Left: Sara Ishmail
    Center: Drahcir Smith
    Right: Aiesha Pitts

 
Desmond Alexander
Sophomore
Buffalo, New York

"I am a residence advisor, chief of Brothers, the education officer of the African American Student Alliance and a producer for the radio station. I have always been an involved person. Someone had to help me get here, and even on campus there are people I look to for that push and drive. I believe service is encouraged and this is a caring community. There is the opportunity to excel at Colgate."
Our mission
What OUS means to me?
The Office of Undergraduate Studies (OUS) provides academic support and an opportunity to excel at Colgate for students who show excellent academic potential but who may have been denied the opportunity to achieve at their full capacity. Students participating in OUS come from a variety of ethnic, socioeconomic, and academic backgrounds.
     The main objective of OUS is to enable students to thrive at the college by easing the transition from high school through an intensive, five-week, residential summer program matched with continued support services and programming throughout their academic tenure at		 Colgate. Students are provided with a home base and as table source of support through peer, faculty, and administrative resources. OUS has been providing support to Colgate students since 1967. More than 91 percent of OUS students complete their Colgate degrees.
     The Office of Undergraduate Studies is the umbrella organization that sponsors the Science and Math Initiative (SMI) as well as the Higher Education Opportunities Program (HEOP). 

Science and Math Initiative (SMI)

     SMI was designed to increase the number of science and math 		students who come from traditionally under-represented groups.  Students enrolled in SMI are introduced to the sciences through transition courses,   lab apprenticeships, internships, study groups, and collaborative research opportunities with faculty.SMI is jointly administered by the Office of Undergraduate Studies and the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Students selected for SMI have demonstrated interest and success in the sciences during high school. In addition to the student's interest, high school transcripts and standardized test scores are also evaluated in the SMI selection process.

Flora Powell
Junior
South Strafford, Vermont

"Colgate offered a good financial package and I was interested in international travel. I've just come back from the Trinidad and Tobago Study Group, and I intend to go to Russia next fall. I like learning about new cultures and new people, and travel is an opportunity for language enhancement. I hope it will help me decide my career goals, too. College was overwhelming at first and OUS was definitely a challenging program, but you have to give yourself time to adjust. By the time I was a sophomore, I knew how college worked."

 Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP)

HEOP is funded by the New York State Education Department to provide academic support services and financial aid to New York State residents. Candidates must be New York State residents for at least one year prior to application. Economic criteria are also established by the State Education Department. The financial aid office evaluates the files of accepted students to determine their financial eligibility for HEOP.