience/knowledge can confirm or not???</p>
<p>I don’t think this has been established- not every school offers interviews. City college doesn’t( I called and asked for my friends who put city as their top choice) and I am unsure of the others. And I got a late interview for Macaulay Lehman but I would guess the interviews would be done by the end of February since the. Decisions come out march 15th.</p>
<p>i applied to the grove school of engineering not through Macaulay honors though. I guess it would come beginning of March.</p>
<p>Uhm, did anyone else receive an email from the dean of diversity?</p>
<p>I did. I was confused. I’m wondering if its because I’m a minority, or if its Macaulay hunter’s version of a likely letter? No clue. I’m calling the guy when he gets into the office at 9:30 but it’s most likely just a recruitment tool that they send to everyone.</p>
<p>Yea I’m going to call him as well, but when I first read it I thought it was Macaulay’s version of a likely letter. I mean it would seem counterintuitive to pander to students who won’t be accepted, this close to the notification date. </p>
<p>Do you think they are still deciding or the decisions have already been made?</p>
<p>I would think that they are still deciding, because - no offense, I love macaulay- but the CUNY System is so unorganized, and so is Macaulay, to an extent. Back in late December, they said that they were behind due to hurricane sandy, which was understandable. But hurricane sandy pushed the deadline back a week. They said they were more than 6 weeks behind. So I would be surprised if the decisions have been made. Maybe some have, but I highly doubt that all of them have, And I agree- I don’t understand why they would feel the need to send us this stuff so close to the decision date, but maybe it’s just for minorities. I honestly have no idea.</p>
<p>Trust me, I am no stranger to the various ineptitudes of the CUNY System but I’d like to give Macaulay at hunter the benefit of the doubt that they have sidestepped that fate lol. </p>
<p>Either way, we don’t know know and won’t know for sure until March 15th. I would have preferred they leave me to my own paranoia without this random email hahaha.</p>
<p>Definitely, lol. But hunter took the longest out of all of the CUNY’s to get regular decisions out so I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t get notified until much later</p>
<p>Lol ok so I called the number provided in the email and it led me to the president’s office (Hunter’s President not the U.S. President xD). The guy I spoke with was pretty cool an answered the questions I had about hunter itself.</p>
<p>That’s great 
did he say what the email meant? Or did they just send it to all of their applicants?</p>
<p>Nope they didn’t say anything regarding the email except that it’s sent to high achievers. So im starting to think it’s a general marketing email sent to Macaulay at Hunter interviewees. </p>
<p>Did anyone else receive the email?</p>