Questions about CUNY from an older potential student

Colleges and Universities A-Z CUNY System
1

Hello, thanks for reading my post. I’m a sort of mature student (21 years old) with a pretty irregular college history and I would like to go back to school —

To make a long story as short as possible, when I was 16 years old I dropped out of High School, got my GED and started going to Westchester community college. After getting something in the realm of 48 credits I transferred to Lehman College in the Bronx, in my first semester there I did really well, with 2 A’s and 2 B’s and everything seemed on track, however during the time that I was at WCC I became a Heroin user, and by the time that I was at Lehman I was losing my ability to function. Before what was supposed to be my second semester at Lehman, I started my “metamorphosis” into the worst sort of junkie, and because of them my parents cut me off financially. As a result of the lack of money, I applied to FAFSA for a Pell grant and for a student loan, and all of the money from that which didn’t go on directly to the University was used by me to buy drugs, which caused me to neglect my student responsibilities and I wound up flunking out of class, and also overdosing.

After overdosing, my parents sent me away to the United Kingdom — which is where our family is from — to live with my grandparents. I was going to study there, but even though I’m a British national I would have had to pay nearly £25,000 in foreign student tuition fees because I’ve been away so long, and I would’ve had to take a foundation course before I had even started school a result of the different education systems in the United States and the UK.

I just moved back after over 3 years of being away and I want to go and get a degree. However due to my history I don’t know whether or not CUNY will let me in, and if I cannot get into a CUNY college I will be in big trouble, because they’re the only local universities that I have a chance of getting in of affording fees at all.

Furthermore, if some miracle, I do get into a CUNY school, I don’t know which one(s) are available and best for my area of study. I want to get my BA in Philosophy, with my minor being either history or languages. I live in Brooklyn and the closest CUNY colleges to me are Brooklyn, Hunter and City College, but I don’t know which one should be my top choice, which is the best school for philosophy?

Finally, what’s the current financial situation when it comes to CUNY fees? I’ve heard that tuition fees are now free in New York, is that true?

Can someone advise me? I want to get my degree so badly, but I screwed up so badly when I had the chance that I feel like I’ve permanently sabotaged my success.

Sorry if this question is badly written, I’ve been typing it as I was driving and didn’t have a chance to check my spelling of formatting.

2

Congratulations on getting clean. At age 21, you have not permanently sabotaged your life or chances of success. I saw an interview with Alec Baldwin recently and he said he got straight at age 26 and many people don’t do so until a much older age. The important thing is to continue to do what you are doing now and to have a support system.

CUNY/SUNY can be tuition free depending on your income as a result of the newly instituted Excelsior Scholarship. Since you are under 24, you might still be considered a dependent student whose parents’ income would be counted. However, since you lived overseas for 3 years, you might be able to get emancipated status. I wouldn’t presume to predict and would suggest that you talk to CUNY financial aid personnel for a better assessment. Another wrinkle is that you are a returning student, although I believe it does apply to all years. There is a performance/GPA requirement but I don’t know if that is prospective or retrospective. The FA office might be able to help you there as well.

I myself am a graduate of Lehman, which had an excellent history and philosophy department at that time but I graduated many years ago, so I have no idea what the story is now. In any event, commuting to the Bronx from Brooklyn seems counterproductive when you have closer options. In terms of your majors, I would think that Hunter and Brooklyn would be the stronger choices, while CCNY would be better for STEM subjects.

Good luck.

3

Thank you for your answer @techmom99 I really appreciate it. The Excelsior scholarship would really help me, I have to learn more about the specifics, I will probably go on Monday to talk to a financial aid counselor and figure that all out. Lehman is a good school, but it’s very far from where my family and I live in Brooklyn and I really don’t like going into the Bronx because that’s where I got into a lot of trouble.

So it’s Hunter College and Brooklyn College that would best for my major? I had no idea that CCNY was more STEM focused

4

You are very welcome. CCNY is known for its engineering program. My uncle attended there in the 1930’s!

I am sorry you got into trouble in the Bronx. I grew up there and lived there until my mid-20’s and I have always had an intense fondness for the borough. However, it’s a long commute from Brooklyn.

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Unfortunately, you won’t qualify for the Excelsior scholarship. It was designed to encourage students to graduate in 4 years, without a break. Do you know what your GPA was when you left Lehman? There are other CUNY colleges offering a BA in philosophy. Go to http://www2.cuny.edu/admissions/undergraduate/explore/programs/ and search on “philosophy.”