Bottom Line

Here in New York, our counselors have the opportunity of working with both our high students in our College Access Program and our college students in the College Success Program.  December is a stressful time for all of our students, and as counselors, we are charged with helping them see that their hard work will help achieve an end goal – whether that is submitting their college applications or excelling on finals.

Many of our college students are nervous and stressed out about final exams, unsure of exactly what to expect and eager to end the semester on a positive note. After Thanksgiving we have ventured to all our campuses to meet our students for “Finals Prep,” where we gather information about upcoming finals and create a study plan unique to each class. Ideally, our students leave these meetings knowing exactly what stands between them and the end of the semester, and have a detailed calendar and plan on how to excel on their exams. Because of Hurricane Sandy’s visit, these meetings are especially crucial since our students must seek out information about finals that have changed due to their impromptu week off from school.

Meanwhile, as we are prepping our college students for their finals, we are also helping our high school students submit all of their college applications! These “Packaging” meetings are an exciting and stressful time for our students. We reassure them that they will get into college and their essays are perfect. Coaching students to press the “submit” button is often a process that requires patience and encouragement – clicking that one button changes each student’s life trajectory. The smile on our students’ faces as they hang up their star on the “I Hit Submit” wall is worth every second of essay editing or common app review. Some of our students are already receiving acceptance letters. These letters are confirmation that their hard work was worth it and bring further excitement that their dreams of being the first in their family to attend college are becoming a reality.

Visiting our college students on campus gives the counselors in NY an inside perspective on many of the colleges on our high school students’ lists. This information helps us provide our access students with more detail about the student experience at each school, and ultimately informs where we encourage students to apply and attend.

-Victoria Hulit

Bottom Line Counselor, New York

NY Program Director Ginette Saimprevil meets with a student

It’s been a very difficult few weeks in New York City.  As you know, New York was hit by Hurricane Sandy on October 30^th, devestating  many parts of our area.  Thankfully, here at Bottom Line we were relatively unharmed – our building did not lose heat or power in the storm.  Our hearts go out to our students, friends, family and others across the City who have suffered enormous losses from the storm.

The Bottom Line New York office closed for a couple of days immediately before and after the storm, but by Wednesday of that week, the counselors who could make it to the office – whether by foot, bike or bus – were there, calling and meeting with as many students as possible.  Our staff missed seven college visits during the week of the storm.  Some were made up through phone check-ins, and many were rescheduled for the following week.  We also missed over 30 Access meetings.  All of these meetings were rescheduled within a week of being missed – counselors worked extra days over the weekend, and our Program Director stepped in to pick up almost a full week’s worth of meetings.

We were able to make contact with all of our students and, thankfully, most were fine. However, a few of our students were greatly affected by the storm, and we are working to get them the help they need.  One thing we’re doing immediately is a professional clothing drive for students and families who lost belongings.   Although many subways, bridges and tunnels were closed for over a week after the hurricane, the Bottom Line office has been packed with students, and counselors have been coming in early and staying late into the evening to help students complete their college applications and stay on track with their school work.  We never cease to be amazed by our students who, no matter the obstacle, continue to stay focused on their goals.

Things are finally feeling almost back to normal for most people in NY, although a few communities continue to struggle without heat or power.  We are grateful for our relative good fortune and so proud of the way our team pulled together.

– Ruth Genn

Executive Director, NY