Students' Needs: First Year Together

St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY, continues to meet students' needs during this unprecedented global crisis. We have modified our offerings for the 2020/2021 academic year to help with the uncertainty around visa issuance and consular access.

Our First Year Together initiative allows International students to start their St. Francis College studies from home, in a cohort environment, with support from SFC staff, faculty and other students with learning communities of students who are regularly connected with each other and with support. Students come to Brooklyn in January and finish their first year together on our campus without having lost any time.

We are happy to offer this First Year Together option at a reduced price and to offer the generous scholarships SFC is famous for. Depending on students' academic records, they can pay as little as $13,500. For students with a GPA of B or lower, the price for the year is $17,500. This includes tuition, room and board in our brand new residence. We can also offer students who need English additional language support through our partner, the New York Academy of English.

We hope that students and families will find these reduced prices acceptable given the financial constraints we know many families are dealing with.

Flexibility: The Key to admissions

St. Francis College has always been flexible in what we require with international student applications. Here are some highlights:

• NO Application fee, ever
• NO SAT required
• NO essays or letters of recommendation
• Unofficial, emailed transcripts are accepted for admissions decisions
• Flexibility in demonstrating English proficiency. We accept all of the currently used digital proficiency exams. Still if your students are having difficulty taking any of these exams, let us know. We'll organize something for these students.

The only items we need are:

• Unofficial transcripts or proof of high school graduation
• Completed application: sfc.edu/apply
• Copy of passport page
• For transfer students, official transcripts from other universities or colleges

Hygiene: A Key Feature of Our New Residence

Our Residence Life program offers students exceptional living and learning experiences within a welcoming, safe, sanitized, clean and well-maintained environment. We invite students from New York City, across the country, and around the globe to find their home with us.

St. Francis College offers students a brand new residence this year. Students can stay in rooms that have never been occupied.

Named as one of America's most beautiful neighborhoods by Travel + Leisure magazine..97 Columbia Heights, our new 11-floor residence, is located within the beautiful and historic Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, across the street from the landmark Brooklyn Heights Promenade and within a short walk to Brooklyn Bridge Park, a world-class waterfront park full of amenities.

More information can be found here.

Celebrating our International Faculty. This Month, Meet Dr. Olivia Bullios Matos, Originally from Brazil

Dr. Olivia Bullio Mattos is an Assistant Professor of Economics at St. Francis College. She is originally from Brazil and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil, with a research fellowship at the University of Leeds (UK). Prior to joining St. Francis in 2017, she taught Economics at FACAMP, in Campinas, Brazil. Her research focuses on Central Banking and Monetary Policy, Financial Regulation, Financial Crises, Financial Systems, Public Banks, and International Economics. Her thesis, "Banks, Shadow Banks, and Endogenous Money: Challenges to the Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy in the 21st century", won the 2016 CAPES award as the best thesis in Economics defended in 2015 in Brazil. Her work is published in Journal of European Economics History, Review of Keynesian Economics, International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, and in Brazilian journals like Economia e Sociedade and Analise Economica.

In addition to teaching courses in the Economics, History, and Political Science Department, Dr. Bullio Mattos is the Faculty Coordinator for Brazil under SFC International. One of her initiatives involves an annual Summer faculty-led exchange program with Brazilian universities, where Brazilian students have the opportunity to come to NYC and experience 2 weeks of intensive learning in US Economy and Politics, and SFC students can visit Brazil and learn about the Brazilian business environment, Economy, and Society, also for 2 weeks. It is a rich opportunity that aims to promote global citizenship and engagement for all students that participate in the program.

International Students to the Rescue

In this time of unprecedented challenges, we continue to hear stories of those that go above and beyond to help others through this crisis, our international student community included.

One of our international athletes, Billy Simpson, is one worth highlighting. Billy is a freshman from New Zealand who was thoroughly enjoying his first year in Brooklyn when the directives started to happen. Fortunately he was able to return home before needing to be quarantined, early enough to join the fight. "I want to use my time to help others," Billy said to me when I called him. "I don't want just to sit around and wait it out."

Billy, together with his sister, joined his mother's efforts of managing testing centers in his local community.

We spoke to Billy and his mother. Read the entire article here.

Billy's selfless efforts exemplify what it means to be a "Terrier" at SFC: giving of yourself so that others can thrive. We at SFC are even more enriched when our international students share their lives, their compassion and their Terrier spirit both here in Brooklyn and in their home countries.