Welcome Back to Campus

As summer approaches, thousands of high school students continue to hit the road with their parents to visit colleges and universities all over the country. The campus visit is a crucial part of the college decision process, and here at York College, the admissions staff and their student ambassadors work hard to give prospective students an experience that will help set York apart from its competition.

York College has invested more than $100 million on new construction and facility upgrades over the past several years, effectively doubling the physical size of the campus. Upon completion of these enhancements, the College needed an effective way not only to reveal the new treasures but also to convey a more welcoming, personalized experience that accurately reflects the true essence of York. With the help of a consultant, the College revamped its campus visit. Beginning the visit with coffee, cookies and friendly conversation in a relaxed Welcome Center, which is positioned in the heart of the bustling Student Union, creates an intimate, people-oriented first impression. Two separate student tour guides are used during each campus visit, one on Main Campus and one on West Campus. Personal storytelling and interaction with faculty and students along the way are also emphasized to the guides. All prospective student visitors are invited to sign a residence hall room wall, enjoy a famous York Peppermint Patty (originally created just a few blocks from campus) and receive a York College water bottle as a departing gift. The goal is to create a warm memory about the York College culture.

Because many alumni have not been back to York in a number of years, and accepted students (who will be receiving the magazine for the first time) have visited numerous colleges and universities, we would like to give everyone a “new” visit to campus from the comfort of your living room. Sit back, relax and enjoy.

Welcome back to the campus of York College of Pennsylvania. I'm Robert Danner with the Office of Admissions. During a visit to campus, a group presentation in the Admissions Welcome Center (the former Alumni Hall) – designed to give prospective students and their families a brief but comprehensive overview of York College – begins the day, followed by a tour of campus, which includes tours of some of our newest facilities, such as the Collegiate Performing Arts Center and Little Run Lodge.

The Group Presentation

So where exactly is York College? We are situated on the south side of York. Not a really large city. The last census brought York in at around 45,000 people. Where we are located in York County, there are 410,000 people. York is centrally located less than an hour (50 minutes) from downtown Baltimore, the Inner Harbor and Camden Yards, and 30 minutes south of Harrisburg and the seat of state government. 

When the York College school year began in August 2009, we started with 4,600 full-time undergraduates. York is considered a medium-sized school. We are not on the scale of Penn State-Main Campus or the University of Maryland-College Park, but we are larger than most high schools. 

York does, in fact, have a small college feel. Average class size is 25 students. That is pretty much true for every year except maybe freshman year. Those classes tend to run a little bit larger. Say, for example, accounting. A first-level accounting course, such as Financial Accounting, can have 35-37 students. When students get into the advanced accounting courses in their junior year, such as Taxation II, there will only be around 22-25 students. What students won't encounter at York College is lecture hall classes with 200 plus students!

We draw students primarily from the Northeast, but high school seniors from all over the country find their way to York. You'll find Texas, Wyoming and even Hawaii among the states in our student demographics. Approximately 53 percent are from Pennsylvania and 47 percent from out-of-state.

We are in the business of education and our "products" – so to speak – would be our majors.

What are the most popular majors? Take the 2009 Freshmen Profile. We had nine percent nursing and eight percent biology; meaning 17 percent of our freshman class last year came in for either a health-or science-related major.

Number three last fall, at seven percent of the freshman class, was elementary education. However, our largest "group" of freshmen come to York with no specific major. After two or three semesters, most students find their niche and settle into a program. 

One of our majors growing in popularity is sport management. It is a hybrid of business adminis-tration and professional athletics. Someone interested in working in public relations with the New York Mets or ESPN (both of which have hosted our interns) would go into this major. It made up five percent of the freshman class.

As far as applying is concerned, we operate on rolling admissions, so there is no specific application deadline. For those juniors looking at college for Fall 2011, we will start looking at applications anytime after October 1 of this year. Rolling admissions implies that as credentials are received and the student's folder is complete, we will then initiate a review and generally get back to the student in four to six weeks. And in most cases, we would then like to know the student's intentions by May 1. There are a few programs that once a student hears from us they don't want to postpone a decision, because we cap the number of new students. The nursing major would be one such program.

The best way to apply is online with no application fee. We will need a copy of an official high school transcript and the results from either the SAT or ACT. If the student decides to take the ACT, they need to take the optional writing section, because we require that. 

Anyone considering nursing must be in the top 40 percent of their high school class and have a combined critical reading and math SAT score of 1020 or higher. Engineering requires a minimum SAT math score of 600 and forensic chemistry a minimum SAT math of 540. Art-related programs (fine arts and graphic design) require students to submit a portfolio. 

York is a private college, and we are not part of the university system in the state. However, for a private school, we are reasonably priced.  Entering freshmen this fall will pay $23,670 for room, board, tuition and fees for the year. 

If you happen to see the 2010 edition of U.S. News  & World Report's America's Best Colleges, you will see that York College is ranked in three different categories. 

Now it is time for a former student ambassador to take you on "a tour" and tell you more about the York College campus.

Meet Robert Danner

Robert Danner, senior associate director of admissions, grew up in York, Pa., and is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a graduate of Susquehanna University. 

"I started working at York College immediately after graduating from Susquehanna," he said. "So in a manner of speaking,    I never really left college."

As a member of the Office of Admissions, Danner has traveled extensively throughout the mid-Atlantic region on behalf of the College. 

"I have seen hundreds and hundreds of high school seniors arrive as freshmen in August," Danner said. "It gives me great satisfaction to know that I played some role in their selection of York."

And because he has witnessed so many students complete their journey to higher education, he has some advice for prospective students.

"Know yourself and you'll eventually find the best college fit," he said. "With so many colleges competing for your attention, knowing yourself and what your expectations are from a college education will make the entire process a bit easier."

Meet Your Tour Guide Alex Crouse ’10

Alex Crouse '10, a biology major from Baltimore, Md., graduated in May after making his mark across campus. Like many incoming freshmen, he came to York uncertain where he would fit in. However, when he left, he was a member of the Student Alumni Association and Campus Activities Board, and was a student orientation leader and student ambassador. 

"Since being recommended to become a student ambassador at the end of my freshman year, I sat on many open house panels, had one-on-one lunches with students and gave campus tours to prospective students and their families," he said. "It was a great learning experience for me."

Crouse recommends that high school students take campus tours at all the colleges that they have interest in, because it is impossible to get enough information from just looking at a brochure or Web site.

"Coming to campus allows you to get the personal interaction you need to determine if the school is right for you," he said. "That is how I ended up choosing York over the other schools I visited."

Crouse now plans to turn his love for higher education into a career. He will attend Kutztown University in Fall 2010 to begin working toward his master of education degree in student affairs administration. 

The Campus Tour

(To experience the "new" campus tour, view the facility photos while reading the text below.)

Thank you, Mr. Danner. My name is Alex Crouse. I would like to start by taking you to West Campus. We have the Green Machine Shuttle Service to take students from Main Campus to West Campus, but it isn't too far to walk – especially on a nice day. On your way to West Campus, you will pass Big Apple Bagel and Parma Pizza. They are two great places to eat off campus. Also on West Campus is additional parking for students. Freshmen can have cars on campus, but they must park on West Campus. This allows for more commuter spaces on Main Campus. 

West Campus is also where many upper-classmen live. I lived in Brockie Commons, which has apartments will full bathrooms and kitchens. Our newest residence hall, Little Run Lodge, has modern air-conditioned suites. Because you only have a kitchenette at Little Run, you are required to have a full meal plan. The upside is that while you are giving up a full kitchen, you are getting air conditioning. Little Run is actually the only residence hall with air conditioning, but to be honest, it is not a big deal because there are only a few days of each semester where it really gets hot. 

The newest recreational and dining facility on campus is the West Campus Community Center, located in Little Run Lodge. The second floor features the Commissary, an all-you-care-to-eat dining hall. We were all pretty excited about it when it opened in Fall 2009. It is amazing, and the food here is great. Grilled cheese and tomato soup day was my favorite, but the menu is always changing. Most of the food is made-to-order in front of you on grills, woks and in stir-fry pans. This ensures that every meal is fresh no matter what time you come to eat.

The West Campus mailroom is located on the first floor of the West Campus Community Center. Every student living on West Campus has a mailbox at this location. Along with pool tables and flat-screen televisions in the common area are two fireplaces and comfortable seating. When you live with four other guys in an apartment, like I did, with an Xbox and a PlayStation 3, it is hard to get work done in your room. I was able to come here to get some of my work or studying completed. Then when I was finished, I could relax or play some pool.

One of the largest draws to West Campus is the Grumbacher Sport and Fitness Center. It serves as a hub of recreational life for the entire student body. In the M&T Bank Field House you can play basketball, tennis, badminton, volleyball, etc. Any equipment you need you can get from the equipment desk with your York College ID. There is also an indoor track above the field house where many students and faculty go on rainy or cold days to walk or jog. The field house is also the home of our spring concert. This year the concert was Third Eye Blind (which drew nearly 2,000 fans), last year it was OAR, and before that, Lifehouse. I can't forget about Relay for Life, which also takes place in the field house. This year's third annual Relay for Life raised just over $50,000 for the American Cancer Society.

Also in the Grumbacher Sport and Fitness Center is the new Charles Wolf Gymnasium. It is home to basketball, volleyball, wrestling and other events. I was the mascot for basketball games during my first two years at York, and it was one of the best times I ever had. The bleachers are always filled and faces are painted. By welcoming students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community to attend varsity sporting events, the Grumbacher creates a sense of school spirit. The Grumbacher also has a state-of-the-art training facility to support our NCAA Division III teams that strive to be consistently competitive in the Capital Athletic Conference and at the national level.

York College wants you to be a well-rounded student, which means for most majors taking two credits of health or physical education. Fortunately the classes here become increasingly diverse because of the Grumbacher Sport and Fitness Center's extensive facilities. For example, you can take a half-credit in rock climbing because we now have the Rock Climbing Wall. York College also cares about wellness. Our faculty members and students also work out together in the fitness center, which is outfitted with over 100 pieces of state-of-the-art equipment. This speaks to the type of faculty we have here at York. 

The Grumbacher also has a natatorium that includes 12 recreational swimming lanes or eight competition lanes measuring 25 yards. Students who are not on the swim team can use it for free swim during designated hours. The Ocean City Beach Patrol has also held parts of their tryouts in the pool, and students who passed have become members of the Ocean City Beach Patrol during the summer.

Across the street from the Main Campus entrance is the reservoir hill. When it is snowing, students go there to slide down the hill. A few years back, students would use trays from the dining hall to slide down the hill, but thanks to the College's sustainability initiative, there are no longer trays, and we actually have to go out and get sleds. Some of us may or may not have a tray for nostalgia sake.

Located in the Iosue Student Union back on Main Campus is Johnson Dining Hall. Freshmen use this more because it is close to their residence halls. Actually it is close to most classes, so upperclassmen still use it. As a senior, I still had a meal plan because it meant no dirty dishes, convenience and good food. A full meal plan is three meals, five days a week; and on weekends, two meals because there is only a brunch and dinner. No student wakes up early on the weekend on a college campus. There is also a social aspect here. You meet a lot of people. I used to sit here for two hours socializing and wait for it to be switched from lunch to dinner. 

Spart's Den, located downstairs in the Student Union, is a grab-and-go dining option. If you are running to class you may want to stop in for a sandwich. It gets packed later in the day when students come in to hang out and to use the pool and air hockey tables. There is also a stage for Campus Activity Board (CAB) entertainment such as comedians and musicians. At Spart's Den this April we had the stand-up comedian Myq Kaplan, who has appeared on Comedy Central’s show Live at Gotham.

Manor Hall Northeast is a freshman residence hall on Main Campus and also where Campus Safety is located. This campus is safe, and I am not just saying that. It actually has become increasingly safer since I arrived. They implemented a York Alert System, which they have not had to use yet, but if something goes wrong, they will text you, call you and leave you a voicemail. We also have two public address systems on the Humanities Center and the Grumbacher Sport and Fitness Center that make announcements. Campus Safety is made up of criminal justice students and retired and active local police. Campus Safety patrols on-foot, bike, car and even a Segway. At orientation, leaders ask you to put the number of Campus Safety in your cell phone. So, let's say you are working until 4 a.m. at a 24-hour computer lab and you are uncomfortable walking back to your residence hall alone. You can take out your cell phone and call Campus Safety. "Hello, I am in such and such place, and I need an escort to here." They will come and get you and take you back to your building. 

The Humanities Center, once known as Wolf Gym B, houses the History and Political Science, and English and Humanities depart-ments. It features classrooms, oral history and film-study labs, five computer labs, as well as wireless and hard-wired network connectivity throughout the building. It also has another grab-and-go dining option, Pura Vida. It is like having a Panera Bread on campus.

The Collegiate Performing Arts Center, which opened in Fall 2008, houses the 705-seat York Collegiate Theatre and the 125-seat Perko Playpen Theatre, an experimental black box-type theatre. The York College Players perform on both stages. What is really great is that students have the opportunity to come out to great theater and musical performances, as well as to listen to nationally recognized speakers, all for free in this state-of-the-art facility.

Because the reason you come to college in the first place is for your academics, Schmidt Library should definitely be on the top of your list of places to see when you arrive on campus. You will have to do at least one research paper while you are here at the College, and most likely, you will come here to do it. Upstairs and downstairs are perfect for easily distracted students like me. This Library is also connected to other libraries in case you need a book or resource that is not here. You can search for it on a database online. 

I would like to conclude the tour outside Schmidt Library at our favorite landmark, the York College Fountain. Usually there are bubbles in the fountain. Every year someone adds the bubbles, but no one takes the credit or the blame! It has been a pleasure to take you on this "tour" to remind you of some of the great things York College has to offer. To see it all, come on back to campus!