SEEK Freshmen

Prospective Students

Interested in joining the SEEK Program at Baruch College? Learn more about the program and its eligibility requirements.

Eligibility

To be eligible for SEEK, you must:

• be a legal resident of New York State for at least one year prior to entering college;

• be a high school graduate or recipient of a state-approved equivalency diploma;

• be a first-time freshman or previously enrolled in an HEOP or EOP program;

• have a gross family income that meets the New York State guidelines;

• be inadmissible according to the freshman admissions criteria established for the CUNY senior college you want to attend.

Transfer Students from College Discovery (CD), EOP, HEOP, and SEEK are eligible to transfer into SEEK at Baruch provided that they have remaining semesters of eligibility. Transfer students must complete the CUNY online transfer application.

Admission to SEEK is conditional until you have done the following:

• taken the University basic skills assessment test in reading, writing, and mathematics unless you are exempted based on your SAT and/or Regents scores;

• provided required documents that prove your economic eligibility for SEEK;

• successfully completed the SEEK Summer Program.

General Information

SEEK students are eligible for extended semesters of financial aid, and most SEEK students receive both Pell and Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) grants.  While a non-SEEK student receives 8 semesters of TAP, SEEK students receive 10.   Because these are grants and not loans, this money does not need to be repaid.  

In addition, students are given a stipend for books each semester, and their technology fees are covered. 

Income Eligibility

The following is a GUIDELINE for determining economic eligibility for Special Programs. It is not a substitute for an actual eligibility assessment. Please contact the Baruch Office of Financial Aid at 646-312-1360 for more information.

Applying for Financial Aid

Students must file the Free Application for Federal Student (FAFSA)* form, which is available on October 1 for the following summer session/fall semester. While completing the FAFSA, New York residents will be asked to link to the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) application; do make sure to complete all steps. If you forget or miss the TAP link, you may access the NYS Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) site and complete it at a later date. If selected for the federal verification process, students must also produce verification worksheets and tax returns.

All degree seeking students, regardless of citizenship status, should also seek external scholarships from reliable search engines such as the ones discussed in this article. Undocumented students may also visit the CUNY Dreamers Hub. In addition, they can download the free DACA Scholars application from iTunes.

To receive further information:

For more information about Financial Aid, please contact Mr. Carlton Marshall at Fasseek@baruch.cuny.edu.

Incoming/Admitted Students

Welcome and congratulations on being accepted to the SEEK Program! You have received your official acceptance letter from Baruch – here you’ll be able to find valuable information on what to do next.

SEEK Summer Academy

You will begin your studies at Baruch the summer before your freshman year. The SEEK Summer Academy begins in July. It is a program that will familiarize you with the college while immersing you in academic coursework. The result: SEEK students are no longer "under-prepared" in the fall. You will be equipped with the study skills you need to succeed academically and you will have developed relationships with faculty, staff and peers that will ease your transition from high school to college. Many of you will have earned college credits.

Who: All incoming freshmen. If you want to be a part of the SEEK freshman class at Baruch, you must participate in the SEEK Summer Experience.

What: A six-week program that includes academic coursework, enrichment workshops, and fieldtrips. Each day is different, with consistent components such as an academic class and math and/or writing preparation. (You will be placed in either a credit baring or immersion course, depending on the score you receive on your placement tests.)

Where: All activities take place at Baruch, with occasional field trips throughout New York City.

When: The program runs from the beginning of July through the middle of August.

Why: Because research shows that students who participate in pre-freshman summer programs stay in school longer and earn higher GPA's. Because 98% of the students who have gone through this program say that they're happy that they did, even if it mean sacrificing their summer.

Benchmarks

As a SEEK student, you are expected to complete required goals and objectives. These benchmarks are a reflection of skills, progress, and accomplishments all students should achieve.

Begin your journey to success here!

Alumni

We value the contributions of our alumni and encourage you to stay connected!

Learn more on how to continue to be part of the SEEK community here.

Why stay Connected

Established by the New York State Legislature in the 1966, SEEK is an integral and essential component of the CUNY mission.  SEEK made a profound impact on CUNY and on the lives of thousands of alumni. We hope as you look back on your journey with a sense of accomplishment, you will feel that the SEEK program helped made it possible and will see the value of long-term service and involvement with the SEEK community. We hope that SEEK inspired and fostered your pride in being a part of the SEEK family and legacy. Additionally, we trust SEEK helped you cultivate a sense of unity as well as political and social consciousness.

Documenting your stories to prove that SEEK works and transforms lives is important for the program. Additionally, showcasing your expertise and experiences serves as a resource to current students and builds community with the program to ensure longevity of the program mission.