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Is anyone familiar with EOP/HEOP for new york schools? Does HEOP help with admission or financial aid? Im first generation, immigrant asian and i know i meet the economic guidelines. But why in blue hell do they have an educational guideline that puts a ceiling on test scores? Should it be a floor? It dosnt make any sense at all.

Anyone familiar with the program? Does 3.6 GPA, 1360 (66/70) SAT [Retake in Oct for 1450+] have any chance of meeting it?

Again it dosnt make any damn sense at all. Whats the deal?

By Whtx (Whtx) on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 08:03 am: Edit

bump

By Sybbie719 (Sybbie719) on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 11:40 am: Edit

HEOP serves New York State residents who are both academically and economically disadvantaged. Disadvantaged students are individuals from low-income families with potential for successful collegiate experiences but who have not acquired the verbal, mathematical, and other cognitive skills required to complete their college work.

HEOP is designed to meet the special needs of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Among the strategies available to meet these needs are testing, pre-freshman summer programs, counseling, tutoring, coursework, and financial assistance.

In general, students in opportunity programs are individuals from families with low incomes, with high potential for successful collegiate experience but who have not acquired the verbal, mathematical, and other cognitive skills required for collegiate level work. Generally, their grades fall in the bottom half of their high school graduating classes. They are students who have not earned Regents diplomas, are assigned to high schools which have poor records for developing students, or have been tracked or scheduled into general, commercial, or vocational high school programs.

Students eligible for HEOP will generally rank low on such traditional measures of collegiate admissions as SAT scores, high school average, or class standing.

To be eligible for HEOP you must meet all of the following conditions. You must:

1. Have been a resident of New York State for one year preceding your term of entry into HEOP.

2. Possess a high school diploma or a State-approved equivalency diploma or its equivalent. The equivalent of a general equivalency diploma is defined as being one of the following:

a) An Armed Forces Equivalency Diploma, with a minimum score of 40 on each test section and a minimum composite score of 225;

b) A level of knowledge and academic ability equal to the level required for entrance to the educational opportunity program at the institution to which the individual seeks admission.

3. Be educationally disadvantaged. An educationally disadvantaged student is a student who otherwise would not be accepted as a matriculated student under the institution's normal admissions standards in the degree program for which application is made. At open admissions institutions, an educationally disadvantaged student must meet one of the following criteria:

a) Possess a high school equivalency diploma; or
b) Possess the equivalent of a GED; or
c) Have no high school diploma; or
d) Meet other acceptable academic criteria, which differentiate the HEOP student from regularly admitted students (e.g., lower test scores, lower GED scores).

4. Have the potential and motivation for successful completion of college.

5. Be economically disadvantaged. (See section titled “Economic Eligibility Criteria for Opportunity Programs.)

6. Have been in an approved opportunity program (if a transfer student).

To be eligible for HEOP you must meet all of the following conditions. You must:

4. Have been a resident of New York State for one year preceding your term of entry into HEOP.

5. Possess a high school diploma or a State-approved equivalency diploma or its equivalent. The equivalent of a general equivalency diploma is defined as being one of the following:

a) An Armed Forces Equivalency Diploma, with a minimum score of 40 on each test section and a minimum composite score of 225;

b) A level of knowledge and academic ability equal to the level required for entrance to the educational opportunity program at the institution to which the individual seeks admission.

6. Be educationally disadvantaged. An educationally disadvantaged student is a student who otherwise would not be accepted as a matriculated student under the institution's normal admissions standards in the degree program for which application is made. At open admissions institutions, an educationally disadvantaged student must meet one of the following criteria:

a) Possess a high school equivalency diploma; or
b) Possess the equivalent of a GED; or
c) Have no high school diploma; or
d) Meet other acceptable academic criteria, which differentiate the HEOP student from regularly admitted students (e.g., lower test scores, lower GED scores).

7. Have the potential and motivation for successful completion of college.

8. Be economically disadvantaged. (See section titled “Economic Eligibility Criteria for Opportunity Programs.)

9. Have been in an approved opportunity program (if a transfer student).

Once accepted HEOP Provides the Following for admitted students

Summer Program. Entering students usually are required to take part in a pre-freshman summer program. The summer program is designed to orient the student to college life, initiate a program of academic skills building, and acquaint the student with the services available through HEOP.

Supportive Services. During the summer and academic year, supportive services take many forms:

a. Remedial and Developmental Courses. If you need additional academic assistance to prepare you for college-level work, HEOP can meet your academic needs. Before you begin your classes, the HEOP professional staff will evaluate your academic strengths and weaknesses, and design a specific academic program to help eliminate your academic deficiencies. You will have the opportunity to take noncredit and credit remedial/developmental courses. These courses provide instruction in basic skills, reading, writing, vocabulary, mathematics, and other areas of study.

b. Tutorial Services. HEOP provides you with tutorial services to assist you with your academic courses. Tutorial services are conducted on a one-to-one basis or in groups, depending upon your needs. Some tutors are competent, experienced HEOP students and some are professional tutors.

c) Counseling Services. Counseling services are provided by the HEOP staff on an individual or group basis to assist you with any problems that may interfere with your academic work. You will receive the following types of counseling:

Academic - The HEOP counselor will assist you in selecting your academic major and courses. You can take a reduced course load during your first semester. You are also given an extra year of eligibility to graduate.

Personal - Adjustment to college life often presents many new problems for HEOP students. Counseling helps you develop your self-confidence, identity, and a positive attitude about learning.

Career - Students are often undecided about what to do after graduation. The HEOP staff will assist you in making career choices. Career counseling will help you in selecting the necessary courses to prepare you for employment or postgraduate study.


HEOP provides colleges with funds to help meet the cost of your education. You will also be eligible for other State, Federal, and institutional financial aid awards. Students are required to apply for the State's Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and the Federal Pell Grant.

The amount of financial aid and the application procedures vary from campus to campus. HEOP students are expected to contribute to the cost of their education from family savings or summer earnings.


Economic Eligibility Criteria for Opportunity Programs

Family Income Scale for the Purpose of Determining Eligibility for Supplemental Financial Assistance for First-time Students Enrolled in Opportunity Programs:


1. A student is economically disadvantaged if he or she is a member of a household supported by one member thereof with a total annual income which does not exceed the applicable amount set forth in the following table; or a household supported solely by one member thereof who works for two or more employers with a total annual income which does not exceed the applicable amount set forth in the following table by more than $1,800; or of a household supported by more than one worker thereof or of a household in which one worker is the sole support of a one-parent family, if the total annual income of such households does not exceed the applicable amount set forth in the following tables by more than $4,800. For the purposes of this subdivision, the number of members of a household shall be determined by ascertaining the number of individuals living in the student's residence who are economically dependent on the income supporting the student.

FOR STUDENTS FIRST ENTERING COLLEGE ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2003

Number in Total annual income in
household (including head preceding calendar year
of household)

1 $13,300
2 18,400
3 21,100
4 26,200
5 31,000
6 36,350
7 or more 40,450
plus $4,100 for each family member in
excess of 7 persons

The income figures in the table of this section apply to the student applicant's income only when he or she is an independent student. For purposes of this part, an independent student:

(i) is a student who is 24 years of age or older by December 31 of the program year; or

(ii) is an orphan or ward of the court; or

(iii) is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States; or

(iv) is a married individual; or

(v) has legal dependents other than a spouse; or

(vi) is a student for whom opportunity program and financial aid administrators have made a satisfactorily documented determination of independence by reasons of other extraordinary circumstances.

2. A maximum of 15 percent of the students admitted to a HEOP program may come from households whose income exceeds the scale listed in the preceding table when unusual and extenuating circumstances warrant. Documentation of these circumstances shall be kept on file by the institutions at which such students are enrolled, and shall be corroborated by a disinterested, reliable third party. Categories into which the exceptions may fall are limited to the following:

a) Serious mismanagement of the family income, with little accruing to the interest of the student; or

b) A one-time fluctuation in household income, where there is a history of low income; or

c) Households with substantial long-term, nonreimbursed medical obligations such as maintenance of physically or mentally handicapped children; or

d) Families which must maintain two households, one for the wage earner and one for the dependents in order to maintain employment; or

e) Families where the family contribution as computed from base year financial data by a United States Department of Education approved needs analysis system indicates no contribution other than the minimum expectation from student income for independent students, or a zero parental contribution for dependent students.

By Whtx (Whtx) on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 09:29 pm: Edit

it dosnt make any sense at all. as it stands right now, its basically a shelter for kids who cant make the cut. But why are they discriminating against kids that are economically disadvantaged but worked their butt off to get good grades and sat?

By Sybbie719 (Sybbie719) on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 07:41 am: Edit

There is an overwhelming amount of data that supports the fact that poorer students do not have the same access to the same type of education.

HEOP Serves Disadvantaged and Underrepresented Populations

Over 5,000 underrepresented and disadvantaged students participate annually

On average, over 75 percent of HEOP students are Black or Hispanic

66 percent of HEOP students scored below 1000 on their SATs

over 48 percent of entering freshmen had high school averages below 80

37 percent of new freshmen came from households with incomes below $10,750, the lowest category of the income eligibility scale


HEOP does not work against kids who work their buts off as NYU, Barnard, COrnell and Columbia are all part of the HEOP program. My suggestion is to do your resarch at each school and their HEOP proframs to see what their guidelines are for the program.

If you have truly worked your but off, you have many opportunities to look at schools that offer merit aid, and look to meet 100% of your financial needs that are also looking to attract less wealthy students such as harvard, Williams and Princeton.

All the best

By Whtx (Whtx) on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 04:42 pm: Edit

In terms of admission, if it dosnt help then it helps someone else so its hurting to a lessor sense.i understand the need to help poor students who are in the gutter but why are they not helping the poor student who received good grades?

Thats the part i dont get. Why are schools like nyu, cornell, barnard not helping the poor 3.7, 1400sat type of student? Why is someone who is poor with 2.9 and 1000 receive benefits that someone in the same situation, worked harder, dont get to receive?

i know i might sound bitter but im not. im just questioning. thanks