Looks Like I'll Be Moving

After I emailed NYCTF inquiring about the possibility of being reassigned to Pace for my master's degree, I received a prompt and informative response.

While Pace supports biology fellows, it does not support biology immersion fellows.  City College is the only institution for fellows assigned to Manhattan that offers a master's program for biology / general science immersion fellows.  For those who do not know what immersion is, here is an explanation:

NYCTF offers two "immersion" programs for fellows that have taken significant coursework in either math or science, but do not have a degree in the field.  In practice, the difference is two more weeks of training in science or math content with an extra $1k tacked onto the stipend for the summer (and apparently a narrowed pool of universities).  

I know last time I said I felt somewhat disappointed, but I've reconsidered.  Now I am excited.  As I am not bound to Queens for any reason, I will look into apartments near City College to minimize my commute.  It would be nice to learn a new neighborhood and just feel some change.  Sure there will be some obstacles like figuring out if/when I can break my lease, searching for an apartment, etc., but I welcome the challenge.  Thankfully I will be able to afford a one bedroom instead of a studio - living in a bread box gets old.

University Assignment

Just yesterday I received an email from NYCTF indicating that I have been assigned to City College for my master's of education in science. I thought I would be excited to received my assignment, but to be honest, I was a little disappointed.

Browsing City College's School of Education website makes it seem like a pretty well-established program. It has also been educating Fellows since 2000. I do not know anyone that currently attends, but would like to.

However, I am concerned about my commute. While I have yet to learn my commuting schedule for summer training, I do know that from my stop on the M train (Forest Ave) to City College is around an hour and a half commute. Right now, my usual commute is to 14th st and takes me no longer than 45 minutes on average with some train traffic.

There is an appeals process for one's University assignment, which I am considering. Also, there is a field on the "My Assignment" tab on the myNYCTF website for alternative Universities. Mine is blank. Just above that is a notice that reads, "Some borough and subject combinations have only one university option. If you are reading this message, then your university is the only one working with your subject area within your assigned borough."

This is simply not true. I am in contact with other Fellows who have been assigned to Pace downtown for my same field of study. All of this is a bunch of mixed messages. So I posted a message on the Fellow message boards asking if anyone else was in my situation and could relate. I received a few empathetic responses, but no solutions. My next step is to write an email to NYCTF inquiring about my options.

I know others may be commuting from NJ or LI, which can be a long commute, but once the commuter rails take them into a central hub, any of the Universities in Manhattan are about the same time away. Maybe I am being too fastidious. I would just like to minimize and not increase my commuting time as I am sure I will be very busy the upcoming summer and year.

PS - Thanks to those who took the survey! I am just interested in seeing, very generally, what everyone's experience has been like. If you haven't taken it, please do! Thanks!