EOP continues to fulfill New York state's commitment to support financially disadvantaged students.
Our structured systems provide students with an array of educational support services, resulting in a 98 percent retention rate (freshman to sophomore), exceeding the retention rate of regularly accepted ßÙßÇÂþ» students.
Our program stands as the strongest of its kind in New York state and has a graduation rate that is higher than the national average.
Historically, the EOP grant provided sufficient support for the cost of student textbooks as well as travel to and from home during semester breaks. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints and the rising cost of higher education, the grant is no longer sufficient.
Today, the bulk of the grant is utilized for textbooks and students are forced to take on part-time jobs and increase their loan burdens to meet their financial needs. Endowing this fund will provide an additional measure to support student financial need, allowing students to focus on academic success.
Under the leadership of the EOP Alumni Council, a goal has been established to raise $1 million to endow the EOP Book Fund to address student needs.
This initiative demonstrates to the ßÙßÇÂþ» community-at-large that alumni and friends of the program understand the financial constraints our students experience beyond tuition and room and board.
Our program is committed now, more than ever, to leveling the playing field for our students by providing this added measure of support.
The time is now to learn of and reflect on the tradition of our program, to take immense pride in our program’s existence and the role you have played or wish to play in shaping its future, and to commit to making a lasting impression on our program and within your respective community.
We hope you will join us in this process.
For more information on ways to give, please visit the ßÙßÇÂþ» Foundation website.