Every once in a while a prospective student will ask about playing ultimate frisbee at Purchase.  You may or may not know, that once upon a time, Purchase had a nationally ranked team.  These days a group of devoted students are committed to keeping this legacy alive with the “Sub-Atomic Puppies.”  Check out this article from “The Brick” to learn more about the team!

http://thepurchasebrick.com/articles/sub-atomic-puppies-unleash-their-frisbee-fury

Last Friday, May 15th, Purchase held its 37th Annual Commencement for the class of 2009, said to be our largest graduating class to date. Over 1,000 newly minted graduates celebrated their last Purchase hurrah under the big white tent on the West Lawn in front of the Performing Arts Center.  It was a beautiful, sunny day – a welcome switch from last year when we had downpours all day. Some of us even managed to catch a little sun burn while taking in the ceremonies.

It’s always fun and exciting to watch the procession of budding scholars, artists, and future leaders as they’re called up on stage one by one to receive that last validating, all-important paper that says, “Congratulations, you made it! You’re a college graduate!” Parents beamed with pride as they watched their students cross the stage, degrees in hand, basking in the applause. It’s an especially proud moment for Admission staff as well, as the fruits of our labors move out into the world.

It didn’t go unnoted that this graduating class has a particularly difficult job market awaiting them. Many of our speakers, among them Oscar winning Film alumni, Chris Wedge, and Pulitzer Prize winning-playwright, Donald Margulies, and of course, President Thomas Schwarz, offered messages inspiring our students to make the most of the challenges that lay ahead by following their true passions, serving others, and working to make a difference. President Schwarz urged our graduates to take the advice of President Obama’s Chief-of-Staff, Rahm Emanuel, when he said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” The grads and parents responded with laughter and cheers when speaker Senator Charles Schumer said, “You have the opportunity to do anything … under the cover of a difficult job market.” Ultimately, many grads chose to take our speakers up on this advice by signing on to take the Graduation Pledge, a commitment to social and environmental responsibility. The pledge staetment says, “I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I work.”

While graduation is a joyous time for everyone, it’s also a little bittersweet for Admissions as we say goodbye to these confident, mature adults that we helped bring into Purchase when they were nervous, new freshman just finding their way. In our office, some of our Student Ambassadors and Workers are leaving us with the graduating class, and while happy for them, we’re also a little sad to see them go. And not just for selfish reasons. I mean, I won’t pretend we won’t miss all the benefits of having hard-working, talented students helping us out in vital areas of our day to day operations. But it’s more than that. It’s the bonds of friendship that develop between us all as we get to know each other as peers. They will be sorely missed.

So, yeah, that’s enough sappiness. Now, thanks to the wonders of technology, you can do more than read about graduation here on the blog. You can watch video and see photos of the graduation ceremonies on our website here. Enjoy!

Congratulations to the Class of 2009! You’ve made us proud we know you will continue to do shine! The Office of Admissions wishes you all happiness and success in all you do!

Hey students and College Counselors. You may have heard of the new SAT test score-reporting feature from the College Board called “Score Choice.”  As the College Board’s web page states, Score Choice “gives students the option to choose the SAT scores by test date and SAT Subject Test scores by individual test that they send to colleges, in accordance with each institution’s individual score-use practice.” The key language in this sentence is “in accordance with each institution’s individual score-use practice” because Purchase College does not participate in the Score Choice option, or the similar program offered through Educational Testing Service (ETS). We encourage students to submit scores from all test sittings of the SAT, ACT or SAT subject tests (note: we don’t require SAT subject tests, but if you took them, you should send them all). Admissions Advisors here evaluate thousands of competitive applicants each year for admission and access to students’ full testing profiles enables us to fully and fairly assess each applicant. 

No big deal really – we are no different than most other colleges in setting our own policy as to how we receive and evaluate student test scores during the admission process. As College Board reminds on their website, “Different colleges use test scores in different ways and a “one size fits all” approach to college admissions does not reflect the diverse needs of colleges and universities.” Students, you can rest assured that Purchase maintains a holistic review process with a focus on the quality of your academic program, your cumulative academic average, your test scores and your supplemental application, including recommendations, extracurriculars, community service and creative talents. Standardized testing is a measurement of aptitude and will continue to be part of our admissions process. We recommend testing for the SAT or ACT in the spring of junior year and fall of the senior year. And we highly recommend acing your finals and finishin this last month or so of school in good academic shape so you can enjoy the summer!