“Honestly, finding the right college was stressful for me because guidance counselors didn’t turn in student records on time, financial aid packages were little to none, and my personal life was stressful during the time. Actually, my two choices of colleges before deciding on Queens was the University of West Indies because my family is Caribbean and Virginia Union University (Historically Black College) because I think that it is important for black people to be around each other and encourage each other to achieve success. Queens College was right for me because it was close to home, but not too close. Also, due to my Brothers sickness, and him staying in the hospital, I did not want to put a financial burden on my parents. But God is good, and I got into Queens through the SEEK (Search for Education Elevation and Knowledge) program which looks for college students that are financially or educationally struggling. It gives students a second chance, and defies the stigma that those who do bad in high school will do bad in college, especially since my high school stressed me out, and babied me for the four years. They require you to do volunteer work and go to different workshops that help you figure out what you want to study, and your career path. Although those requirements can be at times annoying, it made me realize that college is not as difficult as my high school drilled in my head, as long as you have a good work ethic. Even with those requirements, I love the program because you learn the history of racial minorities, especially because the program was first built to cater to minorities. If I had the choice to apply to SEEK again, I would because the program helps you remember where you came from and how far you have come from a time where black people were not even allowed to go to college. In contrast to other colleges that I know of I like that the program offers a lot financial aid. Some of the main problems with that is many people who know of SEEK lie on their FAFSA to get into the program, while other students who can really benefit from it either get denied from the program, or do not know about it because their school does not inform them about it. What I wish SEEK can do differently is open it to students other than freshman because it is an amazing program .”

– (Queens, New York)