We’re NYS residents so I know a little about our schools, and I have a sibling who’s a nurse so I know a little about that too. Nursing is constant study even after you pass the boards. Every year there are courses that have to be completed and exams that must be passed in order to keep your license. If you move to another state, you have to pass their tests too.
NYS has great 4-year public universities, but we also have excellent community colleges. If he’s not sure what he wants to study but he doesn’t want to take a gap year, I’d suggest starting at Nassau. He can try different courses and in 2 years, when he’s had some additional time to think about what he wants, he can decide where he wants to go to earn his degree. If he has an accociates degree and a solid GPA, he’ll have more options than Buffalo State and Westbury.
So I know this post is older and your son has probably already made a decision, but for those who are in a similar situation:
I was a HORRIBLE high school student. My grades were mediocre and I knew there was no way that I could get into a respectable four year college (and I didn’t even intend to at first). Eventually, I decided that community college was the route to take, which then led me to a four year, which then led me to getting my MS and now I have a respectable job.
The point is that the student has to put in the work. Whether you go to SUNY or an ivy league, if you put in zero effort, you will gain nothing from college. Take advantage of internships, join clubs, network and also get good grades. SUNY Old Westbury can offer your son a fine education I am sure, but he has to go above and beyond doing well in his classes.
That being said, I have heard good things about SUNY Old Westbury’s accounting programs (which is my field). I haven’t really heard much more about the college, but then again, that goes for many colleges.
One of my students last year made several SUNYs. But she asked me to write a special LOR because she had been waitlisted at SUNY Old Westbury and it was her #1 choice. She got in. I saw her in September and she’s happy as a clam there!
@bjkmom Can you comment on Old Westbury as far as education major programs there? They are one of the only 3 SUNYs that have the whole suit - from special ed to elementary school to 7-12 subject, and the other two schools (Plattsburgh and Geneseo) are way too far; there is a reason why going to school in NYC (CUNY) is not ideal either. My daughter wants to become a teacher and she wants to stay in the area, so she thinks going to a local college will be an extra advantage helping her develop connections that will make it easier to find a job here after graduation.
To be honest, I’m not sure-- I went to St. Johns a million years ago.
But if she wants to stay on LI, then I see attending school locally to be a huge plus. Each and every time she observes she has a chance to network-- to dress professionally, to send a thank you note, to impress someone who may be in a position to help her find a job down the road in a brutally competitive job market.
In my opinion, a huge part of what makes someone a successful teacher comes from within; I think it’s so hard to teach or predict. So going to one school over another based on their reputation or ed program doesn’t seem to make much sense to me.
But you do mention wanting the whole suit of ed programs… can I ask why? Is it that she isn’t sure what grade/subject she’s interested in?
Exactly. She is not sure, she is thinking of some combination of special ed and either elementary or math 7-12 (she attends an inclusive HS where a good chunk of her classmates are on the spectrum and she says she “gets” them; of course the diagnoses are not public, but in many cases it’s pretty obvious). She also worked in an inclusive camp this summer. But still, she wants to have some flexibility and not to make a final choice until maybe the junior year. She is also thinking that a school that has such a diversity of offerings probably has stronger connections to employers and a better pipeline. She knows she’ll eventually need Master’s.
My D graduated from the direct admit 5 year education program at Plattsburgh. She graduated with an undergraduate degree in birth - grade 2 and K - 6 for elementary. She got her masters in special ed. We live fairly close to SUNY Old Westbury, so, yes, Plattsburgh is far, but I would take the Amtrak up and have a nice relaxing ride. The station is about 5 minutes from campus. If you drive, it’s straight up the Northway, no creepy, windy roads or the like. She student taught in Manhattan, walking distance from Penn Station, and then got a job at a top rated school in Manhattan. She taught for one year and moved into educational technology. Geneseo doesn’t offer a masters program and it isn’t a direct admit, or at least it wasn’t when my D was applying to schools.
Right. At this point I would have her look at a number of schools-- some on LI, some SUNYs upstate. See what she thinks after some visitations and after the apps go out.
If she is thinking math 7-12, I will say that the job market is less ugly than, say, secondary English or Elementary Ed.
Of my own crowd of friends in the math dept at my school, one went to SUNY Albany (where she was a business major I think, before getting her Masters in secondary math), one went to Adelphi, and 2 of us went to St. Johns. I can’t speak for the other 15 or 16 members of the department.
Thanks @techmom99 and @bjkmom. My daughter is still a junior, so she has time, but it’s rare that Old Westbury comes up on this forum, so I jumped into the conversation. She knows about SUNY Plattsburgh, and likes everything about that school, except the distance and the weather :-). We are full pay, and my daughter is very practical - when she was still in middle school she told me that she’ll take a down payment on the house over private school tuition, and AFAIK she hasn’t changed her mind, so SUNY it is; given the costs, it’s unlikely that a merit scholarship from a private school comes close.
So a quick update, my kid got accepted to several CUNY programs for nursing but one of the admissions people confided that they accept like 300 kids for 90 spots, so the first year is like pre nursing so to speak,and a lot of these freshmen won’t get a place the next year, and transfers were going to be hard, he didn’t like NCC, and I wasn’t sure that he’d be able to stay motivated if he didn’t like the school. We both liked Old Westbury, they were responsive and helpful, he’s doing liberal arts but taking lots of premed courses, So far he seems happy. I was worried about it being sub par but so far so good, it’s out in the boondocks, but as a parent that’s a plus in my books. He commutes to school, and that’s a bit of a drag, I’m paying full price out of pocket.We didn’t qualify for any financial aid not even the Excelsior, but like I said he seems happy , despite the ADD he’s maintaining decent grades, and he gets extra help when he needs it. So my conclusion is -OW might not be anywhere near Ivy League, but it gets the job done