How To: Life After Stuyvesant

For many students, their only main concern is their high school career. They ask fellow classmates, teachers, and other faculty members for advice on how to succeed in a high school as rigorous as Stuyvesant. After graduating from Stuyvesant, the majority of the student body heads on to college. Here, teachers and administrators offer their advice on how to succeed in college.

“Get involved. Write for the paper, see your school teams, start a club, attend theater productions, and definitely have post-class discussions with your professors. Meet people; ask about your classmates' majors and why they are pursuing [a] certain field. Travel, study abroad, be inquisitive, complete all of your assignments, and challenge yourself.” —Francesca McAuliffe, Assistant Principal of Languages

“Here’s a couple of quick takes, bearing in mind that I’m an old person and things would have changed since I went to college. First thing, do not be that stressed out about what college you go to. For the most part, no matter how prestigious the institution, assuming it meets a certain threshold, you’ll still have the opportunity to take amazing classes, meet cool people, and make connections you’ll need for life. It’s so hard to be oppressed these days that even at the supposedly low-tier universities, you can still be guaranteed to meet big flying scholars.

“When it comes to choosing courses, you should try to do your best to ascertain the quality of the professors before you sign up for the classes. Don’t be fooled by the subject material. Do your best to talk to upperclassmen and find out the [reputation] of that professor. When I was in college, I took one class on the Shogunate of Medieval Japan—how could that be cooler, right? But the professor was boring, and the class was a drag. This other professor taught a course about regulatory harmonization of the European Union—what could be more boring, right? But she made it amazing. She had this whole discussion about what constituted chocolate in [...] different countries. [...] There are some professors [who] some people love and [others who] some people hate, so figure out if you’re one of the people who will love them.

“Third key element would be time management. For a lot of Stuy kids, going to college will be significantly easier academically. [...] You won’t be around peers [who are as] smart as you are at Stuy. The workload’s going to be a lot less intense. So the key is figuring out a way to [not only] keep your academics and do them well, but also your non-academic times. College is as much about managing the time you’re not in classes as it is about doing coursework.

“Number four would be social life and having a key idea on how you want your social life at college: deciding which high school friends to stay close to, which would fall by the wayside, and which group of people you’re going to hang out with.

“A personal piece of advice: [don’t overdo] it when you are away from your parents. A classic freshman mistake is to eat too much, drink too many alcoholic beverages, or indulge in vices. This can feel liberating at first, but it can quickly grow into a cage that’s hard to liberate yourself from. You’d need maturity. Avoid that.

“People stress out way too much about their majors, but for the most part, it doesn’t really matter unless you’re planning to go into a more technical field like engineering or medicine. College is the last opportunity for you to learn for the sake of learning. And I would definitely advise you to take advantage of that opportunity and really chase down the fascinating [concepts]. Given the colleges [Stuyvesant students] get into, it really doesn’t matter what you major in, even if it’s in Russian or theology. It is hard to have a career in those areas but you can major in those areas [as well as] more mainstream areas like investment banking, or go to law school.

“You should also at least have one eye on what your life is going to be like out of college. I do think it’s helpful, when you graduate, to have some kind of plan on what you want to do in the years following, whether you want to pursue a creative career—good luck, that’s very difficult but still possible—or a more conventional model. [...] This is worth thinking about because nobody wants to end up back in their mom’s basement. Having a good plan is the best way to avoid all that.” —Matthew Polazzo, history teacher

“I would suggest to new college students from Stuyvesant to take it easy the first year. Take a variety of classes that are not too difficult to expand your horizons and get to know who you really are and what subjects you really like. And also, drink plenty of water instead of alcohol!” —Monique Nicotra, global studies teacher

“What you do in college matters much, much more than where you go, with regards to who you meet.” —Michael Orlando, chemistry teacher

“I think it’s really hard to know what’s going to be the best college. So when you set all your sights [on] one college, that doesn’t mean that it’s the right place to go. Students ought to think about financials, and it is important to make connections to the faculty. Any school can really be your dream school.” —Dr. Susan Brockman, Latin teacher

“Big colleges offer more opportunities and allow a student to be more flexible when choosing a path they wish to follow in life.” —Dr. Zachary Berman, global studies and AP World teacher

“My advice is to be open to what your college offers and [...] be willing to change directions if needed. Most of my friends and colleagues are doing different work today than [what] they may have envisioned for themselves at 17. The most interesting thing about people [is] all of the unexpected skills and jobs they have behind them!

“I went from studying English education at one college to transferring to a new college and majoring in advertising. At some point later, while working at a financial services company, I started volunteering at a local library in my free time. I was shocked when I realized that I wanted to be a librarian after all of that. I completed my master’s degree in library science part-time while still working full-time in my corporate job, and I had to take a huge leap of faith and leave my job without another job lined up when it was time for me to do my student teaching. It was scary and it required me to let go of defining myself by what I did for work or what I studied in college. As the first person in my family to graduate from college, that was a huge part of my identity and it was a painful realization for me. I am very glad I ended up where I did and that I was open to the unexpected turns in my career.

“I often tell students what you get from your college or university experience largely depends on what you put into it. Really, many of you already know this from your time at Stuyvesant. There is no college that can guarantee you success or fulfillment, no matter their reputation or prestige. If you are open to the unique resources and opportunities available at the college you attend, if you are able to make meaningful connections with peers and mentors, and if you direct as much effort to learning and growing personally as you do to maintaining your GPA, you will come out the other side well-equipped for adult life. Many of my college classes were useful, especially in my earlier career. Even though I’m doing different work now, the experience and responsibility [of college] while making some of the longest-lasting friendships in my life were all the things that made college worthwhile for me.” —Mary McGregor, librarian

“I think getting out of the city is an important part of the college experience. New York City is very unique in many ways and you guys have an advantage coming from the five boroughs in terms of independence. You guys take public transportation to school and navigate your life just as a working adult does, while most students across the country do not have that experience. They get driven around by their parents or a yellow school bus and don’t yet experience this sense of adulthood. [...] I think getting out of the city is something that could broaden your horizons and open your eyes to the different landscapes this country has to offer. I went to Binghamton, which has the largest nature preserve in New York State, and this helped me develop as a person outside my experiences in the city and develop an attachment to nature. I think it’s worth looking outside of the city, even if it’s just a few hours away, creating a whole new world of experience.” —Lori-Ann Newman, AP World and U.S. History teacher

“One bit of advice I have is to find out who the best teachers are and even if it is in a subject you never intended to study, take a class with that professor.” —Jennifer Suri, Assistant Principal of Social Studies