SUNYUlster

Start here. Go far.

Getting through Finals -10 Tips for Success

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Woman working at finals

Yes, it’s about that time, finals! As a college student, finals are stressful and important. We’re hoping though, these ten tips below, help you be more prepared and less stressed during finals time.

1. Lower your commitments. Don’t take on any extra commitments and even put off any unnecessary social obligations or family commitments. Let your schedule have as much free time as possible within the two weeks leading up to finals. You’ll find you have a lot easier time studying if you make extra time for it. If you’re working, try if at all possible to take 10 days off for final exam period (or at least trim your work schedule). Even a few strategically placed extra hours can make the difference between doing just OK on finals and doing a really great job.

2. Understand your study needs. Some students think they should spend equal amounts of time preparing for each of their finals. Instead, distribute your study time to how hard the final is likely to be and how well you already know the material.

Insider tip: When figuring out when to start studying, count up from the day the study questions are handed out (or if your prof doesn’t do this, a week before the exam) to the day the exam will take place. “Seven days? Then divide the course into sevenths and study two weeks’ worth of lectures each day.”

3. Figure out what’s covered. One of the most important things you need to be clear about is what materials are going to be tested on the final. Are readings and discussion sections included, or is the final going to focus almost exclusively on material from the lectures? Is the final going to concentrate on materials since the midterm or is it going to be a comprehensive or cumulative final? Knowing the extent and the limits of the exam will make it much easier to organize and structure your studying.

4. Find out if you’re answering the big question or a series of smaller questions. Professors have two strategies when making up finals. Some design a single, big question or two; others give a series of more focused questions, each covering some single issue in the course. Before you start studying, make sure you’ve figured out your professor’s test-construction strategy.

5. Understand when to do group study. Many students believe (mistakenly) that a study group always is the best advantage: more brain power plus peer pressure to crack the books. This works well when your study partners are at least as smart as you. Exam time isn’t charity time.

6. Read the instructions—and make a plan. When you get to the exam and get your test sheet, take the time to carefully survey the format of the test. How many questions are you being asked to answer? Is there a choice? How much does each part count? Then make a (tentative) plan—right up front, before you start working—of how much time you’re going to devote to each question.

Insider tip: Don’t waste too much time outlining your answers, writing down formulas you’ve memorized, or (when given a choice) starting a question and then stopping and starting another question. You’re being graded on the quality of your answer, not on notes to yourself or false starts.

7. Be sure to expand your answers fully. Many students don’t realize that, on essay exams, part of what’s being graded is how well you develop and explain your answer, not just how correct it is. Consider explaining your points in more detail so that someone unfamiliar with the answer would know, just from what you say, what the answer is.

8. Don’t panic too soon. In three hours, you’ll probably be confronted with a number of questions of varying degrees of difficulty. There are bound to be ups and downs—times you’re feeling better, and worse, about how the test is going. Ignore such instantaneous feedback. Most tests are designed to have some harder questions, and in any case, such self-evaluation is often wrong.

9. Pace yourself. Two or three hours is a long time. Think of the final exam as a work session, divided into a number of sub-sessions. Take a few minute break between each question or part. Approach each question separately from the rest.

10. Stay until the end. It’s amazing to see, but many students leave before the exam is over. That’s never a good thing to do, since there are always problems to be checked over or essays to be added to or proofread. Even making a single correction to a problem, or adding a single point to an essay (don’t be afraid to pencil a paragraph into the margin or on top of the page), can spell the difference between a good grade and a not-so-good grade.

Three Sisters Get College Start at SUNY Ulster

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The Hart sisters stand with arms around each other

While they have different career plans, sisters Jacquelyn, Chelsea and Brooke Hart from New Paltz agree on the value of starting their education at SUNY Ulster.

With three attending college at the same time and being raised by a single mother who is a veteran and works for the New Paltz Police Department, SUNY Ulster’s low tuition was a key factor in their decision.

But they each also chose SUNY Ulster for its quality education, campus activities, connections and transfer opportunities.

“I chose SUNY Ulster because it is affordable while offering a great educational opportunity,” said the oldest sister Jacquelyn, who will graduate this year.

Jacquelyn, who also works at the College’s Learning Center, plans on transferring to SUNY Buffalo or SUNY New Paltz to study communications and journalism.

The second sister, Chelsea, is pursuing Environmental Studies with plans to go to SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse after earning her associate’s here in May 2016.

“SUNY Ulster was the best idea for me because it is more affordable and studying here will give me a stronger foundation in my studies before transferring to a four-year college,” Chelsea said.

Both Jacquelyn and Chelsea have been active in SUNY Ulster’s Chess Club, serving as treasurer and secretary, respectively.

The youngest, Brooke, is following his sisters’ paths. She will enroll in the fall after graduating from New Paltz High School with similar career aspirations as Chelsea to better the environment.

“I am choosing SUNY Ulster because it offers a wide variety of opportunities to its students in terms of professional connections and extracurricular activities, and it is very affordable,” said Brooke, who wants to become an environmental engineer.

Having all the sisters on campus on the same time will be enjoyable for this close-knit family who is going places. “It will be fun to share the college experience with both of my sisters while also being there to support each of them through the process,” Chelsea said.

 

 

Alumna Got her STEM Start at SUNY Ulster

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Alethea Shuman stands next to lamp

Alethea Shuman ‘2010, Drafting and Design,
Phi Theta Kappa

Close relationships with her professors kept Alethea (Schaeffer) Shuman coming back to SUNY Ulster – even after she transferred to RPI.

Starting when the Stone Ridge resident took classes during high school to when she graduated with a drafting and design associate’s degree with distinction in 2010, Alethea has had a special connection with the faculty here that she hasn’t experienced at other colleges.

“I had such a good experience at SUNY Ulster,” she says. “I really connected with the professors and they prepared me for RPI. I didn’t make as close of connections anywhere else.”

After earning a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2013, Alethea landed her first full-time job in the field at Selux, a design and innovative leader in the development of high-end architectural lighting systems in Highland.

Starting as a design engineer, she was promoted to engineering lead and now manages a team of drafters, design and manufacturing engineers tasked with developing and pricing custom products for customers’ unique needs.

While working full-time at Selux, she also is pursuing her master’s in engineering management online at Clarkson University.

Over the years, Alethea has returned to SUNY Ulster to take classes because of the “amazing professors,” crediting Drafting Professor Sal Ligotino for giving her the drafting background she needed to succeed at RPI and Math Professor Jules Albertini for the strong math basis for engineering.

As a woman working in the expanding STEM field, Alethea offers this advice: “Females shouldn’t be intimidated. There are challenges but nothing that can’t be overcome and it’s worth it.”

The Skinny on Scholarship Success

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Student accepting award at the 2011 Scholarship Ceremony

Tips from Our Coordinator of the Scholarship Program

Overwhelmed about the thought of applying for scholarships and think you won’t win one anyway? Think again. Burnelle Roser, Associate Director & Coordinator of the Scholarship Program, shares some of the basics about scholarships that will show you how easy it really is and get you applying before you miss out on some great opportunities.

Who: You! Each year, the Ulster Community College Foundation awards over $180,000 in scholarships to more than 200 students. You might think thousands are applying and you don’t have a chance. In fact, only a small percentage of students apply so your chances are good. Scholarships are open to new students entering SUNY Ulster, returning students and those transferring to four-year colleges. “Every single student should apply,” says Burnelle.

When: Right now! The time to start thinking about scholarships for the Spring 2016 semester is December/January. The Foundation’s general scholarship application deadline for SUNY Ulster students is Feb. 6, 2015. Don’t miss out. All the deadlines are on the portal in the “Student Resources” section under “Scholarships.”

How: SUNY Ulster students should fill out the general application and essay to be considered for scholarships administered by the Foundation. You don’t have to pick and choose the ones you want to be considered for. We’ll do it for you. “Our goal is to connect students to as many of the 200 different criteria as we can,” she says. The general application is available in two formats – an electronic PDF that can be completed on a computer or a printable form. Both versions are available at:   www.sunyulster.edu/foundation/scholarships/applications.

Why: Why not? We’re talking FREE money for college that doesn’t have to be paid back. With awards generally ranging from $500 to full tuition, it’s worth the few hours it may take to apply.

Remember to meet the deadlines, carefully follow all the instructions, answer the questions as candidly as possible and go for it! Stay tuned for more scholarship tips here.

Senator Mascot 3

Three Ways to Experience the World

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Students in a boat on the Amazon river

Experiencing the world and connecting with other students from around the globe is easier than ever for SUNY Ulster students. It doesn’t have to be costly or out of reach. Here are three ways to make a difference in your education and life:

Academic Travel – International and Domestic – With group rates, knowledgeable instructors and special arrangements that take students to places you wouldn’t normally see, you’ll experience the world and other cultures in a different travel than ever before.

Our students have gone to the Brazilian Amazon, France, Italy and Mexico and other exciting

Design students invade London>
Design students invade London.

destinations over summer and winter breaks; have earned credits and resume experience for transferring; and made lifetime memories. Domestically, theater students travel to the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky, and more. Our trips also are open to community members so you’ll meet interesting people right from our area.

Theatre students in Louisville for the Humana Festival.
Theatre students in Louisville for the Humana Festival.

Scholarships are available for academic travel, and peer-funding through Project Travel can make domestic and international educational travel programs more accessible.

Online International Learning – Enroll in a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course at SUNY Ulster. These programs use Internet-based tools like Skype and Moodle to connect with students from other institutions around the globe, without ever leaving campus.

This spring, a new collaborative class in genetics will be offered in collaboration with an institution in

SUNY Ulster business students Skype with business students in São Paulo, Brazil.
SUNY Ulster business students Skype with business students in São Paulo, Brazil.

Mexico. Through a grant, funded by Santander Bank, a student ambassador from SUNY Ulster also will have the opportunity to visit the partner class and institution during collaborative course activities. Our students have participated in COIL classes with institutions in Beirut, Lebanon; Bologna, Italy and São Paulo, Brazil.

To find out more about expanding your horizons, contact Chris Seubert, Program Coordinator of Academic Travel, (845) 687-5134, seubertc@sunyulster.edu or Richard Cattabiani, Director of International Programs, (845) 687-5135, cattabir@sunyulster.edu.

Goodbye Ulster – Hello Potsdam!

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Kymmie Clark at Potsdam

I attended SUNY Ulster Fall 2011-Fall 2013 before transferring to SUNY Potsdam. At Ulster I figured out what I wanted to do and I truly grew as a person. The opportunities I was given at Ulster and the environment there helped me pursue my education further.

As someone who did not know exactly what I wanted to do I tried out different classes at Ulster before transferring to SUNY Potsdam and am studying sociology and political science. I’m about to start my third semester at Potsdam.

kymmieleadershipSince entering Potsdam I have taken on many leadership roles. I’m on electoral board for Four College Hillel, have attended student leadership conferences, accepted to go to the American Association of University Women leadership conference, participate in SUNY Potsdam’s student government association’s Senate and am on constitution committee.

To be honest, my first semester was tough. I knew two people who also went to Ulster but were not close friends. My now fiancé transferred a semester before me from Ulster to Clarkson University which is in the same town as SUNY Potsdam so I clung to the friend group he already made but they weren’t people on my campus which still made it to be a difficult transition. My roommate was never in our dorm because she had a loaded class schedule, extracurricular activities and a group of friends. She was nice but we never became friends. I spent most of my first semester alone in my dorm drawing and watching Netflix, in the library doing homework, at Clarkson with my fiancé and his friends or in the common room on my dorm floor doing yoga. I ate almost all of my meals alone in the dining hall or student union. I hated the transition and isolation.

kymmiehillelTo my surprise, I made a solid group of friends at Ulster and we all went to different colleges and a lot of them told me they felt the same way their first semester after transferring but it would get better. After about a month of feeling completely isolated and alone on my campus I started to make one or two friends from my classes but we never did anything but study together or grab coffee. It was a start though. I walked into a Hillel meeting and automatically felt welcomed and continued to go and now hold an E-board spot as treasurer. One of the friends who transferred before me to Potsdam invited me to campus activities and to dinners with his girlfriend who also attended Ulster and now attends Potsdam. She and I hit it off really well and is now my housemate during the academic year and we hang out when we’re home on break. By the end of my first semester I started to feel more comfortable with the people and atmosphere on campus.kymmiepotsdam

I fell head over heels in love with the sociology department and political science department. I applied for conferences and leadership opportunities and got almost every single one. My second semester was Fall 2014 and I went up a week early for the student leadership conference and welcome weekend, I got a job at the daycare center and took 18 credits. I started the semester strong and ended it stronger. This semester I’m looking forward to new leadership roles, all my classes being sociology and political science, finishing up my application to study abroad in Croatia, landing an internship at Child Protective Services over the summer in Kingston, getting to go to Canada with friends since Potsdam is twenty minutes from the boarder and finishing my junior year strong.

14 Reasons Why SUNY Ulster is Awesome

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Happy SUNY Ulster students on bleachers

 

  1. You have time to find yourself and what you really want.
  2. Team spirit-we have athletics too. 
  3. Dorm Life is not that awesome, or cheap. 
  4. You can make a difference instantly. Get involved in a better campus life right away by participating in a club or student government, going on a leadership retreat, tutoring fellow students, or joining the math team. Advisors can also link you up with community programs to be involved with. 
  5. Massive student debt doesn’t have to be part of your future. Over $180,000 in scholarships are awarded each year to incoming, returning and transferring students.
  6. Flexible schedules are awesome.
  7. You can actually get to know your professors.
  8. Start Here – Go Far. Our transfer office will customize a plan so you can transfer to almost any four-year college or university you want. Our students often transfer to some of the top universities in the nation. Use your community college experience to take you where you want to be. Add an internship while attend SUNY Ulster to boost your resume.
  9. In High School? Start Now Towards College Success. Programs with credits for high school students let you get a head start on a degree.
  10. Make friends for life.
  11. Nationally Recognized as Military Friendly. SUNY Ulster is ranked among the most military-friendly schools in the nation.
  12. Career Programs -Getting You Right to Work. Career programs such as Vet Tech, Criminal Justice, Drafting, Surveying and Entrepreneurship make you job-ready in just two years.
  13. An International Community College. SUNY Ulster has a permanent research facility on the Amazon where you can go during Winter*net or Summer Session to study Tropical Field Ecology. Can’t afford to study abroad? SUNY Ulster has classes that partner with classes in other countries such as Brazil and Lebanon via technology.
  14. Internships Available Now. You don’t have to wait umtil your junior year to do an internship. SUNY Ulster students have interned at lots of resume-building institutions including MTV, the Museum of Natural History and Disney.

 

SUNY Ulster’s Environmental Club Recognized

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SUNY Ulster Environmental Club digging a hole

SUNY Ulster’s Environmental Club is working to make sustainability a bigger part of the college’s mission. The student group would like to see more specific sustainability goals added to the mission statement and will present its recommendations to the Board of Trustees.

Environmental Club President Aidan Ferris and Vice President Alex Lemus met with President Don Katt to share the club’s ideas and will make the presentation on Dec. 16. The club is recommending numerous new initiatives, including the formation of a sustainability committee, working with food service to reduce waste and increase recycling, and implementing a sustainability tracking and rating system.

The members would like to see the college use the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) conducted by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), which is used by SUNY Orange and hundreds of other community colleges.

The club also has been active in community work. Six members along with faculty advisor Jennifer Costello donated their time to restore, protect and beautify a Hudson River park. The group spent half a day planting native plant species at Kingston Point Beach, working with Kingston Parks and Recreation Department, UlsterCorps and Volunteer New York on the service project.

Want to get involved? Contact Jennifer Guiher at guiherj@ sunyulster.edu to find out more!

Ashli Skura Dreher, Adjunct Professor Named State Teacher of the Year

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Portrait photo of Ashli Skura Dreher

SUNY Ulster Adjunct Professor Ashli Skura Dreher Honored, Named State Teacher of the Year

SUNY Ulster online adjunct professor Ashli Skura Dreher has been named the2014 New York State Teacher of the Year by the State Board of Regents.

Dreher, a high school special-education teacher for the Lewiston-Porter Central School District, has taught the online course Supporting Students in Reading and Writing through the College since 2005.

A teacher in the Lewiston-Porter district for 15 years, she is the first in the district to earn National Board Certification for Professional Teaching Standards, one of teaching’s highest honors. She teaches special education in a high school classroom working with students with moderate intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities.

“New York’s teachers are among the best and most professional in the nation. Still, Ashli manages to stand out,” said New York State United Teachers President Richard C. Iannuzzi. “In her classroom, students with special needs receive a mix of research-based instruction and innovative lessons. Her focus on community and volunteerism, and her close collaboration with parents, make her a sterling example of what happens when great teachers and concerned parents work together on behalf of our children. I join every member of NYSUT in congratulating her.”

Dreher is a dissertation level doctoral student in the teaching and curriculum department of the University of Rochester’s Margaret Warner School of Education and Human Development, where she enjoys researching literacy, specifically the best instructional practices for teaching reading to students with moderate intellectual disabilities. Dreher also served as the NYSUT Education and Learning Trust regional coordinator for the Western New York and Rochester areas for 10 years to promote turnkey training and professional development for teachers and aspiring teachers.

Women’s Volleyball All-Region Players and Coach Recognized

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headshots of women's volleyball team

Women’s Volleyball All-Region Players and Coach Recognized

SUNY Ulster Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Glenn Warnock has been named 2014 Co-Coach of the Year for Region 15.

Jessica Muller was named as a First Team All-Region player, while Samantha Shultis earned an Honorable Mention All-Region honor. Kelsey Valencia also was named to the All-Sportmanship Team in the region.