Iona College

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From the College

Iona College is a four-year, coed college in the suburbs of New York City. It is a medium-sized college on a beautiful, 35-acre campus just 20 minutes from the heart of Midtown Manhattan. Iona offers more than forty majors and thirty minors in business and liberal arts. The most popular undergraduate majors are finance, mass communication, education, psychology, and criminal justice. Iona is a Catholic college, founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1940, where learning ethical decisions and a commitment of service to others are part of its mission.

Iona’s overall enrollment is 4,500 students, of whom 3,000 are traditional undergraduate students. The student body is talented and diverse, with students coming from thirty-five states. Thirty-three percent of the students are members of minority groups, and contribute to a college environment that values diversity.

Students are active and involved on campus. More than ninety clubs and over 100 activities are available for student participation, including student government, Greek organizations, intramural sports, community service, an award-winning newspaper, radio and TV stations, the yearbook, theater groups, a pipe band, ethnic-affinity groups, various honor societies, music groups, and many other possibilities.

Iona offers twenty-two NCAA Division I-level athletic teams. Men’s sports include baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, rowing, soccer, swimming and diving, track (indoor and outdoor), and water polo. Women’s sports include basketball, cross-country, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, track (indoor and outdoor), and water polo.

The Office of Student Development organizes many activities for students to participate in each week, including trips to nearby New York City for theater, sports, and museums; on-campus movie nights; parties and dances; karaoke nights; wellness workshops; and other activities.

Iona provides five different residence halls on campus; 67 percent of freshmen and over a third of the other students live on campus. Many students also live in off-campus housing near campus. Students in these halls are engaged with activities ranging from movies, parties, and game nights to the use of the on-site exercise, TV, and game rooms. Unique meal plan options include an on-campus food court, Starbucks, and over a dozen local restaurants offering a variety of food and snacks.

Iona’s campus is located in New Rochelle, New York, one of the oldest cities in the U.S. Founded in 1654, New Rochelle is a city of 70,000 on the shore of the Long Island Sound. It is a suburban community that borders New York City. Public transportation allows students to easily travel to Manhattan via commuter train in less than 20 minutes.

Iona College offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Business Administration degrees through its School of Arts and Science and Hagan School of Business in majors including accounting, biochemistry, biology (general, predental, pre–physical therapy, preprofessional, and premedicine), business administration, chemistry, computer science, criminal justice, economics, education (childhood and adolescence), English, environmental science, finance, foreign languages (French, Italian, and Spanish), health professions preparation, history, information systems, interdisciplinary science, international business, international studies, management, marketing, mass communication (advertising, journalism, public relations, and television and video), mathematics, mathematics–applied, medical technology, philosophy, physical therapy (joint B.S./M.S. program with New York Medical College), physics, political science, psychology, religious studies, social work, sociology, speech communication studies (humanistic communication and speech arts), and speech/language pathology and audiology. Five-year combined bachelor’s and master’s degree programs are offered in computer science, English, history, and psychology. A fast-track M.B.A. program is available to students after graduation.

There are also minors available in accounting, biology, business, chemistry, classical humanities, computer science, criminal justice, economics, English, film studies, finance, fine arts, French, German, gerontology, history, information systems, international business, Italian, management, marketing, mass communication, mathematics, peace and justice studies, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religious studies, sociology, Spanish, speech communication, women’s studies, and writing. A number of programs offer a business minor in combination with a major or concentration.

An honors program is available for top students who want additional enhancement to their academic program. Special courses, seminars, mentoring, advising, and off-campus opportunities are part of the honors students’ curriculum.

Many of Iona’s programs are accredited by the highest specialized accrediting councils, including AACSB International–The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business for the Hagan School of Business and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) for the Department of Education. Mass communications (ACEJMC) is one of four accredited programs in the state of New York, and the Departments of Social Work (CSWE), Education, and Computer Science (ABET) boast the top accreditations available.

Iona College encourages students to broaden their educational experience through study and travel abroad. Iona sponsors summer, semester, and intersession programs in Australia, England, France, Ireland, Italy, and Spain. The College also offers a wide range of internships in most majors. In recent years, students have held internships at some of the best-known corporate names in New York City and the surrounding area.

To meet the demands of a new generation of students, Iona heavily invests in updating its campus and technology. New buildings include a student union and athletic center with the most modern amenities. Future projects include an expansion and renovation of the main library that will enhance its technological infrastructure while increasing study and research space.

The Robert V. LaPenta Student Union is a 41,000 square foot Georgian-brick facility that features a bookstore, commons/lounge areas, a food court, a bistro, a state-of-the-art media center, and offices for student services and campus organizations.

The Hynes Athletics Center includes a multipurpose arena, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a Nautilus center, training facilities, and coaching offices. It is the home to the Iona College Gaels. Featuring a state-of-the-art cardiovascular center, three multipurpose courts, a rowing tank, and an aerobics/dance studio, the Hynes Center also allows Iona’s nonathletes to participate in an intramural program that includes many various sports. Classes in Pilates, yoga, salsa dancing, and more are also be offered by qualified instructors at a very reasonable cost.

Another addition to Iona’s campus is the Arts Center, which provides space for the study of art, dance, and theater and includes the Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery.

The two campus libraries, Ryan Library and the Helen T. Arrigoni Library/Technology Center, house extensive collections and offer computer access to collections worldwide. The on-site collections, including more than 261,000 volumes, 687 periodical titles, audiovisual materials, and microforms, have been developed to support Iona’s curriculum and special interests.

The College was one of the first wireless campuses in the region and was recognized by the Intel Corporation as a “Most Unwired” campus. Students can access the Internet and other online tools from anywhere on campus. Computer labs are kept updated with the latest hardware and software. The College recently added dual-boot iMac computers from Apple in its computer labs.

For the 2008–09 academic year, tuition and fees were $26,206; room and board costs were $11,000.

Financial aid is critical to a student’s decision to attend any college, and Iona College is no exception. Iona uses a system of academic scholarships in combination with need-based financial aid to help students enroll. For the 2006–07 academic year, 89 percent of Iona students received aid, with the average financial aid award near $18,371. To apply for financial aid, students should file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Iona College Financial Aid Application forms by February 15.

Iona College has approximately 170 full-time and 80 part-time faculty members; 92 percent possess a terminal degree in their field. Faculty members conduct research and write books and articles, but their primary responsibility is teaching undergraduate students. All classes are taught by faculty members–there are no teaching assistants.

The student-faculty ratio is 13:1. Faculty members are readily available to meet for individual conferences. In addition, because of the College’s proximity to New York City, many faculty members include regular trips to Manhattan as part of their classes and invite guest speakers to lecture about special topics.

The Student Government Association (SGA) is a service organization that coordinates, supervises, and promotes student activities. The Office of Student Activities hosts hundreds of on- and off-campus events throughout the year.

Admission decisions at Iona are based on a wide range of criteria. Most important is an applicant’s academic record, including the level of curriculum taken and grades earned. Also considered are SAT or ACT scores, grade trends, a writing sample, activities, and recommendations.

For the class entering in September 2007, the average grade point average was 3.4 (89 percent), and the middle 50 percent on the SAT ranged from 1050 to 1250. About 6,000 applications were submitted for 850 spaces, and about 60 percent of the applicants were offered admission.

The Office of Admissions at Iona College works with each applicant on an individual basis. While the outcome of the admission decision may not be what every applicant hopes, Iona tries to ensure that each applicant is treated with courtesy and dignity. In order to be considered for admission, Iona requires students to submit an application (paper or online), a $50 application fee, an official transcript, SAT or ACT scores, a counselor recommendation, and an essay. Transfer students must also submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities previously attended.

The deadline for submitting applications for regular admission is February 15; for early action, it is December 1. Decisions are mailed by April 1 for regular admission and on December 19 for early action. Deposits for all accepted students are due on May 1.

Campus visits are available on most weekdays that classes are in session and on selected Saturdays; appointments are recommended. A visit can be scheduled by calling the Campus Visit Center at 914-633-2622 or by e-mail at eenglish@iona.edu.

For more information, students should contact: