Duanesburg seniors receive instant admission to SUNY Schenectady

"You have been accepted." It’s the sentence high school seniors want to hear.

On Wednesday, that’s exactly what Duanesburg senior Daniel Van Buren and his entire senior class heard as they were given instant admission to SUNY Schenectady. For Van Buren, it puts him one step closer to his end goal.

"I would like to use SUNY Schenectady as a way to do my general education, to get my required credits done. From there, I would like to pursue being an English teacher," Van Buren said. "To have this as an opportunity for us, it takes off so much stress off of us with the college application process."

Reducing those stress levels is a top priority for SUNY Schenectady, with the college even offering a scholarship for students as well.

"These students are eligible starting today to get a course, one three credit course, for free at SUNY Schenectady to try the waters at no risk at all to them," explained Dr. Steady Moono, president of SUNY Schenectady. "This removes the barrier. Some kids and some parents, especially first generation college students, don’t consider college because of the stressors of applying."

Duanesburg’s superintendent says he’s thrilled for his seniors to have this opportunity.

"This is very exciting. Students have been through a lot over the past couple of years, and it’s great that they have an opportunity to start planning for the future," Duanesburg Superintendent Dr. James Niedermeir said.