Applications Surge at Cooper Union, New York Times, 2/8/09
Summary: Cooper Union, a college in New York that prides itself on being tuition free, is seeing more applicants than usual due to the current economic times.
Topic: Pell Grants
Category: Mainstream journalistic
What is it? Newspaper article
Publication Info: New York Times, 2/8/09
Author: Foderaro, Lisa W.
Location: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/education/09cooper.html?_r=2&ref=education
Accessed: 2/10/09
Support:
Afreen Juli: high school senior applying to Cooper Union.
Julliard
Harvard University
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Mass.
Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia
Fiorello H. La Guardia High School for Music & Art and Performing Arts
Paul Shao: High school senior applying to Cooper Union
Molly C. Broad: President of the American Council on Education
Sandy Baum: Senior policy analyst at the College Board
Ling Jessica Chu: student accepted to Cooper Union
Natasha V. Broodie: Third year out of state student
Darby McHugh, the college coordinator at Bronx Science
,
Summary:
Afreen Juli is a student that is introduced at the beginning of the article that has applied for early admission to Cooper Union. Her dream is to study film and art at NYU, but her family can’t afford to send her there and Cooper is free. The admission rate at Cooper Union is 8% and is about the same as Julliard and Harvard. The Franklin W. Olin College of Egineering and the Curtis Institute of Music are two other colleges that give free tuition to their students. At the Fiorello H. La Guardia High School for Music & Arts and Performing Arts 63 of the 556 seniors applied to Cooper, 14 of them early. At the Bronx High School of Science 11 seniors applied early to Cooper. Darby McHugh explains how the early application expresses serious interest in the institution that you are applying for. That combined with the current economic status makes Cooper a popular choice of where to apply. Paul Shao is a senior at Bronx Science who is applying to Cooper Union because he does not want his parents paying more than they have to for his college education. Molly C. Broad, President of the American Council on Education, praises Cooper Union for being a unique institution with a set of characteristics that you rarely find in American higher education. Sandy Baum, Senior Policy analyst at the college board, explains the reality that most students who apply to these universities will not be accepted. Ling Jessica Chu is a student who applied to Cooper and was accepted. She wanted to live in the dorms but ended up deciding to live at home in order to help her parents save money. Natasha V. Broodie is a third year out of state student from Florida. She explains how even though the tuition is free supporting yourself in Manhattan is tough.
Audience and agenda:
The audience that the New York Times gears towards is the average person wanting to know current events nationally and internationally. This newspaper is distributed to 1,118,565 subscribers daily. The agenda of the New York Times is to bring readers the current events nationally, internationally, and locally in New York.
Usefulness:
This article really makes you see what American’s are looking for in higher education right now, and that is affordability. The kids in this article are 17 and they are making a decision to apply and try to get into a very selective private school on the basis of gaining free tuition. One message that this article sends is that more colleges should be giving the same opportunities that Cooper is giving, because it is obvious that this is what is needed during our current economic times.
Filed under: Source notes
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