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Perched on a ridge in the western part of Harlem, City College has a student body that reflects the young and immigrant population of New York City. Over 82 percent of the students are African American, Hispanic, or Asian, and students on campus speak more than 100 languages. Since the late 1960s, the City University of New York, of which City College is a part, has had an open admissions policy, with every high school graduate from New York City guaranteed a spot at one of the system's campuses. As a result, many students who arrive at City College need extra help to excel at biology. Biology faculty members at City College have taken a number of steps to meet the needs of their students — despite a sharp reduction in the number of faculty members because of state budget cuts. Incoming freshmen interested in biology can attend a four-week summer program to prepare them for introductory courses and laboratories. Students about to enter sophomore-level biology, where attrition is often high, can attend a two-week preparatory course in the summer. Outreach programs to Manhattan high schools help potential City College students get ready. "Many of these students have no idea what college is like," says Millie Roth, director of the City College Academy for Professional Preparation, which offers academic support and enrichment activities to science students. "They're the first in their families to go to college, so they can't call on people they know to tell them what's going on." The highlight of City College's efforts to retain students in the sciences is its Program for Access to Science Study, or PASS, class. Each year as many as 100 freshmen and sophomores enroll in an introductory class to learn the skills they need to progress in science. In addition to attending conventional lectures and laboratories, the students meet with counselors in small groups each week to discuss time management, goal setting, and test taking. PASS students include those expected to have the greatest difficulties at City College. Yet their retention rates have been substantially higher than for the college as a whole. "It's really very rewarding to have these students, because they come from parts of society where they don't necessarily get a boost, but they're highly motivated," says biology professor Olivia McKenna. As James Traub points out in his book "City on a Hill: Testing the American Dream at City College" (New York: Addison-Wesley, 1994), many City College students do not complete their college educations. Only about 30 percent of those who enroll earn degrees, although a significant number eventually earn their degrees elsewhere. But for those with the perseverance needed to excel, City College remains a door to opportunity.
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The lights of Broadway pale beside the promise of biology for Sharon Brooks. A successful singer and dancer in New York City, Brooks yearned for something else. "I knew I wanted to be a doctor, but I didn't have any idea how to do it," she says. She finally enrolled at City College in her late 30s and began studying biology. For the past several years, she has been going to school during the week and flying to various U.S. cities on the weekends working with entertainer Gregory Hines as a vocalist. Knowing that the transition to college would be difficult, Brooks enrolled in the Program for Access to Science Study to get up to speed. "If I hadn't taken PASS my first year, I wouldn't have gone on," she says. "That was the class where I was testing myself to see if I could make it." Now completing her requirements in organic chemistry, she is preparing to apply to medical school.
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Students at City College of New York crowd the
halls of the science building between classes. 
t City College of the City University of New York, more than half the
biology majors do research by the time they graduate. But research is just
one of the ways in which City College faculty members seek superior performance
from their students. 
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