New Visions

New Visions are one-year, honors-level courses that turn area businesses into classrooms for highly motivated, academically successful high school seniors. New Visions Career Exploration programs are available in: Health Careers, Human Services & Special/Elementary Education, Law & Government, and Journalism & Media Studies.

New Visions students spend up to three and one-half hours each day learning about a profession through traditional methods (lecture, reading, writing and focused study), through group discussion and through rotations. Rotations are structured observations of professionals and procedures in a career field and are the heart of the New Visions experience. New Visions instructors are certified academic teachers and experts in the career field being explored.

New Visions students earn honors, AP and college credit, and the program is an asset on their transcripts and college applications. Students who are interested in New Visions must have a strong academic record and commitment to the selected career area. They also must complete an application and interview process.

Want to know more? Come to our Open House!
Open houses for all New Visions programs are held in February at the Capital Region BOCES administrative offices, 1031 Watervliet-Shaker Road, Colonie. See our calendar page for dates and times.

To learn more about individual New Visions Career Exploration program, click on the links below:

New Visions: Health Careers

New Visions: Human Services & Special/Elementary Education

New Visions: Law & Government

New Visions: Journalism & Media Studies

New Visions  - THE COLLEGE ADVANTAGE

Many students who consider applying to New Visions programs ask, "How will my attending New Visions impact my college application process? Do colleges look favorably on New Visions students?" The answer is a resounding yes!

Will the New Visions experience help me get into the college of my choice?
During the past decade, hundreds of New Visions students have applied to and been accepted at the colleges and universities of their choice. Many also have been accepted into highly selective, specialized programs of study, often with scholarships-some of them full-ride, based on their New Visions experiences. Such programs include the Union College/Albany Medical College combined MBA/MD program, Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications, The Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, and the United States Air Force, Military and Naval Academies.

And the New Visions advantage is not limited to the undergraduate level: many New Visions students have gone on to earn graduate and doctoral degrees from well-respected institutions such as Columbia University, Georgetown Law School and SUNY Upstate Medical College.

Why not just spend the whole day in high school and take AP and honors courses?
Of course Advanced Placement and honors coursework are important to a competitive college application. Colleges and universities are calling for measures to raise the bar for high school students, including more opportunities to take rigorous courses such as AP and honors subjects. And New Visions students do earn honors and AP credits for their work. However, as competition for admission heightens, colleges and universities also look for applicants with coursework and experiences relevant to the world outside of the classroom. They want students who exhibit drive, initiative and maturity. And nothing will distinguish you more from a crowd of applicants than a portfolio of experiences and coursework that demonstrate your commitment to your academic and personal success. That's the New Visions difference.

Why do colleges and universities favor New Visions?
New Visions gives you direction, helps you understand sophisticated oral and written communication skills, builds a resume that even many college graduates do not have, and prepares you for college and beyond by fostering critical thinking and informed decision-making. New Visions students demonstrate a proven work ethic and superior skills, and their curriculum offers college credits to back this up. What do college admissions officers see when they review the application of a New Visions student? They see an individual who is eager to challenge him or herself in new and different settings, through an academically rigorous program with a college-level curriculum and real-world work experiences with respected professionals.

New Visions can be an admissions interview advantage!
Many New Visions alumni say their experiences were discussed during their graduate or medical school admissions interviews and likely made the difference in their acceptance. For example, several New Visions: Health Careers alumni have been admitted to the Union College/Albany Medical College combined eight-year Leadership in Medicine program, while others have been accepted at SUNY Upstate Medical College and other respected schools. Likewise, students in the New Visions programs in Law & Government, Public Communications, and Human Services & Special Education cite New Visions as a key factor in their acceptance into specialized undergraduate and graduate-level programs.

Continued: go to part 2